Cody and Devin
Devin Grayson has been battling insulin-dependent diabetes for over 20 years.
The disease has reached the point that she can’t always tell if her blood sugar is out of whack. If it gets too low and she doesn’t take action, she can go into a coma within 20 minutes.
Afraid to go out where something might happen, Devin was living an increasingly isolated life. Until Cody, that is.
Cody is specially trained by Dogs for Diabetics, a private, nonprofit organization that provides dogs at no cost to insulin-dependent diabetics.
Dogs for Diabetics runs on grants and donations. It has placed 70 dogs in the past four years and has 49 more in training.
Cody can smell the chemical changes in Devin’s body if her blood sugar is low. He alerts Devin, and gets a treat. If he can’t get a response from her, he’ll bring someone to her – what Devin calls “the Lassie effect.”
“He’s saved my life at least three times a month and saves me from being really ill about three times a week,” says Devin. No longer isolated, she goes everywhere with Cody.
