Allyson & Lennon

Mandy Henry Photography © ~ www.mandyhenry.com

Today we bring you the story of Allyson and Lennon. Lennon is a Diabetic Alert Dog from our program. Diabetic Alert Dogs have become a growing trend among families who fear what will happen when their children go to bed at night.

What happens when those kids grow up and go off to college?

Allyson is a young woman in college, and this is her story:

"I was diagnosed with Type 1 when I was 10, and have lived with this disease for 11 years. I am a junior in college, and live 2 hours away from my family.
For me going away to college was always something that I wanted to do, but was very scary for me because of my diabetes. I have very scary night time lows, that have caused more seizures than I can count...and none of which I can really remember.
From the time I was 12 years old...my parents would get up many times during the night to check my blood sugar and try to prevent the dangerous lows..but still, there were many nights that I woke up to paramedics in my bedroom and a very fuzzy memory.
When I moved away to go to school those night time checks became my biggest responsibility. Having a seizure while I am alone at school is my biggest fear, and some nights I would wake up every hour to check my own blood sugar. 

Now that I have my D.A.D. Lennon, I am no longer so afraid to go to sleep at night wondering if I will wake up in the morning. I have only had Lennon for 3 weeks, and she has already saved my life 2 times...probably more.

The other night She woke me up and I checked, and I was 94...in range with no insulin on board. I treated it as a low, with juice and a snack because it was the middle of the night. Not even 15 minutes later, Lennon woke me up again andthat could have dropped lower and caused the seizures I am so afraid of.

I am so thankful to Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers for giving me Lennon.

Now I sleep at night knowing she is watching over me.

I get to be more independent and more like a normal college student all because of my little Life saver." 

If you or someone you know could benefit from having a Diabetic Alert Dog please Click Here.

To learn more about Service Dogs for invisible disabilities Click Here.

To learn how you can help place service dogs with families in need Click Here.