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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 1, 2014 | 4 Dog guides prove to be women's best friends by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff One can detect a sudden drop in blood sugar levels and the other can guide a person through a darkening world. For Oakville's Vanessa Wiebe and Sonya Tavares, these canines are more than companions -- they've helped the young women regain a sense of confidence and independence in their lives. Wiebe and Tavares, and their respective dog guides, Yvette and Nevin, are recent graduates of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program. For nearly three decades, the national charitable foundation has been providing those with medical or physical challenges with dogs trained to assist them and at no cost to them either. It does, however, cost approximately $25,000 to raise and train each dog guide to help the blind or visually impaired; deaf or hard of hearing; children with autism spectrum disorder; and for those with a physical disability, epilepsy, or Type 1 diabetes with hypoglycemic unawareness. Wiebe, a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student at Oakville Trafalgar High School, calls Yvette a blessing. The one-and-a-half-year-old yellow Labrador retriever has been trained to sense, through scent, when Wiebe's blood sugar level drops drastically and alerts her owner so that she can test herself and eat something sweet, if needed. "Anytime my blood sugar is low... there's a scent my body gives off that she's (Yvette) trained to smell," said Wiebe. "In the middle of the night, if she thinks something's wrong, she'll go wake up my mom to let her know and she'll lick my face, bark and pat me until I wake up and do something about it." The Oakville teen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes hypoglycemic unawareness at the age of five, which means her body doesn't give her any physical indications when her blood sugar drops. "Most (people with diabetes) get very shaky, or they become very hungry," Wiebe said. "For whatever reasons, I don't feel anything until it's (blood sugar level) very low, and it's usually too late and I pass out." Wiebe says living with this particular strain of diabetes has been a day-to-day challenge, having lost consciousness and experienced seizures. She has to take into account everything she eats to make sure her blood sugar levels are well maintained, especially when she's on her own or sleeping. Vanessa Wiebe and her dog guide, Yvette, share a sunny stroll by the lake at Gairloch Gardens. | photo by Michael Ivanin - special to the Beaver Sonya Tavares with her dog guide, Nevin. | submitted photo Training at the Lions Foundation's Oakville headquarters, 152 Wilson St., Wiebe spent close to two weeks going to classes from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, taking time away from school for it. "In a year and a half, I'll be going to university and being on my own is not an option because of my diabetes," she said. "Ultimately, the reason we got Yvette was so that I could gain some more independence... my parents already have more confidence in me being alone or studying downstairs by myself because they know she's there." Wiebe does note, however, that Yvette is merely another tool to help her control her diabetes. The youth still checks her blood sugar levels approximately 15-20 times a days, but the frequency will decrease as Yvette becomes more adept at sensing the drops. "She's so great," Wiebe said. "I can't thank Dog Guides enough for her. They're definitely my saving grace." Tavares feels the same way about her two-anda-half-year-old black Labrador retriever, Nevin. The 28-year-old Tavares began losing her sight at age nine to fundus flavimaculatus, or Stargardt's Disease, a genetic condition that affects the back of the retina, blocking her central vision. A stay-at-home mom living in Oakville for the past four years, Tavares says living with the disease is definitely a struggle at times, especially while caring for her four-year-old son Julio. "It (the disease) is getting a little worse, though I'm told it should stabilize," she said. "But with having my son, I was getting more anxiety about being alone out with him and wanted to feel more secure. I thought the dog guide would be a great thing to have and it has been." Tavares recalls a day when her son missed his school bus and she decided to take the opportunity to bring Nevin out for a trial run. The trio took a cab to Julio's school and Tavares walked back home with the dog guide. "She did amazing. I was really confident and it's just been helping me regain some confidence and independence again," said Tavares. "It's been nice not having to rely on my mother so much, who thankfully drives me everywhere. But I want to be able to go to the doctor's office, get some groceries, go here and there, on my own with a lot more confidence." Having trained with Nevin at the Oakville Dog Guides facility for a little more than three weeks, Tavares says the whole experience has been an amazing one. "Anything new is always nerve-racking and you don't know what to expect, but they were so amazing and accommodating," she said. "Just working and training with the dogs; they were so supportive." As a charitable organization, the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides receives no government funding and relies on fundraising events and donations to provide assistive canines to eligible Canadians. One upcoming event is the annual Purina Walk for Dog Guides set for Sunday, May 25. The five-kilometre fundraising walk takes place at the Lions Foundation of Canada Oakville office and starts at 10 a.m. For more information, to register or donate, visit www.purinawalkfordogguides.com, www. dogguides.com, call 905-842-2821 or email info@dogguides.com. At Prince Michael Dr. off Dundas St. E 905-257-8200 At the Olde Oakville Marketplace 905-815-8121 At Appleby Line near Dundas St. 905-332-2551 WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE COIN, ONE BRICK, ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME. Join RBC Insurance® in our coin drive to support Free The Children and its year-long initiative to build 200 schools around the world. Every $20 provides a brick for a school and access to education. Visit an RBC Insurance store to see how you can help or go to rbc.com/freethechildren. ® / TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence.