Summary
A service dog named Kona helps a 7-year-old girl named Kennedy manage her type 1 diabetes by detecting blood sugar changes. Kona, who costs $20,000, is also a companion and has gained attention on social media. Kona’s early alerts for blood sugar changes can provide critical extra time to manage Kennedy's condition.
Key Facts
- Kona is a Portuguese water dog trained to alert for blood sugar changes in a child with type 1 diabetes.
- The family hired a private trainer to train Kona before Kennedy was officially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
- Kona can detect blood sugar changes through scent and provides early warnings that can be crucial.
- The dog's alerts can occur before the glucose monitor shows changes, offering extra time to act.
- Kona can alert the family even if Kennedy is 50 to 100 yards away from him.
- The dog and Kennedy have become popular on Instagram with over 80,000 followers.
- Kennedy’s mother shares Kona's activities to raise awareness about type 1 diabetes.
- Type 1 diabetes affects approximately 2.1 million people in the U.S., including 314,000 children under 20.
