How a dog saves his owner's life three times a week by predicting her diabetes attacks

How a dog saves his owner's life three times a week by predicting her diabetes attacks

By Cher Thornhill
Last updated at 8:05 PM on 10th March 2009

A mother who feared she would black out and die from diabetes is rescued up to three times a week by her dog.

Elizabeth Wilkinson's blood sugar levels drop to dangerously low levels every couple of days when she has a hypoglycaemic attack linked to her diabetes.

If she doesn't eat some form of carbohydrate quickly enough, the mother-of-two risks becoming dizzy, collapsing and could even die.


Little life saver! Elizabeth Wilkinson's dog Chushla alerts her when she has a diabetic attack, which can lead to death if not treated quickly

Elizabeth, 54, from Southery, Downham Market in Norfolk, lived in constant panic for years and felt afraid to leave the house because she could not recognise the early signs of an attack.

But now when an attack begins, the two-year-old Bedlington-Whippet cross senses a change in Elizabeth's scent and nibbles her hand to alert her.

Chushla is one of just six registered 'hypo alert dogs' in Britain which have the unique ability to sniff out a hypoglycaemic attack.

If the patients do not recognise the attack themselves and urgently eat some carbohydrate to boost their blood sugar, they risk entering a coma and even death.

Elizabeth, 54, from Southery, Downham Market, Norfolk, has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for over 40 years.

The mother-of-three, who once fell into a coma after an attack developed while she was out shopping, has to take insulin injections four times a day to control her blood sugar.

Before getting Chushla, she had three potentially fatal hypoglyaemic attacks a week and lived in fear for her life.

But just weeks after getting her new puppy, Elizabeth realised Chushla could detect the attacks in their early stages.

She said: 'I had Chushla for just a few weeks and I was sitting on the sofa when she started jumping on me and doing little nibbles on the back of my neck.

'It turned out I was having a hypo and hadn't realised. Because I have had diabetes for over 40 years I don't recognise the early signs of a hypo which could potentially kill me.

'Chushla predicted that I was having an attack on a few occasions and now I don't have to worry because she can alert me and I can eat a couple of biscuits and be alright.

'I think she keeps predicting the attacks because I give her a chocolate nibble when she saves me.'

Elizabeth was first diagnosed with diabetes as she recovered from measles at the age of nine. She later found out that her body had stopped producing insulin altogether.

When she suffers a hypoglycaemic attack, Elizabeth has to urgently eat some biscuits or other form of carbohydrate or she could get dizzy and collapse.

Thanks to Chushla, she can lead a normal life without fearing that she could black out and die at any moment.

Chushla will even wake her up at night by jumping on her bed if she is having an attack in her sleep.

Elizabeth, a volunteer in her local Citizens Advice Bureau, says Chushla has changed her life and stopped her living in fear.

She said: 'Chushla means the world to me and she is literally a little life saver.

'I used to be scared to leave the house especially because a few years ago I collapsed in the street and went into a coma while shopping in Cambridge.

'I don't have to worry about that now and I don't panic any more when I go out. It's really nice not to be constantly frightened.

'When we take her to Crufts in March we can show all of those posh dogs that the best dogs are not necessarily the ones with pedigree.'

Chushla, a term of endearment in Irish, was praised by specialist charity Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs.

As a registered 'hypo alert dog', Chushla now has the same rights as a guide dog.

A spokesman for the charity said: 'A dog's sense of smell is estimated at being 100 times more powerful than a human's.

'The work the charity has done training hypo-alert dogs for diabetics is ground breaking.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1161036/How-dog-saves-owners-life-times-week-predicting-diabetes-attacks.html