Just minutes after Carrie Lemay met her new dog, Freckles, she says the black lab starting frantically pawing and jumping up on her.
Freckles wasn’t just being disobedient — she is a diabetic alert dog, trained to detect low blood sugar in people like Lemay, who has Type 1 diabetes.
After being “alerted,” Lemay then tested and confirmed she was “low,” something that can be life-threatening for diabetics.
“When your blood sugar drops it drops fast,” the 43-year-old says. “You don’t now where you are or what to do, so your mind is kind of off in another world, so (having the dog) will really help.”
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Lemay and five other people with Type 1 diabetes met their new canine companions this week in Oakville, Ontario.
The Canadian Press
