RIVERTON, Wyo. (AP) - A yellow Labrador retriever wagged her tail behind 7-year-old Warren LeBeau while walking down Main Street in Riverton on a Thursday afternoon in November.
Kashi is a diabetes service dog. Only 1 year old, she already has been tasked with looking out for LeBeau, who was diagnosed with glycogen storage disease type Ia when he was 10 months old.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, GSDI is an inherited disorder that creates a buildup of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body’s cells. The buildup can occur in certain organs like the liver, kidney and small intestines.
LeBeau also has severe hypoglycemia that, if not taken care of, can lead to seizures, coma or death.
As a result of his medical complications, LeBeau’s mother, Krissy Hernandez of Lander, said his blood sugar needs to be checked constantly.
Kashi helps care for the boy by alerting LeBeau when his blood sugar is too low, reported The Ranger (https://bit.ly/2hdSbnw).
“Kashi can smell it before a monitor can read it,” Hernandez said.
Low and high blood sugar levels release chemicals in the body that have a distinct odor that humans can’t detect.
When Kashi senses that LeBeau’s blood sugar is off, she gives the alert by staring straight at him and using her paw to touch LeBeau, or Hernandez. The mom then gives LeBeau something to eat, and Kashi gets a treat too, which keeps her motivated, Hernandez said.
Kashi also gives alerts if the sugar fluctuates at night, which is why she gets to sleep with her young charge.
Kashi plays a big role in LeBeau’s well-being, and he knows that.
“She saves my life,” he said. “She sleeps with me every night.”
Kashi can smell low or high sugar levels about 50 feet away, so sometimes she lends her services to strangers, too. If someone other than LeBeau has a spike or dip in blood sugar levels, Kashi gives them an alert.
“They save other people’s lives too,” Hernandez said. “Even though she’s trained for him, she can help others.”
There’s also no place Kashi can’t go. She can follow LeBeau anywhere - except for a surgical room. She can join him at school or on an airplane.
But, despite her special privileges, and the skills and training Kashi has received, and will continue to develop over the years, she’s just like other regular dogs in every other way.
Hernandez said she’s a sock-eater right now, but they’re trying to fix that.
“She’s scared of the dishwasher,” LeBeau added.
Roughly $15,000 was raised to cover the costs of buying Kashi, training her and transporting to their home, Hernandez said. She was trained in Arizona and comes from the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America organization in Nevada.
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Information from: The (Riverton, Wyo.) Ranger, https://www.dailyranger.com
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