One Dog Saved My Life: Another Helped Me Invent a Way to Save Others

Scent detection dogs save lives and make awesome companions. photo: Dogs4Diabetics

Dogs are cuddly, loving, and full of surprises but only a handful of them make it into the Guinness World Records. This is a story about one dog who sparked an idea and another whose expert sniffing led to a medical breakthrough that today helps thousands of people worldwide.

It all began in 2001, on a chilly New York night, when my life was saved by an aspiring guide dog named Benton, whom I was training at the time. A Type 1 diabetic, I had forgotten to test my blood sugar level before I went to sleep, leading to a severe episode of hypoglycemia and a potential seizure. But Benton somehow sensed my distress and roused me from a dangerous slumber by nudging me until I woke up, saving me from a life-threatening situation.

This alarming episode ignited a thought. With my expertise in criminal forensic metrology and experience with breathalyzers, I wondered whether the same process could be used to detect blood sugar levels from a person's breath. And that thought led to an innovative hypothesis: what if dogs could be trained to identify hypoglycemia in humans through their breath and sweat?

That vision turned out to be groundbreaking. Combining my professional knowledge with my love for dogs would eventually lead to the creation of a life-saving solution for diabetics around the world. But first, I needed the right canine candidate to test my hypothesis. 

Enter Armstrong, a yellow Labrador Retriever who was released from the Guide Dogs for the Blind training program for being overly sniffy - an undesirable trait for a guide dog - but an incredible asset for detecting blood sugar changes through scent. Armstrong's heightened sense of smell made him the perfect candidate for my experimental training program aimed at teaching dogs to identify hypoglycemic episodes in humans.

After three years of self-funded research with Armstrong, I was able to validate my hypothesis, leading to the development of Dogs4Diabetics in 2004. This organization now trains and provides the highest-quality Diabetic Medical Alert Dogs to people living with Type 1 diabetes. The dogs' sharp sense of smell helps them detect low blood sugar levels in their human companion and the rigorous training process ensures that each dog can reliably alert that person to a potential hypoglycemic event, even before symptoms set in. This provides a life-saving safety net for individuals managing diabetes, and none of it would have been possible without Armstrong.

In 2015, Armstrong and I were recognized by the Guinness World Records, highlighting our contribution to the field of service dogs and the diabetes community. That was quite an honor, but nothing beats the immense joy of watching diabetics regain control over their lives, knowing they're safer with the alert dogs.

Since its humble beginnings, Dogs4Diabetics has trained and partnered nearly 300 dogs, maintaining stringent training standards and ensuring the absolute safety of every person partnered with one of our service dogs. The program has garnered worldwide recognition within the medical and service dog communities for its innovative approach and remarkable success.

This year, Dogs4Diabetics celebrates its 20th anniversary. Even more exciting, it has evolved into the National Institute of Canine Service & Training, an umbrella organization that today includes Dogs4Diabetics but also provides additional life-saving programs involving specially trained canines. These include First Response K-9s, a scent-based training program for First Responders with PTSD, and Love on Leashes, a program that pairs dogs with teenagers suffering from debilitating anxiety and depression. This expansion of scent detection dogs in various medical and psychological applications has significantly broadened our impact on people’s lives. 

We’ve come a long way since that chilly night in New York over two decades ago, but our research and training of medical alert dogs continues. If you’d like to support our work, learn how you can help at ourdogssavelives.org or join us for our annual fundraising walk on July 13 at Lafayette Reservoir (find details at Walk4Life.dog).

Dogs really do save lives. Here’s to Benton who saved my life once and to Armstrong whose contributions to science went on to save thousands more.