Diabetic Alert Dog Delivered to 15-Year-Old Girl with Type 1 Diabetes in Rockford, IL

Rockford, IL, July 03, 2018 --(PR.com)-- RuthAnne, a 15-year-old girl living in Rockford, IL, received a very special delivery today of her very own Diabetic Alert Service Dog from Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers. Based in Madison, Virginia, Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers, or "SDWR," has a mission to provide specially-bred and trained dogs for people of all ages that struggle with living with invisible disabilities such as Autism, PTSD, Seizure Disorders, or in the case of RuthAnne - Type 1 Diabetes. In 2017, SDWR reached a milestone of having over 600 service dogs working around the globe. SDWR is currently serving approximately 1,000 families.

Dove, a labrador retriever Diabetic Alert Dog, has already received countless hours of training through SDWR’s service dog raiser program where volunteers raise puppies in training for approximately one year. The dogs and raisers must follow through the foundation and skill set training provided through SDWR trainers at the facility in Virginia.

Dove is also an honored graduate of the SDWR Fallen Officer Puppy Program. The Fallen Officer Puppy Program, also known as "FOPP," is an initiative by SDWR to pay respect to the legacy of service by fallen American police who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Dove is named in honor of fallen hero Police Officer III Siegfred D. R. "Dove" Mortera, III of the Guam Police Department. Officer Mortera passed away on February 11, 2015, after suffering a fatal heart attack at Eagles Field while participating in his department's SWAT training. Dove’s work as a Diabetic Alert Service Dog with RuthAnne will carry on in memoriam of Officer Mortera’s life of service before self.

RuthAnne was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 11-years-old. RuthAnne doesn’t clearly recognize her high or low blood sugar levels. This can become especially dangerous while she is sleeping since she doesn’t sense her fluctuating blood sugar. RuthAnne and her family are extremely hopeful that with the arrival of Diabetic Alert Dog, Dove, it will give her peace of mind knowing that her service dog is there to alert her to highs and lows in her blood sugar range especially in the middle of the night while she is sleeping.

SDWR uses a proprietary scent training method to teach Diabetic Alert Dogs to detect fluctuations in blood sugar that fall outside of a handler’s healthy range. Since Dove is a service dog and covered under laws in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he will be able to accompany RuthAnne and her family everywhere - from tennis practice, to hiking, even to school and to concerts.

During the upcoming 18 months, SDWR will return to RuthAnne’s home every 3-4 months to continue working on Dove’s customized training, follow up training and training the human to make a successful team and public access certification. This certification can only be given to RuthAnne after a progression of hard work and dedication to the SDWR training program. This training program is what sets SDWR apart from other nonprofit service dog organizations.

Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers is a nonprofit organization based in Madison, Virginia, and relies on donations to help the organization in its mission, “Until there’s a cure...there’s a dog.” To make or donation or learn more about SDWR, please visit the website, www.sdwr.org. To learn more about Diabetic Alert Service Dogs visit www.sdwr.org/service-dogs/diabetic-alert/. To learn more about SDWR’s Fallen Officer Puppy Program visit www.sdwr.org/fallen-officer-puppy-program/.