Dominique Trappio thought she was dying, but after a series of medical tests and hospitalizations, the young woman from Atlanta, Georgia was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She thought her body was shutting down, and once she had a diagnosis, she needed assistance. Trappio had a close call with death, as before her diagnosis, her organs started shutting down. “It taught me on top of diabetes, that you can’t take anything for granted. You aren’t guaranteed another day,” she stated.
Trappio requires the assistance of a diabetes alert dog who will let her know when her blood sugar is dropping dangerously low. The puppy in training is named Bowie, after the late Chadwick Boseman. Four times Bowie alerted his mom of a medical problem that saved her life, and Bowie is only three months old.
Sometimes when she is sleeping at night, Trappio has no idea her blood sugar is dropping and Bowie will wake her up so she can take insulin. As he continues to train, Bowie is destined to alert Trappio whether her blood sugar drops too low or climbs too high. As Bowie continues to train with Lonestar Diabetic Alert Dogs, his owner wants the public to know he comes with a price.
“A lot of people don’t realize that these dogs are between $20,000 and $30,000,” Trappio shared. “There are not a lot of people can reach in their pocket and pull out that kind of money for a dog.”
She plans to help others and advocate for people to obtain a diabetic service dog if they need one. For more about this dynamic duo, press play on the video below.
H/T: 11 Alive
