Karen and Coco's story

- runners up of the dfs Cruft's Award,  'Friends For Life' 2010



No dog enthusiast needs reminding that dogs are remarkable creatures and most people are aware of the fantastic way in which dogs can serve the human race.  Karen and Coco's story is a exceptional as their partnership is the first of its kind.

In WW1 the benefits of Guide Dogs were discovered but this was limited to breeds of a certain size and temperament; however since that time other breeds of dog have been trained to support people with all sorts of disabilities, such as Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, Dogs for the Disabled and PAT dogs. 

Within the last decade many human lives are being saved with the aid of Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs.  The first ground breaking achievement was reported in the BMJ in 2004 when trained dogs successfully sniffed out cancer in human urine samples, but, the dogs’ incredible olfactory ability has also been put to great use in being able to predict other clinical conditions such as hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) in diabetic patients.  These dogs are able give their owners a warning 10-15 minutes prior to an attack thus giving the sufferer enough time to eat something and raise their blood sugar.  This action prevents a possible fatal situation occurring and gives the patient a freedom and independence that otherwise would have been impossible. 

This is the story of Karen and Coco.  Karen suffers from serious but rare condition known as Addison’s disease that causes the adrenal glands to malfunction and not produce enough of the steroid hormone known as cortisol.  Karen’s condition was exacerbated due to tumours being found on her adrenal gland that had to be surgically removed. This has meant that Karen has no cortisol reserve in her body at all.  The symptoms are unpleasant enough but, if the cortisol levels become dangerously low, the patient’s condition becomes critical and can lead to death, if not treated quickly. 

Karen contacted Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs to see if they could help.  No dog had been used to detect cortisol levels before but the organisation was willing to give it a try and with Karen’s determination to take on a challenge, Coco was successfully trained to be the first dog to assist an Addison’s disease sufferer.

The pair has only been together for 6 months but now they are inseparable.  Karen has very little time from the time of feeling unwell to a full blown crisis but now Coco, who carries her injection kit with him in his vest, will warn her when the cortisol levels are dropping and will persist until he gets the message through. 

“People have already noticed that I am much more confident since having Coco,” says Karen.  “I sleep better knowing he will alert me if my levels drop while I’m asleep.  I can also relax when out and about knowing that Coco is there to look after me.  As long as I have my knight in shining armour with a waggy tail with me by my side, I’m not scared of anything anymore”.

Perhaps one of the most amazing aspects of this story is that one year ago, 20 month old Coco was up for adoption.  His family could not cope with his boisterous and independent nature.  Fortunately they had the foresight to realise that perhaps Coco’s enthusiasm could be channelled into helping people and they contacted Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs.  The rest of the story is history and Coco has proved himself to be more than a worthy ‘canine citizen’.