For 12-year-old Hailey Stumborg, her new dog is more than just a household pet.
Her dog, Quatchi, is a diabetic alert service dog for her Type 1 diabetes, meaning it has a very important job to do.
“When I go low, I can’t feel it, so I have a seizure. He alerts me when I’m low (or high).”
Quatchi will detect Hailey’s blood sugar levels by smelling her breathe and will alert her by jumping up onto her lap or chest.
He can detect blood sugar lower than 4.5 and anything higher than 12, says Hailey’s mom, Christine.
Anything under a 4 is at risk for a seizure for Hailey, who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 21 months old. Now at the age of 12, she is on an insulin pump and went from five injections a day to three injections a week.
Things are still difficult at times but it is something she has gotten used to. She still pokes herself 12 times a day, weighs out all her food, and cannot always eat what she wants when she is out with friends.
The dog, which they’ve now had for three months, is a piece of mind for Christine, who still wakes up in the middle of the night to check on Hailey and test her blood sugars. During the day, she knows Hailey is safe with Quatchi.
“It’s a good adjustment and we’re really lucky,” says Christine.
Quatchi is a working dog, so Hailey does have trouble when she is out in public with him.
“Taking him into stores is kind of awkward. People stare and try to pet him.”
It is clearly sewn into his vest that he is not to be petted because he is working 24 hours a day to keep Hailey safe.
“We don’t want to interrupt the job he is doing,” says Christine.
Even the rest of the family finds it hard not to pet and talk with him because he is such a sweet dog, says Christine, but even when he is at home he is working.
Hailey having this dog is hard for people to understand because her disability is not visible. For a 12-year-old, it is very hard for her to tell adults not to interact with Quatchi, says Christine.
“They can stop and ask questions and talk to her. They don’t have to be afraid to stop and talk to her but just remembering that he is a service dog and be respectful of the job he is doing for her will help her out tremendously.”
Inside the red vest is an identification card that is proof that Quatchi is a certified alert dog. And people can ask to see that, says Christine.
Anyone can find red vests online, she says, but the card shows that he is certified to be in every place in town, including the public areas of restaurants and grocery stores.
The Humboldt community has been very supportive of Quatchi, including St. Dominic where Hailey goes to school.
It was a presentation at her school with Gail Maki, who got her diabetic service dog from a company in the United States, that alerted Hailey and Christine that these dogs exist.
It took two years for Hailey to get her dog through the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program. The program has just under 900 clients across Canada right now that has a service dog from their program, says communications manager, Jenny Gladish.
Along with the diabetic alert dogs, these dogs also serve people who are blind, deaf, autistic, physically disabled, and epileptic.
In Saskatchewan, there are 30 dog guides from the program, but Hailey is the only one in Saskatchewan who has a diabetic service dog.
Through fundraising efforts by Richmound, Saskatchewan, who was looking for a Saskatchewan child to sponsor, the $25,000 dog did not cost the Stumborg family a cent.
To qualify, Hailey had to be over 10 years old and had to be having more than three lows a week. She was having way more than that, says Christine.
Gordon Ziegler is from the Richmound Lions Club that sponsored Quatchi.
The club already has donated six dogs to people who need them all across Canada. They were really happy when a dog went to someone from Saskatchewan.
