46080, that is how many times I have given myself insulin in the past 16 years. That is how many times I have corrected my sugar for the duration of time I have had diabetes. In that time I have used about 57600 test strips to read my blood sugar to see if it is the correct level.My finger tips are hard in some places from over testing in those areas, my stomach has scar tissue from giving insulin there for so long. Diabetes is not as easy as other people make it out to be. Not many people realize how truly dangerous diabetes can be, being a diabetic myself and having gone through the horrible experience of bad blood control, I want to help those I can to control their blood sugars accurately in a way I never got when I was younger.
For those that don't know, as a Type 1 Diabetic if your blood sugar goes too low or high , you run the risk of going into a diabetic coma. Many people like me for instance, can not feel when we are high until it is so high that we have ketones in our blood and need to be rushed to the hospital. Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Pumps can be unreliable and need days to settle before they give proper readings, so Diabetic Alert Dogs (DADs) do a great deal for people like me who can not feel the change in their blood reading, or who spike/drop during the night, and those of the diabetic community that suffer further disabilities due to uncontrolled blood sugar.
As a one who understands the risks, I want to be able to train as a service dog handler so I can get the skills to teach other diabetics prospective alert dogs for free as I dont believe that you should charge disabled people money to be able to cater to their disabilities, may they be seen or not seen. South Africa doesnt have many of Diabetic Alert Dogs (DADs), nor really sees them as a real service dog yet, so I would like to help people that way by supplying them with well bred, health tested,temperament tested dogs that can help them with their diabetes.
One can understand that some people will say why not get from a rescue, well the process to get rescue dogs and actually finding a prospect that has great health and temperament is far and thin. Im not saying that I do not like rescues, but more that I want my future clients to go home to a dog that is not dog aggressive, skittish, or god forbid human aggressive, and there are families that just are not capable for dealing with a rescue dog and their potential health and mental problems.
As a child, I did not know about diabetic alert dogs, my blood was a mockery of what a good diabetics should be, even now it still is. I am currently trying to train my Groenendael Shepherd , Emyx , to Alert to my Highs and Lows, with little success as I have had no formal training in this matter. Learning from tutorials online and with no on hand experience is hard but I am working with what I have at the moment.
I still have very high blood sugar from time to time, thank god it has'nt lead to Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) . It is a life threatening condition, where your blood sugar is so high that your body produces excess blood acids (ketones), that lead to acoma and even death. When I was 14, my hormonal embalance caused my insulin to improperly correct my blood, causing me to go into DKA 14 times in one year, luckly for me I was young enough that my body could still repair itself properly so I did not suffer side affects from it. There are those who were older than me and had DKAs that have gone into a coma or that have sadly passed away due to this condition.
Knowing the struggles of having unstable blood sugars, I want to be able to help other diabetics by training to be a diabetic service dog handier and to start my own dog breeding kennel to breed healthy and well tempered prospective service dog prospects for those of the diabetic community in need. Not every pup can become a service dog, that is why I call them service dog prospects. For the pups that do not fit the service dog requirements, I would find them loving pet homes.
Type 1 Diabetes is a serious and at times deadly disease that is swept under the rug due to people do not always understand the struggle that we go through. However through educating the public and canine handing I want to help lighten the plight which I know many diabetics go though, I know with PIVX I can achieve my dream. I believe that it will be in the top 5 most used coins, you see PIVX is not just about making money. The PIVX community has made it their goal to become more than just a coin, but a family that helps support each other. I know that with some support from my PIVX family, I can accomplish my dream and knowing I have a community that supports me in helping give back to diabetes makes me feel great. As it is something that not many communities are willing to do.
My first step to achieving my long time goal would to first get Emyx some formal training, and then move onto Diabetic Alert Training. Then I would move to finding a suitable dog breed that could fulfill the needs a diabetic needs, it wouldn't have to be a large breed, maybe a medium breed at most. A breed that is perfect in working and non working conditions. I would exclude brachycephalic breeds (pugs, bulldogs, frenchbulldogs) from my potential breeding , as they have short broad heads making it hard for them to breath and work in hot conditions . Some people have mentioned Papillions, Groenendaels, Border Collies, Pomeranians, Toy and Mini Poodles, Havanese, Shelties, Shiba Inu, Cairn Terriers,Norwich Terrier, and Schipperkes. In my process I would go through each breed and eliminate those which did not have the proper temperment which I would feel is needed in a DAD. From then I would find two suitable breeders which health and temperament test to Import a male and female for breeding. Both mother and father would also go for proper training as well so they can be examples for their pups when it came to training. All pups would get early neurological stimulation (ENA). ENA helps to improve cardio vascular performance (heart rate), give pups stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. Each pup would be evaluated using the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test and placed as a prospect or a pup for a pet home. Each pup would go home with a law binding contract regarding spaying and neutering and with a detailed return policy if a client broke the contract. Animals are not toys and in this case they are more than just a new family member they are a tool to helping a diabetic persons life better. Dogs have a naturally heightened sense of smell that makes them excellent hunters, this sense of smell allows them (when trained to) to pick up on the fruity smell of someone when they are high and the unique smell diabetics produce them they are low. Diabetic Alert Dogs are not an excuse not to test your blood, but a buffer incase you do not feel the dramatic change in your blood.
I take this very seriously as it has always been my dream to be involved with dogs and to help the diabetic community. This is something that is close to my heart and that I will strive to make a reality.
This is Emyx my Belgian Groenendael Shepherd aka Emyx the PIVX Dog
She has her own facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EmyxTheBsd/?ref=br_rs
Though I dont post much on there it is where I will be posting about her training updates and as she grows. Its almost her birthday, which is May 15th, she will be turning 1 this year.