HUMBOLDT 鈥� Gail Maki was 12 years old when she was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
That was 43 years ago. Over time, Maki stopped feeling the highs and lows associated with her blood sugar levels. This was a problem that could have had dangerous health repercussions for her.
Thankfully there was a solution, and that solution was named Echo. Echo is Maki鈥檚 seven-year-old diabetic alert service dog.
鈥淪he will either give me a paw or come up a nudge me and she鈥檚 telling me, 鈥榃e need to check because the sugars aren鈥檛 where they should be,鈥欌�� Maki said. 鈥淪he can tell if they鈥檙e high or low because she鈥檚 that much further ahead than the glucose meter ... They can smell so much more than we can.鈥�
A diabetic alert service dog like Echo can detect problems up to an hour before the blood glucose meter is able to.
While Echo gets lots of pats and affection when home with Maki, in public Echo has an important job to do. This is signalled through the service dog vest she wears, which tells people not to distract or pet her.
鈥淔or every service dog it is the same,鈥� Maki said. 鈥淪o many people don鈥檛 realize that diabetes is considered an invisible disability, right? If you saw somebody with a seeing eye dog, you probably wouldn鈥檛 go up to that dog and touch it, right? Just for the simple reasons of, 鈥極h I shouldn鈥檛 distract that dog, because that person is blind.鈥欌��
If Echo is distracted, there鈥檚 a chance she could miss an important moment of alerting Maki.
鈥淭here are a lot more invisible disabilities out there, I mean, we鈥檙e hearing more about the diabetic alert service dog, the PTSD [post traumatic stress disorder] dog. So whenever you see a dog with a vest, don鈥檛 talk to it.鈥�
When the vest comes off, it means Echo can receive attention again. But her job is really never done.
鈥淪he鈥檚 working 24/7,鈥� Maki said. Shortly after saying this, Echo alerted Maki with a whine that she should check her glucose levels.
Maki said on average the cost to get a service dog, like Echo, is about $25,000.
鈥淲hen I got her that included the cost of the dog, the training and all that. But that was US funds, $25,000 US, so it cost me a bit more.鈥�
Service dogs only work for nine to 10 years, at which point they can retire and become a household pet. Echo is seven.
鈥淭he median lifespan of a medium-sized dog is 10 to 12 years. So retiring on the lower end of the life expectancy makes sense. When Echo retires she'll have the time to relax, as with people. Though, she may choose to continue to work.鈥�
Filling Echo鈥檚 role will be a puppy named Merlin.
聽鈥淚 had a fundraiser here to help raise funds for a new service dog, and we managed to raise enough to pay for the dog itself,鈥� Maki said. 鈥淪o I鈥檒l have to pay for the training. I鈥檓 going to go through a different route. One of the trainers who trained Echo and me 鈥� he branched out on his own and has his own training now. He鈥檚 actually training me and my new puppy.鈥�
The training starts with basic obedience and will go on for two years, with Echo helping to mentor.
鈥淵ou have to start somewhere and building on all this. And in two years, when Echo retires, this little one should be ready to take over.鈥�
The fundraiser for Merlin, a steak night and silent auction, was set up by three women Maki works with.
鈥淚t was an informative evening,鈥� Maki said. 鈥淢y trainer was able to Facetime with us and answer any questions that people had, and just talked a little bit about what would be happening and things like that.鈥�
While it was a success, Maki doesn鈥檛 feel comfortable holding another fundraiser for the training, which will cost her about US$10,000.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do it as much as we can on our own,鈥� she said.
Merlin will have an important job to do and big paws to fill, but right now he鈥檚 a puppy like any other.聽聽聽聽聽
鈥淲e got the puppy biting, the puppy excitement, the whole bit, right? The crate training, the potty training. We鈥檙e all as a family invested in this and having to be really committed to get to where we want to be. So it鈥檚 daily work.鈥�
When Merlin鈥檚 training is finished, he can take over Echo鈥檚 place and Echo can finally get all the head pats and scratches she wants.
Maki doesn鈥檛 think she can put into words what Echo means to her.
鈥淪he鈥檚 part of me, and I鈥檓 part of her,鈥� Maki said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realize how much you each depend on each other. I can totally trust her, totally trust her. We鈥檙e a team.鈥�
