Odetta

Kathy and Odetta

My name is Kathy Allbright and I have lived with Type 1 diabetes for 27 years. That's about 50,000 finger pricks, 15,000 insulin shots and countless low blood sugars. I have developed a condition call Hypoglycemic Unawareness, which means that my blood sugar levels drop to dangerously low levels without me noticing, and if gone undetected can lead to disorientation or even a coma in as little as twenty minutes.

I applied to receive a hypoglycemic alert dog from Dogs for Diabetics. When I decided to fill out a D4D application I wondered how my life would change. How a dog could actually help make me feel more secure and aware of the dangerous lows that I could no longer feel. For as healthy and as active of a person as I am, I thought do I really need a service dog?

The answer after receiving a dog named Odetta last July is YES! Odetta has kept me from experiencing the daily low blood sugars that would typically leave me disoriented, panicked and scared to be alone. For the first time, in 27 years, I no longer experience this anxiety because Odetta keeps me safe in countless situations. Whether I am hiking, taking a spin class, swimming, driving, shopping, out at a restaurant or the theater she works diligently works to keep me safe. Odetta has also helped me feel more confident about my health, and brings smiles and amazement to people everywhere we go. I use to be shy about disclosing my diabetes, and in fact, some of my good friends had no idea. But since being paired with her, my relationship with my diabetes has changed. Now I am constantly telling people about my diabetes and what an amazing partner I have in Odetta.

I have made more friends and met more diabetics in last 7 months than I could have ever imagined. I also no longer experienced the depression and isolation that comes from managing this 24-hour disease. Odetta is the one good thing that has come from having diabetes. She truly amazes me. Once, she took my blood sugar kit out of my purse and threw it at my feet during a rapid low and just recently alerted on a vet technician who was diagnosed with diabetes a week later.

Odetta is my most faithful companion and the most valued gift I have ever received. Her dedication, playfulness and sweet kisses each morning have greatly improved my overall health and wellbeing in the short amount of time I have had her. She is truly my guardian angel!

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