When
Rebecca Farrar was four years old she contracted a virus which, in
her mother’s words, “killed her pancreas”.
Hampered
by a serious form of type one diabetes, little Rebecca’s world
changed forever as she and her family battled to keep a check on her
blood sugar levels. Unable to detect when her blood sugar was too
high or low, at her worst Rebecca would collapse repeatedly, slipping
into unconsciousness.
Her
mother Claire Farrar, from Harpole, recalled: “I had to give up
work as I couldn’t leave her with anyone, she would just collapse.
She needs at least four injections a day, every day. Some days she
could collapse two or three times a day.”
But
then Shirley came along; a medical alert dog who is now the
seven-year-old’s constant companion.
Shirley’s
amazing nose for trouble enables her to smell an increase in
Rebecca’s sugar levels, allowing teachers and family members to
leap into action at the first sign of danger. Three-year-old
labrador-cross Shirley, who was trained by the charity Medical
Detection Dogs, hit the headlines when it was revealed that she and
Rebecca had been nominated in the Crufts Friends For Life category.
The
family has also been told that Shirley has reached the final of the
News
of the World
Children’s Champion Awards.
Watching
Shirley lolling upside down by a fire in the family’s living room,
it is hard to imagine she is any different from any other dog. But as
soon as Claire puts the canine heroine into her ‘medical alert dog’
jacket, a transformation takes place. Shirley stands to attention and
has a pair of devoted eyes trained on Rebecca at any given moment.
Having
a dog which such amazing skills as Shirley’s has made a huge
difference to the Farrars.
Claire
said: “It all happened because my brother saw an advert in his
local paper for foster families for hypo alert dogs. They came out
and vetted the house to make sure it was suitable for a dog and they
wrote to the hospital to make sure Rebecca was diabetic.
“Within
12 months – there was a 12-month waiting list – they found a dog
suitable.”
The
impact of Shirley’s presence was immediate.
Claire
recalled: “We went on holiday and Shirley came for two weeks.
During this time Rebecca was at a disco and Shirley got up and
started licking her and licking her. We did a sugar test and she had
gone down to 3.1. It has made a big difference. We haven’t had to
phone the paramedics once since we had her.
“Shirley
goes to school with Rebecca from 9am to midday and when she is in
class with her she is as good as gold.
“Last
Friday Rebecca was at school when her levels went down to 3.1 so
Shirley started licking Rebecca. They gave her some Coke and a
Kit-Kat and then she went up to 21.2, her sugar levels can go just
like that. She can leave for school in the morning and be 9.5 and by
10am be down to 2.8.
“It
was frightening at night, she would go to sleep and I would think
‘will she wake up?’ Before we had Shirley, I did not know if she
would.
“Now
Shirley sleeps next to Rebecca’s bed so she will wake her up if
anything is wrong and Rebecca will come in to me. It is a big relief
now and peace of mind.
“She
cost about £10,000 to train but Shirley is worth more than that to
me.”
Claire
said she would now like to see more understanding about medical alert
dogs within the general public.
She
said; “We have had a few problems with restaurants. You can’t
refuse a medical alert dog access anywhere, in the same way as guide
dogs, but we have had a few problems with restaurants who have said
‘you can’t come in here with the dog.’ One area manager even
had to write and apologise to me recently.”
But
for all the misunderstandings, there have also been companies which
have understood and supported Shirley’s work with Rebecca.
Claire
said; “I would like to say a particular thank you to Vets 4 Pets in
St James as they have sponsored her with her treatment and
‘vaccinations for life.’”
More
about Medical Assistance Dogs:
IT was
1989 when an article in The Lancet described the mysterious case of a
woman whose dog showed a persistent interest in a mole on her leg.
Doctors
checked out her skin condition and she was found to have malignant
melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer.
This
is just one of many anecdotes in which animals have sniffed out
potentially fatal illnesses.
In
2004, experts behind the charity now known as Medical Assistance
Dogs, based near Milton Keynes, published their first joint study in
the British Medical Journal, demonstrating for the first time that
dogs can be trained to identify the odour of bladder cancer in urine.
The charity was later formed.
The
organisation’s ground-breaking work in the detection of human
disease by dogs continues today and it is currently working with
universities and hospitals to try to pinpoint the potential animals
can have in assisting medics to identify disease.
Claire
Guest, chef executive director of operations at Medical Assistance
Dogs, explained: “We were the first people to discover that cancer
has a unique odour and we discovered that other diseases have unique
odours too.
“We
quickly realised that dogs seem to be able to detect these changes.”
These
dogs work for two or three days a week and are not placed with
clients but in another, separate strand to the charity’s work dogs
like Shirley are placed with clients to help raise medical alerts.
Dogs
trained by the charity now work all over the country to help clients
manage conditions such as allergic reactions, diabetes and Addison’s
disease.
Offering
a unique service like this means there is now a three year waiting
list for dogs, but Claire hopes the future will be a time of
expansion for the charity. She explained that the training process
for dogs works through a reward system.
Claire
said: “As far as they are concerned, they are learning that certain
odours are rewarding. It take about four months to do the advanced
odour work.
“Labradors
and Labrador-crosses are very good with this kind of work but other
breeds can also be very good. We had a Yorkie called Poppy who was a
very successful dog, I’m sure we can train many dogs to do odour
recognition.
“The
type of dog we need is the kind who wants to sit with you. Shirley
was a guide dog not considered suitable because she failed in puppy
walking as she was so inquisitive, but that is fantastic for us.”
The
idea that disease has an odour is no new one and, before modern
medical technology came in, even doctors would use their sense of
smell to identify illnesses, according to Claire.
She
said: “Physicians used to use odour as a way of recognising certain
conditions. It has been said that some people could smell TB so the
idea that diseases give off odours isn’t new.”
Currently
the charity has 18 assistance dogs working in different parts of the
country, and the waiting list is growing.
Claire
said: “We are desperate for funding, there are so many people who
need our help. We can’t train any more dogs without expanding.”
(Published by
Northampton Chronicle and Echo - March 2011)
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