Thankful: 8 Amazing Pet Stories

There are dogs specifically trained to alert diabetics to chemical changes and blood sugar spikes and Jeff Dempsey had just gotten a yellow lab puppy to be trained for that purpose. The 44-year-old has been living with Diabetes for 41 years. As an engineer, the Mill Creek, Wash., resident’s work life and quality of life was diminished when he could not climb ladders or even be left home alone due to his condition.

“Paramedics were called to my job six times during the past year,” Dempsey told Petside.com. Cooper had just begun training at the Service Dog Academy in Seattle when he alerted Dempsey for the first time. “I tested and my sugar was high, not low,” says Dempsey. “My co-workers were teasing me that maybe he wasn’t working right and I started even having my doubts.”

But Cooper was persistent in his alert and Dempsey tested again 30 minutes later, revealing a blood sugar level of 80, it had dropped 75 points and was still falling. By then, Dempsey’s co-workers had left and had he passed out, no one would have been there to call for help. “I’m thankful that I have a companion and a friend who can help me,” says Dempsey. “And I’m thankful for the training that teaches us how to do this.”