 a furry companion and lifesaver life with a diabetes alert dog by mac causey i ve always been a fan of the go with the flow outlook on life and my diagnosis did not change that sure i see more needles in a day than most people my age see in a year but that doesn t stop me from doing the things i love yes there are challenges but it takes more than a faulty pancreas to stop me i still surf skate go out and love my life it s safe to say that being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes t1d was the hardest hit i ve taken in my life t1d threw me and my family for a loop and although life would be easier without it this disease has opened me up to new experiences that i never would have had before my diagnosis the most important of these new experiences is undoubtedly my diabetes alert dog dad annabelle she is my furry shadow my best friend and i can t see my life without her i had experience with alert dogs even before my diagnosis my mom becky causey is president of the diabetes alert dog alliance and even before that i had several dogs in the house while i was growing up it only made sense that i would get an alert dog now almost 4 years later i can t even fathom not having a dad annabelle follows me around the house and out in public like she and i are attached at the hip when i don t have her beside me it s the same feeling as if i forgot my phone mac s experience with alert dogs although different and more intimate than most is not entirely unique in an  mlive article  a 13yearold grand blanc student named joseph talks about pepsi his labradoodle and diabetes alert dog pepsi goes everywhere with joseph including basketball games friends birthday parties and especially during the nighttime hours when blood glucose levels often dip dangerously low jedi a labrador is another diabetes alert dog who takes care of an 8yearold boy named luke in an  article  by the huffington post the miraculous experience of jedi saving luke s life is explained in the middle of the night luke s levels dropped extremely low and as he was trained to do jedi woke luke s parents to let them know these stories are just a few examples of the profound impact that a diabetes alert dog can make on a person s life this impact comes in many forms particularly in their ability to recognize when the person is in danger but also the companionship love and support that service dogs and pets provide us  