Alert dog is live-saving companion

BY MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
Monday, November 22, 2010
11/22/10 at 4:22 PM

A sign hangs in Robin Martinet's classroom at Eisenhower International Elementary, a Tulsa language immersion school where the second-grade French teacher relies on her service dog, Cody, to alert her to fluctuations in the diabetic's blood sugar.

Written in French, the sign declares:

"Service dog in the classroom. Help him to do his work well. Don't touch the dog. Don't look him in the eye. Don't talk to the dog. And do not give him anything. He has an important job to do!"

Martinet, which is pronounced Martin-ay, has a form of Type 1 diabetes that leaves her without any physical symptoms to warn her of spikes or drops in her blood sugar. Martinet keeps her blood sugar balanced to remain energetic, focused and efficient. A drop in blood sugar, though, can be life-threatening if it is not treated.

Martinet has an insulin pump connected to her body. It delivers regular amounts of insulin, a hormone that regulates the metabolism of glucose and other nutrients. She also relies on a digital glucometer to measure her glucose levels via tiny finger-pricks of blood.

Beyond Martinet's medical devices, and her healthful diet, the 48-year-old relies on Cody, the service dog she trained herself.

Cody can smell a chemical change in Martinet's body that indicates blood sugar fluctuations. He alerts Martinet of such a change by pawing at her body if her blood sugar dips or nudging her with his nose to indicate a spike.

Depending on her glucometer results, Martinet will then drink milk or juice kept in her small classroom refrigerator, or nibble on a healthful snack.

Cody, who just turned 5 years old, is a bit shy and often prefers to relax in his pet carrier during class.

He usually only emerges from his pet carrier several times a day to alert Martinet.

Despite his usefulness, Martinet made it clear that Cody is just another tool. She tests her blood sugar with her glucometer now more than she did before training Cody more than four years ago.

Martinet taught herself to train a diabetic alert dog after researching a variety of methods to train animals to, among other things, sniff out drugs and explosives. From there, Martinet trained her border collie, Chance, to sniff out the chemical changes in her body via a ball stuffed with a piece of material that smelled of Martinet's breath or clothing.

Chance's intestinal health issues, however, prevented him from being a classroom service dog. Soon, a worthy new student emerged.

Every dog has his destiny

Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans in 2005, provided the answer: Her name was Katie. Katie survived the hurricane, then found her way to Tulsa via the Humane Society of Tulsa.

Martinet, and her daughter, Morgane Martinet, fostered Katie in 2005. A few weeks later, Katie gave birth to nine puppies in the Martinets' kitchen. Cody was the only white pup among his eight brown siblings. Martinet kept Cody, who seemed a bit more attentive than the others, after finding homes for Cody's brothers and sister. Katie, too, had to go, because she didn't get along with Martinet's female spaniel, Gypsy.

During obedience training, Martinet also began training Cody to be her diabetic alert dog. Cody took to the training quickly. Soon, the dog understood that when Martinet called him from another room by saying "Paw," Cody would paw his owner, whose blood sugar had fallen, to receive a treat.

Eventually, Martinet trained Cody to alert her to a spike in blood sugar by nudging her.

These days, Martinet's other two dogs have caught onto the game. Actually, Chance is known to wake Martinet in the night to alert her to blood sugar drops, while Cody remains fast asleep at the foot of the bed.

Thinking about Cody, Martinet said, "He is so good at what he does for me."

Susan Hartman, executive director of Therapetics Service Dogs of Oklahoma, said a diabetic alert dog like Cody is "a tremendous benefit to an individual who has diabetes."

Unfortunately, Hartman said that "there are not nearly enough organizations across the nation training service dogs of any type, whether it be guide dog or diabetic alert dog to meet the need."

After all, as Hartman said, "Based on the number of phone calls we get, I would say that the awareness of the benefit that a diabetic alert dog can provide is growing."

For more information about diabetic alert dogs, and to receive a referral to out-of-state organizations that offer diabetic alert dogs, call Therapetics Service Dogs of Oklahoma at (918) 270-4226. Original Print Headline: Beyond a best friend

Matt Gleason 581-8473
matt.gleason@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

French teacher Robin Martinet, who has diabetes, sits in her classroom with her service dog, Cody, at Eisenhower International school in Tulsa. Cody helps Martinet control her diabetes by alerting her when she has high or low blood sugar. The dog can smell a chemical given off by Martinet when either of those conditions occur. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World