As Dakota trots along the pool's edge, dozens of swimmers' arms reach out hoping to touch his curly hair.
Dakota, a floppy-eared and “aww”-inspiring Labradoodle, is a rock star at Josh Davis Natatorium.
But he's not there to dog paddle. Dakota's job is to keep his diabetic owner, Ben Ownby, safe.
Ownby, a freshman swimmer for Churchill High School, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 17 months old. He must manually inject insulin seven to eight times a day.
He's also allergic to adhesives, which prevents him from using automated continuous glucose monitors or insulin pumps that must be attached to the body.
That's where Dakota comes in. He can smell on Ownby's breath or sweat whether his blood-sugar levels are too high or low, even when Ownby is in the pool.
When they're high, Dakota tugs on a bracelet that Ownby wears. When low, Dakota jumps on his owner to alert him to check his levels.
“Prior to having the dog, we had a couple of bad low blood-sugar times where he ... doesn't know where he is or why he's there,” said his father, Bob. “It's almost like he's drunk.”
One time in middle school, Ownby began slurring his speech and “not making sense” while in a meeting with the principal. Dakota jumped on Ownby to alert him, then jumped on the principal.
Sure enough, his blood-sugar level was 28, well below the target mark of 70.
Ownby said Dakota has only incorrectly alerted him two or three times in the three years he has had him.
“And that's out of hundreds,” he said. “I think it's amazing.”
Dakota, a 5-year-old, is one of a growing number of service dogs, more commonly known for helping the visually or mobility impaired, trained to help diabetics.
Doctors aren't sure exactly what the dogs sense in a diabetic's breath, but they often sense it quicker than commonly used continuous glucose monitors, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.
Dakota was trained to only pick up Ownby's scent, much like how other dogs are taught to sniff out certain drugs or bombs.
He can easily detect Ownby's blood-sugar levels from across a crowded natatorium. While in training, he found a sample with Ownby's scent on it from two-thirds of a mile away.
“He acts like I'm the only one near him, like there's nothing going on around him,” Ownby said.
Ownby initially was skeptical of the idea of using a service dog. It was a lot of responsibility for a then-sixth-grader.
Then he saw a photo of Dakota, who is a mix between a Labrador retriever and a poodle but looks more like a living, breathing teddy bear.
“I changed my mind immediately,” Ownby said.
Dakota was trained by Guide Dogs of Texas, a San Antonio-based nonprofit. Diabetic alert dogs can cost up to $20,000 from private organizations.
Thanks to donations to Guide Dogs of Texas, Dakota cost $1.
Ben paid for his dog himself.
“He's worth his weight in gold,” Bob Ownby said.
Dakota has become a fixture on the pool deck. Swimmers rub his head as they pass by.
Ownby said Dakota's also a swim fan — his ears perk up when swimmers dive off the blocks.
“He's always there at the pool and in our classroom, too,” Churchill swimmer Lauren Lampe said. “He's just like another swimmer sitting there.”
When Ownby has practice, he ties Dakota to the nearby bleachers. If Dakota senses that Ownby's levels are off, he'll bark or act anxious. A coach will then tell Ownby to check his blood sugar.
North East ISD aquatics director David Johnson and Churchill coach Mark Jedow both call Dakota an assistant coach.
“Except all you need to do to make him happy is give him a little belly rub,” Jedow said.
It's hard to resist the urge to pet Dakota. Ownby has had to let overeager classmates know that he's with him to work, not play.
Even if the dog has made Ownby possibly the most popular freshman on campus.
“Once I brought him to school, I got swarmed by everybody,” Ownby said. “But I'm not the popular one. He is.”
Ownby is preparing for his first district meet, which begins today at Davis Natatorium. He'll compete in the 200-yard freestyle and hopes to post a sub-two minute time.
But he won't have Dakota with him, so he'll have to check his levels more frequently on his own. He stopped bringing Dakota to meets because his fur gets wet and becomes a matted mess. Ownby has to groom him, after all.
That's a small price to pay for a companion who does so much.
“He's more like a sibling to me. It seems like he has feelings, too,” Ownby said. “He's so much more than just a dog.”
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