The Story Of Sadie, The Girl With Down Syndrome And The Dog That Takes Care Of Her
Sadie is 4 years old and a beautiful girl with Down Syndrome who always lives attached to a 4-legged angel. The little girl suffers from type 1 diabetes and this dog watches over her health and safety at all times. Since he has been with her, emergency visits to the hospital have been reduced and his parents live much more calmly.
Having a child with Down syndrome is not easy. It is not for a very specific reason: they are creatures with many health problems And if there is something that families worry about, it is to always give them the best attention, to ensure their well-being and because their incredible smiles are never erased from their faces.
Sadie Brooks came into the world in 2012 after a difficult delivery and many days in an incubator. To this day, he suffers from respiratory problems and a diabetes that kept his parents until not long ago, in constant tension. They feared a horrible panic that they would lose her at any moment, that her illness would take her out of their lives unfairly, tragically.
However, their lives took a 180ยบ turn when Hero, this beautiful Labrador retriever with a wise look and patient attitude, came to them to take care of what they love the most : his little Sadie. We tell you his story below.
The fear of losing a child
We are sure that many moms and dads will understand this same situation. When our children come into the world with a disease, the most common thing is to feel anger and disappointment at first. Why has it touched us? Some wonder.
Assuming a genetic condition or abnormality forces many parents to grieve first.
Later, that acceptance arrives and soon, a wonderful armor is melted over their hearts that only has one purpose: to love that creature and give everything for her, to make her life incredible, intense, wonderful and everything special that one can get.
Sadie has the best parents you could wish for, but for a time they feared losing her. They were afraid that these changes in their sugar levels would take her away from one moment to the next and therefore they decided to take the step, to seek help.
The arrival of a puppy and love at first sight
Michelle and Greg, Sadie’s parents, found a Facebook group of diabetic alert dogs. Just a few days later, little Hero was introduced to little Sadie, and the crush was immediate. As they explain, an instant bond of affection was established between the girl and the dog.
Hero, knew what his role was: to attend to that girl and Sadie, for her part, far from seeing an animal or a simple dog, saw a friend. Then, and over the course of 6 months, the puppy finished its training and began to detect both the highs and lows of the girl’s sugar at all times.
- For dogs, high blood sugar is similar to the smell of rotten fruit.
- A low level resembles the smell of metal.
The continuous punctures decreased: Sadie already had quality of life
At first, the girl’s parents continued to poke the little girl on a regular basis to avoid sugar spikes. They knew that going down or going up meant going to the ER and wondering if the girl was going to be able to overcome it or not.
They lived in constant panic, in fact, they even took turns at night in case the girl needed them. Until little by little, Hero showed them that his nose was NEVER failing.
The way this Lab alerts parents is simply amazing: He walks up to them directly and puts his left paw on his hands or nudges them with his nose if Greg or Michelle are standing. Then, just react. And they do it calmly, because Hero is there and never fails.
Your guardian angel even in the distance
This news was published in various media, especially in specialized diabetes magazines. In December 2015, when Sadie was at her school and almost four miles away from Hero, the dog started to get nervous and get Michelle’s attention.
Scared, she ended up calling the school to ask about the girl and to ask them if they could please give Sadie a sugar test. Indeed, as curious, strange and astonishing as it may seem, his levels had dropped and he needed his medicine.
Hero had done it again. Regardless of the distance. This 4-legged hero will watch over the health of his little human sister for a long, long time. We are glad of it.
