SEARCY, Ark. (AP) — Man's best friend is proving to be even more valuable to a local diabetic who uses a medical-alert dog to warn him of dangerously low blood-sugar levels.

When a diabetic's blood sugar plummets during sleep, or perhaps while that person is awake but distracted, danger could be minutes away. To address that situation, common among severe diabetics, Billy Teague, 61, has acquired Malone, an Irish setter who accompanies him wherever he goes.

As the flood plain administrator for White County, Teague can often be seen behind his desk in the Emergency Operations Center in Searcy with Malone contentedly napping on a nearby pillow.

Malone is 3½ years old and Teague has been his patient, owner and team member for two years.

"When my blood sugar gets too low he lets me know," Teague said. "It took us a while to develop a pattern but he's helped me. He's woken us up at night several times. He will give me a sniff and gets eager and starts licking me. It doesn't always follow the same pattern but he tries to get my attention. I go and check my blood sugar."

Teague's awareness of his own blood-sugar levels is obviously impaired during sleep, but difficulty thinking can be a part of low-blood-sugar reactions, making daytime alerts critical as well.

"The reason we were interested in Malone is because the time I was having the most difficulty is nighttime," Teague said. "During the day when I'm doing computer work or some other thing where I'm really focused, things that I otherwise would notice go right by me. Those are the areas where he helps me the most."

When a diabetic's blood sugar drops, confusion may begin, the patient may faint and in a worse-case scenario the patient may go into diabetic shock. Many doctors recommend that diabetics keep their blood-sugar levels between 100 mg per deciliter and 120 mg/deciliter as measured with a glucometer.

"For me, the lights usually go out, metaphorically, at about 25, but we work with him to get us to start working a lot higher than that," Teague said. "One hundred is a level that we're aiming for. This morning I had a 70 and he was all about me going to check my blood sugar. One hundred is the line where I give him treats and so on to encourage him to let me know. It doesn't get super critical until 50. I need to be on something by that time."

To bring up his blood-sugar level, Teague takes glucose tablets or liquid, small candy bars or juice in bottles depending on how low the level is. Teague takes two insulin injections each day.

Teague's wife, Rebecca, a family consumer sciences professor at Harding University, first heard about diabetic service dogs on a television news program, then met a student with one of the specially trained canines. The student told the Teagues about the Canine Assistance Rehabilitation Education and Services program, known as CARES, and the couple began doing Internet research and making phone calls.

"CARES is a not-for-profit organization," Rebecca said. "Boys, girls and even prison inmates help train the dogs. We paid for his care, upkeep and food for the 18 months of training before we got him."

The couple completed the CARES application, approval and acquisition process.

"They put us on the waiting list and gave us the opportunity to develop a video for them that showed me in various work circumstances and different phases of my life," Billy said. "We sent it to them and they made the selection of the dog based on what they saw on the video."

Billy was fortunate to receive Malone more quickly than the usual 18-month waiting period.

"They gave us a call and let us know they had our dog and there would be a weeklong training session," Billy said. "We drove up to Concordia, Kan., where the training center is located. Rebecca and I both went through training with him and learned commands that he knew and practiced those with him.

"Toward the end of that week Malone and I went through a public access exam and were certified as a team. We brought him back with us and we've had him ever since."

Malone has a microchip implanted under his skin, so if the dog is ever lost he can be scanned and traced back to CARES.

"Billy's had diabetes for 48 years. He got it when he was 13," Rebecca said. "There have been many nights, roughly three per year, where the ambulance would have to come out. Having Malone truly helps in a life or death situation. It's God that alerts Malone and others to attend to Billy."

In public places like churches or restaurants, most people assume Malone is a service dog that is with Billy because Billy is blind.

"People think it's really funny because we'll walk in with Malone and Billy will pick up a hymn book or menu and start reading it, and people will see him," Rebecca said.

CARES, begun in 1994, has placed 759 dogs across 36 states and in three foreign countries. Some funding for alert dogs is provided through Medicare and Medicaid. Another organization that provides similar services to CARES is Dogs4Diabetics.

"Tears are coming to my eyes now as I'm going back and reminiscing about the love, compassion and giving," Rebecca said of the CARES program. "It's phenomenal."

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For more information on CARES go to CaresKS.com or call (800) 498-1077.

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Information from: The Daily Citizen, http://www.thedailycitizen.com/