Diabetic Alert Dog Delivered to 8-Year-Old Girl in Sand Lake, MI

Sand Lake, MI, November 15, 2018 --(PR.com)-- Nevaeh, a 8-year-old in Sand Lake, Michigan, received a very special delivery 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 Nevaeh - Diabetes. SDWR has hundreds of working service dogs placed around the globe and is currently serving approximately 1,000 families.

Dahl, 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.

Dahl 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. Dahl is named in honor of fallen hero Officer Mark Dahl of the Irving Police Department in Texas who was killed in a motorcycle crash. Dahl’s work as a Diabetic Alert Service Dog with Nevaeh will carry on in memoriam of Officer Dahl’s life of service before self.

Nevaeh was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 1-year-old. Nevaeh’s family hopes that a service dog will be able to alert them when she is sleeping and in between checks. “Night time is the most stressful time,” says Penelope, Nevaeh’s mother. Nevaeh’s family is optimistic that with the addition of a service dog it will help make their lives a little easier and provide a sense of independence and security.

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 Dahl is a service dog and covered under laws in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he will be able to accompany Nevaeh and her family everywhere - from playing outside, to traveling on trips, even to school.

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