Help Sawyer Get a Life-Saving Diabetic Alert Dog

Two years ago, on August 4, 2022, Sawyer, at the age of 6, was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, a chronic life-threatening disease that has no cure. As Sawyer's mom, I watched his life change forever on that day. I watched the tears that fell as he got his first shots in the hospital and I watched him walk out of the hospital as a Type 1 Warrior.

Sawyer has taken this diagnosis in stride. He endured over six months of 4-5 shots a day, he has had two additional hospital visits, he has had to sit out of his sports and extracurricular activities because of low blood sugar, he has to count carbs for everything he eats and is constantly monitoring his sugars. Sawyer never gets a day off from his diagnosis and he never will.

That is why we are asking for your help in getting Sawyer a Diabetic Alert Dog. I know a lot of people are asking why a dog when he has a continuous glucose monitor. My biggest fear is going to sleep at night and not hearing his life-saving alarms. Imagine going to sleep at night worried that you won't hear your child's monitors go off and the very real, life-threatening consequences of that. If Sawyer's sugar drops too low, it can cause seizures, a coma, and even death. If Sawyer's sugar is too high, he can end up in DKA which is also life-threatening. A few weeks ago, his sugar skyrocketed at night due to a pump malfunction and he ended up with ketones from the lack of insulin. All of this is a lot for anyone, let alone an 8-year-old to have to worry about. But he does worry, and has a very real, constant fear of ending up back at the hospital.

At this point, Sawyer has never woken up to an alarm and this dog will be specifically trained to wake up Sawyer and/or get help. The dog will be trained to not give up until someone is alerted to Sawyer's blood sugar emergency. This could literally save his life. The dog will also be trained to sniff out Sawyer's sugar while Sawyer is dancing on stage, playing baseball, at the beach, or at the pool. These are all times when it is difficult to monitor his sugar and it will allow Sawyer to be more like any other kid out there.

Just this past week, Sawyer asked to spend the night at Grandma's house but the answer had to be no. There was no gurantee that his grandparent's would hear his alarms in the middle of the night and that is not a risk that he can take. This dog would allow him to spend the night at his grandparents, at his friends house! It will be able to sniff out high and low sugar before his continous glucose monitor alerts us. This will help him treat his highs and lows before they get too serious which will help him feel better and not experience as many of the high highs and low lows.

Will this dog cure his diabetes? Of course not, but it will make his life with diabetes easier to manage. As a mom, that is all I can ask for. I can't take away diabetes from him, but I can do my best to make sure he gets to live his best life. We appreciate any little bit that you can give to help Sawyer get this amazing animal! We will keep you posted as the process unfolds and hopefully you will see Sawyer walking around with his new dog soon!

This is what the money will be used for:

$500 helps us secure the dog

$8,500 is needed when the dog is picked up ( it usuallly takes 6 months to train the dog)

Then the rest can be paid over the next year.

We are using Diabetic Alert Dogs of America located in Las Vegas. They will train the dog for us for about six months to a year and then they deliver the dog to us. When they deliver the dog. they stay for a few days to help us learn to train the dog.