The four-legged alarm signal - dogs that save lives

By Silke Katenkamp Apr 8, 2010, 12:02 GMT

Hamburg - German Spitz dog Bella saved her first life at 4.30 one morning.

Her owner, Felix Mueller, recalls that Bella suddenly began to get agitated as he lay in bed with his wife. 'Bella scratched my arms and stomach until it hurt.'

He was irritated with his dog at first but Mueller, who is a diabetic, then measured his blood sugar level. He discovered he was dangerously low on sugar and at risk of going unconscious.

Thanks to Bella's early warning signal Mueller was able to get glucose into his body in time. 'If I had continued sleeping, I would not have noticed anything. Bella probably saved my life.'

Bella is a Hypoglycaemic Alert Dog, as they are called by experts, and can sniff out if a person has too much or too little sugar in their bloodstream. A study conducted last year by Queen's University in Belfast found that two-thirds of 212 people with diabetes had said their pets reacted by barking or licking when their blood sugar levels were too low.

Mueller has been a type-1 diabetic since he was 12-years-old. In type-1 diabetes, the body no longer produces the important hormone insulin. Mueller must inject himself with insulin for the rest of his life and measure his blood sugar level several times a day.

If he misreads the result, or fails to recognize the symptoms of low sugar in time, he can become unconscious, or, in the worst case, fall into a coma. 'The underlying fear that that could happen is with me all the time,' he says.

Dogs have been trained for many years in the US to raise an alarm if their owner is at risk. But in European countries such as Germany, instruction is still at the initial stage. At an obedience school in Osnabruck, 20 Hypoglycaemic Alert Dogs are due to complete a training course by the summer.

Getting a dog in Osnabruck was too expensive for the Muellers, so they decided to train their own dog at a centre in Uelsby in northern Germany. The Muellers now plan to help other diabetics instruct dogs.

'The training programme is similar to that of a drug detecting dog,' explains Anna Sophie Mueller. 'When the body's blood sugar level changes, sweat and breath odour change as well.' The dogs are trained to react to this difference in smell.

'We preserved clothing that my husband had worn while he was low on sugar and repeatedly held it under Bella's nose.' Bella then learned to recognize the odour and issue a signal. 'When things get serious she starts scratching my husband,' says Mrs Mueller.

That is something Bella is not normally allowed to do. Felix Mueller trusts his dog completely and Bella sleeps close to him every night. Bella also frequently accompanies him to work. 'The dog gives me a great feeling of security.'

Berit Quass, of Schwerin in north-eastern Germany, has a similar story to tell. Their eight-year-old son Arnold has been a type-1 diabetic since he was two. 'I used to get up every night to check on Arnold and measure his blood sugar level,' she says.

Today, the family can sleep soundly, since Labrador Lulu has been looking after Arnold for almost a year. The 18-month-old dog is currently undergoing training at the school in Osnabruck. The programme will cost the Quass family 23,000 dollars by the time it finishes in the summer. But, in the meantime, Lulu is already looking after Arnold.

'Lulu sleeps beside Arnold's bed. When his blood sugar level falls too low, she raises the alarm,' says Berit Quass.

That is not just a source of great relief for her: 'Lulu has grown to become very important for Arnold.' In the past Quass would never have left her son alone. 'When Arnold goes to the cinema or visits friends I can stay at home without having to worry. Lulu is looking after him.'

The Quass family want as many diabetics as possible to benefit from Hypoglycaemic Alert Dogs and are campaigning to have the cost of training paid for by health insurance companies - just as they pay for guide dogs for the blind to be trained at the moment.

Berit Quass has begun a legal bid with this aim. However, she does not expect a quick victory: 'It took decades before the benefit of having a guide dog was recognized.'