7-year-old's medic alert dog to arrive in June
Courtesy Photo Camdyn Thompson, 7, during his first day at Camp Twigs for diabetics.
He sold the lemonade, raised the funds and even received a generous donation.
Now, 7-year-old Camdyn Thompson is ready to welcome home his new medical-alert dog.
The Coeur d’Alene Press introduced you to the Thompson family in early June. Parents Terina and Wade have five children. Their fourth oldest, Camdyn, has Type 1 diabetes, which requires him to monitor his diet, inject insulin via a pump and to test his blood sugar level several times each day.
The Thompsons have been running lemonade stands to raise money for the medical alert dog, which can sense if its owner is experiencing high or low blood sugar. In late June, local resident Ellen Brown donated the remaining amount — $5,000 — needed to buy the dog, in memory of her husband. The family has since placed a down payment toward its new addition, who’s expected to arrive at its new home in Post Falls in June 2020.
“We have purchased a dog from Diabetic Alert Dogs of America,” Wade said. The family can choose the breed and gender of the dog and might be able to name it. The family is considering an English Labrador retriever. Camdyn is hoping for a black dog. He wants to name his new companion Carl, so they can both have names that start with C.
“It is a good name,” he said. “And it is a boy’s name.”
Wade has spent hours reading reviews and learning about how each medical-alert dog program trains the animals.
Las Vegas-based Diabetic Alert Dogs of America works with families across the country and in Canada. Dogs for diabetics are trained to notify their humans before they experience high or low blood sugar.
The company splits the dog training into four sections. During the first, the dogs go through obedience training and learn 19 basic commands. The next step is public training, where the dogs will experience daily routines that approximate what their future owners will experience. The third section is scent training — dogs can literally smell changing blood-sugar levels. In the final step, a certified trainer accompanies the dog on a commercial airline to its new home.
When the dog arrives in June, the family will sit down once again with their children to discuss that the dog is a working dog, Wade said, not a pet. Friends and extended family members have to be educated about how to interact with a service dog. The rule: Don’t touch.
“When school comes around we will probably also host an assembly or something to explain Camdyn’s new dog,” Wade said. “But Greensferry Elementary, Camdyn’s school, has been awesome through everything.”
Although the Thompsons have reached the goal of being able to provide their son with a medical alert dog, they said they will never be done raising awareness for the disease.
“We want to raise awareness about the disease, and the overall goal is always going to be to find a cure,” Wade said.
The family will participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Community One Walk at Riverfront Park, 900 N. Howard St. in Spokane on Sept. 22. The 5K begins at 11 a.m. and happens in cities across the nation with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation goal to turn Type 1 into Type None.
The Thompsons invite the community to participate in the walk. “There are a lot of walks out there,” Wade said, “but this is the one that is nearest and dearest to our hearts.”
To register for the walk, visit www2.jdrf.org/site/TR/Walk/GreaterNorth westChapter4700.