Diabetic Alert Dog Delivered to 10-Year-Old Boy with Type 1 Diabetes in Ontario, Canada

Holland Centre, Canada, August 21, 2018 --(PR.com)-- Easton, a 10-year-old boy in Ontario, Canada, received a very special delivery today of his 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 Easton - Type 1 Diabetes. SDWR has hundreds of working service dogs placed around the globe. SDWR is currently serving approximately 1,000 families.

Elmer, a yellow 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.

Elmer 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. Elmer is named in honor of fallen hero Patrolman Jackson Dee Elmer of Murray Police Department in Utah who was struck and killed by a car while investigating an accident in 1987. Elmer’s work as a Diabetic Alert Service Dog with Easton will carry on in memoriam of Officer Elmer’s life of service before self.

Easton was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 18 months. Along with diabetic management, his family is hoping that a service dog will also help assist with noticing and helping alleviate Easton’s anxiety. They believe that Elmer will help manage and control sugar imbalances and avoid Easton’s hypo and hyperglycaemic episodes. Easton’s parents are hopeful that with the addition of a service dog it will ease some of the stressful factors involved with raising a diabetic child and provide a sense of independence and security to Easton.

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 Elmer is a service dog and covered under laws in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he will be able to accompany Easton and his family everywhere - from school, to grocery shopping, even to hockey practice.

During the upcoming 18 months, SDWR will return to Easton’s home every 3-4 months to continue working on Elmer’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 Easton 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 a 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/.