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Science and Tech

Dog Detects Abnormal Blood Pressure

WEKU
Published November 13, 2011 at 10:46 PM EST
Beth Turmero checks her son Aiden's blood sugar as his labrador retriever puppy Piper smells the boy's fingers at the family's Madisonville home Thursday. Piper is a diabetic alert dog and she uses scent recognition to warn Turmero when Aiden's blood suga
Jim Pearson
/
Madisonville Messenger
Beth Turmero checks her son Aiden's blood sugar as his labrador retriever puppy Piper smells the boy's fingers at the family's Madisonville home Thursday. Piper is a diabetic alert dog and she uses scent recognition to warn Turmero when Aiden's blood suga

Piper, the yellow labrador retriever, starts to whine. This isn’t just typical puppy behavior — Piper is letting owner Beth Turmero know that her 3 1/2-year-old son Aiden’s blood sugar is not within the normal range. Aiden was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in August and receives regular insulin shots. Since he is so young, Aiden doesn’t have the vocabulary to say when his blood sugar is too low or high, so Piper does the job for him.

 

 
Science and Tech
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