Howdy!  My name is Ronnie Carson and I’m a type I diabetic.  Keesha was placed with me as my diabetic alert dog in February 2008.  I was first diagnosed around 1994.  I guess because I was an adult, the Doctor assumed I was type II.  He started me on the ol’ “diet and exercise” gig.  That did nothing for me, so he soon started me on oral medication.  Again, no change.  From oral medications, I quickly moved up in rank to insulin injections.
 
At first, I only took 2 injections per day.  One injection in the morning and one in the evening.  These were usually a mix of fast acting insulin along with slow acting insulin.  As my family Doctor struggled to refine that mix just for me, I would bounce from low blood sugar to high blood sugar and back.  I would go up or down 200 or 300 points between meals. 

I heard there was an Endocrinologist coming to Arkansas.  I had never even heard of an Endocrinologist.  I always called them, “Sugar Doctors.”  At that time, my A1c was 12.  I was desperate for a change so my family Doctor referred me to the Endo.  I had to drive 4 hours one way for each appointment (uphill both ways).  It was worth every mile I had to drive.  My family Doctor just didn’t have the skill and expertise that diabetes requires.

My Endocrinologist (after determining that I was a type I) worked out the mix of insulin for me and had me take 4 injections per day.  This seemed to be working better for me and my A1c dropped to 10.  However, my blood sugars would still bounce up and down at times.

In 1998, after a year or so of taking 4 injections per day, I asked my Endo about a new fangled invention called “an insulin pump.”  Well, turns out, it wasn’t as new as I thought it was.  I had just never heard of them before.  Anyway, the Endo thought I would be a perfect candidate for a pump.  He got me all fixed up with a pump and stuck me in the hospital for a few days until I learned how to use it.

I love using the pump.  I can sleep in if I want.  I don’t have to eat my meals at any set time.  Best of all, I only have to inject something into my skin once every 2 or 3 days.  Yes, the pump gave me more freedom, but… my blood sugars still bounced up and down.  When I say they still bounced, I mean they bounced 200 or 300 points between meals just as always.  Just not as often.  With the pump I was able to get my A1c down to 8.8.

I’ve been wearing the pump for over 15 years and my blood sugars are still up and down.  Something I’ve neglected to tell you is… I’m a Police Officer.  If you would, think about my job for a moment.  I have to protect and serve the public.  When my blood sugar drops, I get disoriented.  My decision making skills diminish greatly.  It’s a scary situation.  After all, I’ve got a gun.  I can not count on both my hands and feet the number of times my blood sugar has dropped while at work as I try to make it home or to the nearest convenience store for a snack.  I’m very fortunate that I haven’t hurt anyone or myself for that matter, driving in that condition.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Why don’t you just pull over and call for another Officer to come get you?”  That would be a very good idea, except where I work, my closest back up may be 30 minutes away.  I could be in a coma by the time they arrived.

After years of living like this I decided there must be a better way.  Somewhere, I heard about dogs being able to alert folks with diabetes.  I decided to do an internet search for, “Diabetic Alert Dogs.”  “Heaven Scent Paws”, was the first site I visited.

I read all the stories and looked at all the pictures of the Pawtners that had been placed.  I was sold!  I knew this was an answered prayer for me.  I filled out the online application on a Sunday evening and got a call from Heaven Scent Paws the next day.  I was surprised how quickly they got in touch with me.  Michele asked me if I understood I would have a dog with me 24/7.  “The dog will go everywhere you go… to the Store, to Church, to the Bathroom.”  It kinda felt like a marriage ceremony.  For richer and poorer, in sickness and in health.  I told her I understood.

Then Michele asked, “Since you’re a police officer, would you like us to cross train your dog for narcotic detection?”  Mamma come get yo child!  I’ve always wanted to be a K-9 cop.  After my wife picked me up off the floor I replied, “Yes, please.”

Everything was going great except I was real worried about coming up with my part of the donations.  After all, it just doesn’t look right for a cop to go around asking folks for money.  Some would think that would give them a “get outta jail free” card if they donated money to a cop.  Looky here, don’t ever underestimate what God can do.  He provided that money I needed through some wonderful folks, and the Lord will bless them for their generosity.

Well, February 2008 rolled around and I was off to Jefferson City, Missouri.  I had 2 months worth of medications and infusion sets packed along with a weeks worth of clothes (and my ol’ brown hat).  I was strung tighter than Anna Kournikova’s tennis racket.  Let’s just say, “I made good time” and leave it at that.

Folks, I ain’t gonna sugar coat the class for you.  It is very demanding.  Once you get your dog… it’s your dog.  You gotta get up early to potty and feed it.  One thing you might want to remember is, when you get up in the morning, your dog ain’t gonna wanna wait for you to get all slicked up just to take them potty.  Get your tail up and take the dog out.  Then you can go back to your room (if you remembered your key) and get yourself ready.

Try to be on time for class.  You don’t want to miss any training if you can help it.  You know Murphy’s Law.  “Any thing that can happen…will happen.”  As soon as you miss a training session, that’ll be the first problem you will encounter when you get back home.

Be positive and confident.  Dogs can sense when something is bothering you.  Dogs naturally are pack animals.  By that I mean their social structure is a pack.  Each dog in the pack has his or her place in the hierarchy.  You, as the handler, are going to be the dogs new Alpha, or Boss.  Think about it for a second.  Do you work better for someone who’s on top of the world and confident or someone who’s always questioning authority and unsure of what their doing is the best way.

Another thing, when you think you’ve got “down time”, don’t go take a nap.  Take your dog to the mall or somewhere and work with them on basic obedience.  Michele asked me one day, “how long do you and Keesha train in a day?”  To be honest I didn’t know how to answer that because everything you do with your dog is training!  I mean every, cotton pickin’, little thing!  You’re either training your dog work better for you or your training your dog how to get over on you.  I’m not saying don’t let them rest.  But you are the one who tells them when it’s time to rest.  Which brings me to another point, it’s very important to recognize when your dog is tired so you can end the training session on a good note.  You’ll learn all this in time.

I could write for hours on dog training, this class and how the real work begins when you get home, but I’ll leave you with these last few thoughts.  Keesha catches about 95% of my lows about 20 minutes before I ever feel them.  When my blood sugar starts climbing and gets around 150, she lets me know.  In the first 6 weeks of having her, my A1c dropped from 8.8 to 8.4.  To me, Keesha really is Heaven Sent.

• Ronnie
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