I was disheartened to read Maurice Regan’s letter (Monitor, 5/2) regarding Diabetic alert dogs. As the spouse of a type 1 diabetic who is training her service dog, I was shocked that another trainer would have such skewed views about what is essentially a medical device. Training dogs to detect blood glucose changes is just scent training using saliva. When your blood glucose is low you emit isoprene, when it’s high your breath smells sweeter. Drug and cadaver dogs are scent trained too. My wife’s endocrinologist suggested a diabetic alert dog because she doesn’t feel when her blood glucose is dropping. She uses and insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor and manually tests to ensure its accuracy.
However, technology is imperfect and often gives incorrect readings. Her diabetic alert dog is always right on. There are people looking to make a quick dollar that lie about the accuracy of a dog’s training. You need to research each program. We talked with four different trainers before selecting the best fit. There is no legally recognized certification for any service dog according to the ADA standards. To hold a diabetic alert dog to a different standard than other service dogs is harmful. The misinformation of saying diabetic alert dogs aren’t capable of doing the job is a lie. Type 1 diabetes is an invisible disability, and the general public is misinformed already. Do your research, talk to others and experience training them. These animals change and save lives.