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Diabetic Alert Dogs helping to save lives

"DAD"s are specially trained to sniff out and notify a person with Type 1 Diabetes if their blood sugar is not normal.

There's a new meaning to the term "man's best friend" for people who live with Type 1 Diabetes.

The non-profit organization, Type 1 Life says some special pups are being trained to save lives. 

Lisa Schaller is one of the organizers of Type 1 Life. She started the advocacy group after her daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was just in third grade.  

"That's my purpose; to protect not just my daughter but all T1D kiddos. It's a whole different change of life and you've got to learn how to manage it so your child can live happily," said Schaller.

One of the ways to help her daughter is with a specially trained dog called a Diabetic Alert Dog or DAD, pups that are trained to sniff out and notify the person with diabetes if their blood sugar is not normal.

"Kiersten had a low episode last night in the middle of the night. He caught her dropping down towards the low. He smelled it. He whined and whined and whined, woke me up and we got it taken care of," said Schaller.

Many people with Type 1 Diabetes, formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes, say that Diabetic Alert Dogs have helped save their life.

"So when my blood sugar is low she will actually come up to me and paw at me, just paw at my leg," said Nickole Wayne, DAD recipient.

Nickole Wayne says she was in need and learned about the dogs through the group's Facebook page.

"So I applied, and then maybe a week or two later she messaged me on Facebook and said, congratulations you won the dog," said Wayne.

It was a moment she says changed her life.

"And I was like I was in tears bawling I was so happy," said Wayne.

Type 1 Life is looking for pups to be donated and trained to help save somebody's life.

If you were interested in making donations or want more information on how to apply for a Diabetic Alert Dog, click here.

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