A beagle-loving friend of mine sent me the story of Belle, a beagle who saved her owner’s life.
Owner Kevin Weaver is a diabetic. Beagle Belle is specially trained to detect abnormalities in her owner’s blood sugar levels, and summon help in an emergency. Her training paid off when Kevin had a seizure and collapsed as a result of low blood sugar: Belle bit into his cell phone to call 911.
Now Belle is the first canine recipient of a VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, an award given to people who use cell phones to save a life, prevent a crime, or help out in an emergency. Kevin and Belle traveled from their home in Ocoee, Florida to Washington, D.C. to receive the award.
In his days as a flight attendant, Kevin first heard about service dogs for diabetics from a passenger who helped train service dogs. These dogs can use their sense of taste and smell to check on people’s blood sugar levels. Belle will lick her owner’s nose to check his blood sugar. If the levels aren’t right, she will whine and paw at him. When she does, Kevin fetches his blood glucose monitor and tests himself. According to him, she has never been wrong.
So when his blood sugar dropped, causing him to suffer a seizure and collapse, Belle saved the day. “There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle,” Kevin said.
Service dogs do so many things for their humans. They can fetch medications at the appropriate time or even sense changes in chemistry that signal an impending seizure. Some dogs can even smell out cancer cells. The dogs are trained to respond to changes in their owners’ bodies by whining, barking, or pawing for attention. In emergency situations, the dogs can call for human help.
Training a service dog can be difficult. Many service dog organizations look for foster homes to help puppies learn the basics — housebreaking and obedience — before going for further training.