[ti:Dogs Trained to Smell Low Blood Sugar Levels May Save Lives] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.64]Dogs can be trained to use their sense of smell [00:05.92]to recognize illegal drugs and explosives. [00:10.36]So Mark Ruefenacht wondered [00:13.44]if the animals also could recognize changes [00:16.97]in the blood sugar level of people with diabetes. [00:21.96]Ruenfenacht has had the disease for much of his life. [00:26.68]In 1999, he almost died while training a young dog [00:31.70]to be a guide dog for the blind. [00:34.84]Without any warning, his blood sugar [00:37.93]suddenly dropped to a dangerously low level. [00:42.16]Ruefenacht said the dog stayed with him, [00:45.26]and tried to keep him awake. [00:47.84]"More than likely, I had a seizure, from the low blood sugar. [00:51.24]The dog liked me, he stuck with me [00:53.29]and I was able to get my blood sugar up." [00:55.44]When talking about a drop in blood sugar, [00:58.52]doctors use the term hypoglycemia. [01:03.12]Ruefenacht said his near death experience made him wonder [01:07.56]if dogs could be trained to identify the chemical changes [01:11.92]that happen during an attack, and then inform their owners. [01:17.80]Ruefenacht worked with scientists and financed research [01:21.80]which found that the "smell" of hypoglycemia [01:25.12]appears in both breath and sweat. [01:29.52]He also worked with and studied animal trainers [01:33.40]who teach dogs to recognize everything from explosives to cancer. [01:40.08]In addition, Ruefenacht started training [01:43.43]a yellow Labrador retriever named Armstrong to tell him [01:48.05]when he had a dangerously low blood sugar level. [01:52.56]The training was successful. [01:55.16]Armstrong is now listed in The Guinness Book of World Records [02:00.04]as the world's first diabetes-detection dog. [02:05.56]Armstrong died in 2012. [02:08.72]Ruefenacht noted that after his early training successes, [02:12.88]several organizations offered him [02:15.72]a lot of money for the rights to his discoveries. [02:20.20]He told VOA he refused those offers. [02:24.96]Instead, in 2004, [02:27.80]he created a group called Dogs4Diabetics, [02:32.36]where he trains dogs to help people with diabetes. [02:36.68]Ruefenacht says training for a diabetes detection dog [02:41.36]and its owner can cost up to $50,000. [02:46.84]His organization raises money to cover the costs, [02:51.48]so they can provide dogs for free to those in need. [02:56.48]To train the animals, Ruefenacht uses bottles [02:59.79]containing swabs of sweat from a diabetic with low blood sugar, [03:04.56]and containers of other smells, [03:06.80]such as peanut butter, dog food, or plants. [03:11.64]The dogs are given a treat when they choose the correct jar. [03:16.80]This "sweat jar" method for training diabetes detection dogs [03:21.48]has been approved scientifically. [03:24.96]The next step is to teach the dog to alert the owner. [03:29.36]The dogs are trained to use subtle signs at first. [03:33.64]However, if those signals are ignored, the animals [03:37.65]then put their paws on the owner's legs or shoulders. [03:41.80]They learn to lick and put their nose in the owner's face, [03:45.92]and make noises. [03:48.52]If none of these methods work, [03:50.84]the dogs are then trained to find someone else to help. [03:55.60]Ruefenacht says the dogs can often detect blood sugar dropping [04:00.76]long before electronic systems send a warning sound. [04:06.00]Dogs4Diabetics has placed more than 100 dogs with diabetics. [04:12.48]The group hopes to expand the program [04:16.08]-- training people's "most loyal friend" [04:19.08]to save lives and help diabetics around the world. [04:23.60]I'm Phil Dierking. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM