Carla Shuford of Chapel Hill watched as a 7-month-old Golden Retriever used her sense of smell to detect a high blood sugar saliva sample, signal a handler, fetch an aid kit and dial a single-button phone.
The retriever — named Stella — is a service and diabetic assistance dog in training as a part of the Carrboro-based organization Eyes Ears Nose and Paws.
Shuford, who is without one of her legs, said she was fascinated by the dogs’ abilities and hoped she could qualify for the program.
“I’m more compatible with a dog than with a man,” she said.
As program director of the group, Deb Cunningham trains the service dogs and is now working to become the first East-Coast trainer to teach dogs to detect high levels of blood sugar.
Seeking more volunteers to accomplish this goal, the organization held an open house and live demonstration Saturday afternoon.
The groups’s Chief Executive Officer Maria Ikenberry said finding “puppy parents” for service dogs is an important step in their training process, and the open house served as an opportunity to connect potential foster parents, owners and dogs.
While the group could use kenneling, Cunningham and Ikenberry are looking for more foster parents because living with people helps the dogs socialize.
“We want them to be in real homes to have real love,” said Ikenberry, who founded the group in 2008 after realizing no similar organizations existed in the area.
