Bonnie, the “diabetes watchdog”

Diabetes in children is quite dangerous, and Jodie Steed, the mother of a 3-year old diabetic named Olivia, knows about its dangers quite well.

With communication being a huge barrier in the detection of diabetes attacks or on-the-rise diabetic constitution-inclined attacks, Steed found it difficult to regularly monitor her daughter’s blood sugar levels, which has been the source of a number of anxieties an worries for her.

These anxieties and worries are further multiplied during nights, particularly for fear of her daughter’s safety should her blood sugar levels rise too high while she’s asleep.

This was the case until Bonnie, a pup adopted by the Steeds, came in.

Able to detect oddities in Olivia’s body language and scents, Bonnie was trained to get familiar with Olivia’s unique scent, which has somewhat turned Bonnie into an early alert detection system.

Steed herself admits that she isn’t privy to the details over how Bonnie does it, but the pup seems to be keen on abnormal blood sugar level changes which occur in Olivia’s body.

Bonnie would keep on barking during abnormal blood sugar rise/lowering scenarios, and would stop until treatment is administered in response to Olivia’s condition. Within 15 weeks, Bonnie has successfully called the attention of the Steeds eight times, particularly when Olivia’s blood sugar levels went too low to be safe.

Though far from being a specified skill known to be trainable or inherent in dogs, Bonnie does well as a “diabetes attack alert system” for Olivia, who is simply glad to have a furry buddy who is keen over her safety above anything else.