Help Fund Toby's T1D Assistance Dog
Donation protected
TOBY & DOUGIE - Shortly before Dougie passed away

TOBY & DOUGIE - Getting to know each other.

My nephew Toby has Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), an auto-immune disease that means that Toby’s pancreas can no longer produce insulin. A normal body converts insulin into energy to process food, but Toby must be given insulin so that his little body continues to work properly. The goal of type 1 diabetes management is to keep blood glucose levels as close to the normal range as possible. It sounds easy, but in reality, this is very difficult to achieve, and potentially life threatening.
On top of that about 18 months ago Toby’s hearing started to deteriorate to that of an 80 year old, which resulted in him requiring double hearing aids to help him at school. An extremely difficult thing for any child to go through and yet Toby still carries on being the cheeky, handsome, jokester that will do anything to get a laugh from someone else.
At only nine now Toby (and his family) have overcome many challenges and obstacles to adapt to a new way of life living with T1D. Most recently Toby, his sister Annabel and his parents Raelee and Damien faced another blow in an already unfair situation - the death of what was to be Toby’s Assistance Dog, Dougie.
Dougie, the Assistance Dog was going to be a game changer for Toby’s diabetes and the stress that it puts on his family. Not only would Dougie be a companion for Toby, but he would be Toby’s lifeline – trained to detect the highs and lows in Toby’s blood sugar in a way that no machine can for Toby, making Dougie a literal life saver.
To Toby’s parents, my sister Raelee, and brother in law Damien (and not to forget Toby’s big sister Annabel) Dougie would be the protection for Toby that they could not provide 24 hours a day. A peace of mind that they could go to sleep at night knowing that Dougie would be watching over Toby and they didn’t have to worry about whether Toby would wake up the next morning – a true fear of every Type 1 Diabetic parent – and one that most other parents cannot fathom.
Raelee and Damien researched endlessly to find the perfect assistance dog for Toby and saved to get enough money to purchase him. He wasn’t just for Toby, he was a Christmas gift for the whole family. Every cent was spent on buying Dougie and getting him to Adelaide to be with them.
Unfortunately, Dougies promising life was cut short before he could even begin his Assistance Dog training. At 3 months old little Dougie contracted a bacterial infection and was taken to the Vet. His Kidneys where failing and his potassium levels were through the roof. The Vet and nurses tried to save Dougie, but his little body couldn’t cope and less than a week later Dougie had to be put to sleep.
Understandably Raelee, Damien, Annabel and Toby are devastated. They had fallen in love with this little pup but what is even more devastating is everything that little Dougie represented and the assistance that he would not only give Toby, but the entire family.
This is where YOU come in – This family cannot afford another assistance dog and needs your help and generous donations to make it happen. You have no idea what getting an Assistance Dog means to this family, who has been through more than you can possibly imagine in the past few years.
I am asking you to please donate what you can so that this family can buy another assistance dog. We need approx. $3,500, which will go towards the purchase of the dog and anything over that will go towards the dog’s assistance training (which can be up to $20k).
Anyone who knows this family KNOWS that it took me A LOT of convincing for them to reach out and ask for help but the fact they are letting me do this just shows you how important this is to them.
For more info about Type 1 Diabetes: https://www.jdrf.org.au/what-is-type-1-diabetes
For more info about Diabetic Assistance Dogs: https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/dogs
TOBY & DOUGIE - Getting to know each other.
My nephew Toby has Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), an auto-immune disease that means that Toby’s pancreas can no longer produce insulin. A normal body converts insulin into energy to process food, but Toby must be given insulin so that his little body continues to work properly. The goal of type 1 diabetes management is to keep blood glucose levels as close to the normal range as possible. It sounds easy, but in reality, this is very difficult to achieve, and potentially life threatening.
On top of that about 18 months ago Toby’s hearing started to deteriorate to that of an 80 year old, which resulted in him requiring double hearing aids to help him at school. An extremely difficult thing for any child to go through and yet Toby still carries on being the cheeky, handsome, jokester that will do anything to get a laugh from someone else.
At only nine now Toby (and his family) have overcome many challenges and obstacles to adapt to a new way of life living with T1D. Most recently Toby, his sister Annabel and his parents Raelee and Damien faced another blow in an already unfair situation - the death of what was to be Toby’s Assistance Dog, Dougie.
Dougie, the Assistance Dog was going to be a game changer for Toby’s diabetes and the stress that it puts on his family. Not only would Dougie be a companion for Toby, but he would be Toby’s lifeline – trained to detect the highs and lows in Toby’s blood sugar in a way that no machine can for Toby, making Dougie a literal life saver.
To Toby’s parents, my sister Raelee, and brother in law Damien (and not to forget Toby’s big sister Annabel) Dougie would be the protection for Toby that they could not provide 24 hours a day. A peace of mind that they could go to sleep at night knowing that Dougie would be watching over Toby and they didn’t have to worry about whether Toby would wake up the next morning – a true fear of every Type 1 Diabetic parent – and one that most other parents cannot fathom.
Raelee and Damien researched endlessly to find the perfect assistance dog for Toby and saved to get enough money to purchase him. He wasn’t just for Toby, he was a Christmas gift for the whole family. Every cent was spent on buying Dougie and getting him to Adelaide to be with them.
Unfortunately, Dougies promising life was cut short before he could even begin his Assistance Dog training. At 3 months old little Dougie contracted a bacterial infection and was taken to the Vet. His Kidneys where failing and his potassium levels were through the roof. The Vet and nurses tried to save Dougie, but his little body couldn’t cope and less than a week later Dougie had to be put to sleep.
Understandably Raelee, Damien, Annabel and Toby are devastated. They had fallen in love with this little pup but what is even more devastating is everything that little Dougie represented and the assistance that he would not only give Toby, but the entire family.
This is where YOU come in – This family cannot afford another assistance dog and needs your help and generous donations to make it happen. You have no idea what getting an Assistance Dog means to this family, who has been through more than you can possibly imagine in the past few years.
I am asking you to please donate what you can so that this family can buy another assistance dog. We need approx. $3,500, which will go towards the purchase of the dog and anything over that will go towards the dog’s assistance training (which can be up to $20k).
Anyone who knows this family KNOWS that it took me A LOT of convincing for them to reach out and ask for help but the fact they are letting me do this just shows you how important this is to them.
For more info about Type 1 Diabetes: https://www.jdrf.org.au/what-is-type-1-diabetes
For more info about Diabetic Assistance Dogs: https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/dogs
Organizer and beneficiary
Allira Newlands
Organizer
Heathfield SA
Raelee Basford
Beneficiary
