Call to fund canine carer

A TOWNSVILLE diabetes sufferer is on a mission to raise enough funds for a lifesaving furry friend.

Kirwan woman Margaret Lamond was diagnosed with gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her daughter 27 years ago, and her father also lived with the chronic illness.

Ms Lamond was approved for a diabetic alert dog on March 19 and immediately began her fundraising mission to raise $ 25,000 for the dog’s training through Smart Pups.

“The way I see it, it can actually save my life and keep me out of hospital,” she said.

“I know it’s a lot of money but I don’t know what else to do. It’s my life, I have things to do for myself.”

Diabetic alert “Smart Pups” are trained to smell the chemical body changes that occur as insulin levels increase or drop, and bark to alert others who can take appropriate action.

“A diabetic or any person that’s got an illness has got a certain smell. If I have a low, which is very bad and you can end up in hospital, they ( the dog) can tell,” Ms Lamond said.

“They can tell a high too, which is also not good because it can eventually affect your kidneys, heart, all that sort of thing.”

Ms Lamond hoped her fundraising efforts would also present an opportunity to educate the community about assistance dogs, the important work they do and how to act around them – including resisting the urge to pat.

“If I can do that and get that out there, it might be helpful to anybody else that’s thinking of getting a dog or sees a dog around the shops or something,” she said.

“Everything is commandrelated, sit, stay down – if I’m out in public people can come and talk to me and ask me about the dog, but they can’t touch the dog.”

“I want to make people aware that there’s help out there, ( the dogs) are a tool that can help save somebody’s life.”