Resident Feature

Is there room in your heart for a Diabetic Alert Dog-in-Training?

Grace and EAC Ophelia are partners with superpowers as they manage Grace’s Type 1 diabetes.

For more than a decade, Early Alert Canines (EAC) has advanced its mission to improve the health, safety, and well-being of people with insulin-dependent diabetes through partnerships with certified low blood sugar alert dogs. EAC was founded as a response to a growing need for Diabetic Alert Dogs and a particularly unmet need for families with young diabetic children. EAC believes that Service Dogs should be housed in a warm, loving environment, which means each of their dogs goes to a foster home every night. EAC provides training and supplies for fosters and offers short-term, long-term, and transitional home options. They work with each foster to find a schedule that suits their availability.

“EAC has been a great organization to volunteer with. The staff has just been so kind and fun and we love the dogs. We love supporting EAC and it’s been fantastic. For anyone considering fostering for EAC, I would say it is a wonderful opportunity. It is a win-win situation for all. It is such a wonderful program and the work the dogs do literally saves their person’s life. The dog has a very big, important purpose, and you become part of that,” shares a long-time foster.

EAC Ophelia provides the life-saving support of a Diabetic Alert Dog to her partner Grace

In addition to fostering, lending your professional expertise is a great way to support EAC. They are in search of volunteers to help with fundraising, marketing, and events. Brady Thomas is an international award-winning photographer whose landmark studio is located in Benicia, CA. She recently volunteered her time to capture the unique story of an 11-year-old and her Diabetic Alert Dog. “Clients often come to me to help them celebrate and document a milestone: A special birthday, anniversary, graduation, adoption, engagement, pregnancy, retirement, accomplishment, or the simple beauty of a relationship. I was inspired to assist EAC to tell the story of the very special partnership between a child and her Diabetic Alert Dog. This organization is doing deeply important work for clients who live with insulin-dependent diabetes, and before I met them, I had no idea that Diabetic Alert Dogs even existed! The dogs are matched with clients very carefully and as I understand it, as soon as this duo was paired they bonded immediately, and ever since, the dog has been saving this young girl’s life every single day,” shares Brady.

EAC relies on donations and sponsorship to fund its programs, believing that any client who needs their service should have access without significant barriers. Their annual Summer Virtual Walk will be held the weekend of June 3-5, 2022, and people are invited to participate and walk from anywhere in the community! More information can be found on their website: www.EarlyAlertCanines.org. Or visit them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter. To learn more about Brady Thomas Photography, visit www.bradythomasphotography.com.