My name is Lisa-Marie. I work as a teacher; I teach preschoolers who have disabilities. I am a docent at Columbia State Park and a participant of the Northern California Renaissance Faire. I am also a diabetic. I was diagnosed with diabetes about thirteen years ago. I work hard to manage my diabetes while living my life to its fullest. I have a great medical team, I take insulin, and I use a continuous glucose monitor (mine is a Dexcom G7). I am adding a service dog to my team, in an effort to provide myself with an additional tool to help manage my diabetes. Her name is Zao (pronounced ZAY-oh).

Zao will be trained as a Diabetic Alert Dog. You might ask why I want to have a dog when I already use a continuous glucose monitor. My glucose monitor is a great tool; it provides both myself and my endocrinologist with valuable information. However, I sometimes miss its alerts in busy environments. I have also slept through its alerts at night. A Diabetic Alert Dog's sensitive nose will alert to changes in my blood sugar. She will also be trained to alert me to the alarms on my Dexcom. Diabetic Alert Dogs often alert to blood sugar trends before the glucose monitor recognizes them. This will be especially helpful to me, as I typically don't feel my lows until I am dangerously low.

I am fundraising for costs associated with raising and training a Diabetic Alert Dog. Raising and training a service dog takes a village. The money raised will go towards purchasing a variety of tools needed for Zao. Zao will require many things that a typical puppy needs such as food, vet care, dog insurance, a kennel to keep her safe at night, beds, and of course, toys. She will also need items to facilitate her training; for example, she will need scent containers, training courses, vests, books, and many tools to help her to be prepared to go out into the community.

Please consider helping Zao and myself to increase my independence, confidence, and improve my life as a diabetic.