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NORWALK, Conn. The role of man's best friend takes on added importance when it comes to Norwalk's service animals, who are there to protect and assist their owners.
But for Collin and Bryce Ferguson, two Norwalk brothers ages 6 and 3 with type 1 diabetes, they say getting a service dog is just pretty cool. Ranger, a 14-week-old black Labrador, arrived last week.
Their mother, Katie, couldnt be more pleased. She worked with Guardian Angel Service Dogs, a breeding and training program for dogs that help with invisible diseases in Virginia, to get Ranger.
He started alerting the first day he got here, Katie said. That means that at age 14 weeks, Ranger is already able to detect low or high blood sugar and alert Katie or her husband to the problem. I check at times when I wouldnt have normally.
Eventually, Ranger will be able to dial 911 when boys are old enough to stay home alone. And that gives Katie some peace of mind.
I know that soon, the dog will change things for us, said Dianna Santora, who will get a service dog this summer from Guardian Angels for her 5-year-old daughter Lauren, also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
What Katie and I do all day, is act as our childrens pancreas, Dianna said of watching and tracking blood sugar levels. The service dog can smell dangerously low sugar levels, offering parents an opportunity to catch up on sleep, among other benefits.
And service animals can go most places: stores, restaurants, airplanes and on 60 of the rides at Disneyworld.
Katie and Dianna were thrilled that the Norwalk school system approved a policy allowing service animals in schools and without any prompting from them. We both thought it was the other one who started it, Dianna said.
Steve Colarossi is a member of the policy committee, which passed the policy 3-1 with one abstention. Its nice not to be reactive, but proactive, Colarossi said. The policy change removes obstacles for families who want to bring the animals to school, he said.
Lauren said she probably wouldn't take her dog to school. Dianna said she made it clear to the school that she had no intention of having the dog in school. But both agreed it was great to have that option.
The service animals are expensive. Katie and Dianna have been fundraising, and Guardian Angels gives families two years to come up with the full amount.
Katie and I are lucky to live in a community that can help us, Dianna said.
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