LLLeashes LLC

Some amazing photos of our handsome boy and his new girl!

As of Nov 15, 2020, Beni is a Diabetic Alert Dog for 13 year old Bri and will spend his life alerting to her blood sugar, and watching over her. Thank you for following his journey from the little energetic pup from Wales, to the dog he is now. Over the last 14 months leading up to this, Beni has taught me more than I ever could have imagined - how to expect the unexpected, to be happy anywhere, to find joy in the simple things like socks on the floor, and to approach the world with enthusiasm.

Honestly, Beni was one of the toughest puppies I have trained. His intense love of people meant he would not leave my lap - cute for a week but not so cute when we couldn’t even have a training session. His cold weather aversion combined with overexcitement caused constant whining on the streets of Belfast, making me question if he’d ever be quiet. For 11 straight months I couldn’t let anyone greet him on non-carpeted flooring due to his “happy bladder”. In February, I was even thinking of offering him to a working dog organization where he could give his full 110% enthusiasm without having to behave like a Service Dog.

But then, he changed. Maybe someone told him he had a girl and an important job, maybe he knew I was at my wits end, or maybe he grew up. But suddenly the dog who couldn’t settle in Starbucks, took an 8 hour international flight like he’d done it 1000 times. The dog who was obsessed with new friends, ignored anyone who tried to distract him. The dog who would ‘leak’ when greeting people, slowly stopped. And the dog who whined constantly, began to get quiet.

He tested me and stretched me, but he also wowed me. He is a dog like none other - he is confident, eager, passionate, expressive, biddable, brilliant, and does everything with his entire heart. I fell head over heels for this boy - he is everything I want in a dog and more, and handing him over tears me apart. But when I see how much he adores his family and the incredible alerts he is giving, I know his job is so much more important than just being with me.

So congratulations my Thouron Beni, I cannot wait to see the difference you make in your girl’s life, and I hope you bring her even half the joy you have brought me.

The. Very. Best. Sprout. I am in awe of Beni who had his first night alert last night, totally unexpectedly. Night alerts are the holy grail of diabetic alert dog training - I have preached to Beni’s family (and all my DAD families) that night alerts cannot be guaranteed and should never be expected. Dogs sleep too, and if we don’t trust ourselves to wake up in the middle of the night, asking a dog to do so is crazy. I repeat this to families over and over again. But last night, Beni did his first night alert - completely unprompted, while everyone was sleeping, and he even knew to tell Bri’s parents, making the decision to leave Bri’s bed, run up to the parents’ room to wake them up at 12:30 at night. Below is a repost from their page - .

Such a brave sprout! His very first night alert happened yesterday. The lights were out and we were all asleep. Beni ran to my room with a sense of urgency jumped on my bed and then jumped back off. Before leaving my room he looked back to make sure I was following him. It was his sense of urgency and serious face that I knew he was trying to get my attention. I followed him into Bri’s room and as he jumped onto her bed he started pacing back and forth, sniffing the air and taking deep breaths as if clearing his nose. Beni was alerting me of Bri’s blood sugar level! To think our speckled sunshine took all of those steps to alert amazes me. We are so proud! Last night although half asleep we had the biggest puppy party in the history of parties haha.

After not seeing each other for 1.5 months Bri and Beni are off to a great start. When they saw each other it was like they never skipped a beat.

Transition training is going well and Beni’s alerting accuracy is pretty impressive. At one point Beni alerted Bri of a low blood sugar before her dexcom even caught it. Beni’s alert allowed Bri to take action and treat her low before dropping too much. Fortunately Beni caught it before it became severe and even though Bri wasn’t feeling well because of the low it could’ve been worse if we didn’t have Beni and his ability to alert us. Bri even said she felt safer because he was by her side.

This transition has been filled with lots of laughs (because Beni is such a funny boy), gratitude and even a few tears. It’s one thing to hear about these amazing heroes but it’s another to have one in your home watching over your girl. Even though we still have some things to practice we’re so proud of these two.

If you in any way shape or form contributed to this journey....Thank you!

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