Heidenhain helps sponsor Diabetic Alert Dog from Ron Santo Foundation

When Johnathon Wojciechowski of Bensenville, Ill., was seven years old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Having recently started high school at Fenton, he has received a highly trained Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.) from the Ron & Vicki Santo Diabetic Alert Dog Foundation, with partial sponsorship from Heidenhain Corp., a producer of measurement and control equipment in Schaumburg, Ill.

With his keen sense of smell, the black Labrador retriever, named Pickles, can detect when Wojciechowski’s blood sugar level is too low or too high and alert’s him by barking and pawing.

“Johnathon has to test his blood sugar up to 10 times a day, but all tools are not 100% reliable. Plus if his level is low, Johnathon will not wake to his continuous glucose meter (CGM) alarm when sleeping,” explained his mother Tammy Jo Wojciechowski. “Pickles can now help with all that.”

The training and servicing of these alert dogs is time-intensive and expensive, so sponsors are required for qualified candidates to be able to receive one. The Wojciechowski family worked with the foundation, and through fundraising and donations of many, including Heidenhain, Johnathon received Pickles in February.