How an amazing service dog forever changed his young owner's life
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A service dog has become a little miracle to his 11-year-old owner who is blind and suffers from daily seizure attacks.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
5/21/2015 (8 years ago)
Published in Marriage & Family
Keywords: Service Animals, Canines, Health, Family
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The dog, named Flint, was given as a gift to little Alyssa, who began suffering from her condition when she was just four-years-old.
Now Alyssa can live a more normal life with her companion, who helps alert her family if she has seizures and guides her to safety.
Alyssa's grandmother used to take care of her during the night in case she had seizures, but now Flint has taken over that roll and Alyssa feels confident enough to sleep on her own.
Scientists believe that dogs are capable of smelling a chemical change right before an individual is about to have a seizure, and these service dogs are trained to bark and alert other people so they can take precautionary measures or administer medicine.
When Flint detects a seizure he will lick Alyssa, bark or lie on top of her to prevent her from thrashing about. Flint has been trained not to bark for any other reason, so Alyssa's parents know she is about to have a seizure when that happens.
This canine companion truly is a miracle worker and has given Alyssa the ability to function normally and enjoy being a young child.
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