How does my dog smell? how live-saving pet sniffs
Diabetic boy’s beloved dog nose when his blood sugar falls and raises alarm
It’s often said that dogs choose their owner, rather than the other way around – and when you see the special bond shared between Jacob Judah and his pup Noble, it’s easy to see why.
Not only do the pair share the same birthday, sleep together every single night and go on daily adventures, but mum Sarah Duncan says bringing the two-year-old German Shepherd into the family has saved her little boy’s life on more than one occasion.
Six-year-old Jacob was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just before his third birthday, after changes to his sleeping patterns and becoming excessively thirsty and hungry. Although Jacob’s dad also lives with Type 1, the diagnosis came as a shock and left Sarah with many sleepless nights, worrying about daily injections, managing meals and ensuring dips in his blood sugar didn’t become dangerous. However, help soon came along in the form of an energetic puppy, who she now can’t imagine living without. “Jacob had been asking for a dog for ages, so after his diagnosis I decided it was the right time,” explained Sarah, 33, who lives in Glasgow.
“We didn’t specifically get Noble to be an alert dog – she just started doing it all by herself. The first night we brought her home, the two of them were sleeping together when Noble started getting hysterical. She was still just a puppy, so I thought she maybe wanted to go out in the garden.
“I let her out but she just came back into the house and started to get more frantic. I thought, ‘ Well I’m awake now’ so I went to check Jacob’s blood sugar levels as I usually would. He had dropped really, really low, and so I sorted out the levels – as soon as I did that Noble just went back to sleep.”
Around 8% of people with diabetes in the UK have Type 1 of the condition, which causes the body to attack the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, meaning sufferers can’t produce any insulin at all. There is no known cause for the condition, and lifelong treatment is needed to manage the effects.
As well as having to monitor Jacob’s activities and exercise, Sarah also has to weigh every meal, calculating the exact amount of carbohydrates, protein and fat in his food to ensure his glucose levels are not too low or too high.
But, since her first night at home, Noble now regularly wakes Sarah up by licking her ears or sniffing at her face whenever Jacob’s blood sugars dip too low, allowing her to check his measuring devices and adjust the insulin levels.
Sarah said: “Jacob isn’t the most stable when it comes to his blood sugar levels
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On her very first night in the house, Noble woke me up to check on Jacob
overnight, so having Noble lets me actually get some rest. She never sleeps more than three feet from Jacob, so I know if there’s an issue she’ll come and get me straight away.
“When Jacob was first diagnosed I was up every two hours. At the time he had a lot of movement in his numbers because one day he would be at soft play, the next he was in nursery, and then he could