Its the 4th annual D-blob week.  I like this idea because it brings so many interesting people together and I enjoy seeing the various viewpoints on the topics.

I'm beginning with one of the wild card topics.  The topic is "What is the ideal diabetes service animal?"  The idea of course is to be creative as far as which animal to choose.  Well, I'm a bit prejudiced on this.  I can't imagine a better animal than a Diabetes Alert Dog.  But, I could add a few characteristics that I think might add to its abilities.

The qualities that make dogs the perfect service animal, also can lead to some of the difficult issues of having a service animal.  They are so cute and cuddly that some people seem to have no choice but to come over and pet and love your dog.  Usually, this is fun and flattering, but sometimes it is an interruption in what you are trying to accomplish.  While I had Senator on vacation in Daytona Beach last year, this was a constant issue.  He was of course the only dog within this very large complex and many people acted like they had never seen a dog before.  Seeing Senator also made them extremely homesick for their own dog.  I can't tell you how many cell phone pictures of dogs were held up for me to see.

So, my perfect service animal would still be a dog.  You just can't beat their intelligence, loyalty, and companionship.  But, they would come with an invisibility cloak for those times when you wish they didn't stick out so much.  And they wouldn't shed.  Or want to go out in the rain.

This picture of Senator is my best argument for why a dog is the best diabetes service animal.  Who could resist this?

He is doing well with his training.  He alerts to my high or low blood sugars and is learning to distinguish between them.  It is an amazing thing to see.