Three-year-old Adriana Haber of Royal Palm Beach was diagnosed last year with Type 1 diabetes. Not to be confused with Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that attacks the pancreas, making it unable to produce insulin, a chemical that helps process glucose.
Haber must have her blood sugar monitored many times a day, and she get injections of insulin at least four times a day to help her body break down glucose. Her family is raising money to get her a diabetic alert/service dog that has been taught to detect both low and high blood sugars and alert the patient to the problem. They have been proven to be more accurate than the blood glucose meter, often alerting to a change long before it shows up on the meter.
In addition to intense public access training that all service dogs must go through, these service dogs are imprinted with low blood sugar scent from birth and spend a great deal of time working on scent training. The average cost is about $17,000.
Donations can be made in Adriana Haber’s name directly to Drey’s Alert Dogs, 1569 E. Gibson St., Jasper, TX 75951, or mail checks to Adriana Haber, P.O. Box 211934, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421.
ABOVE: Adriana Haber
