Addie Grace's Story

Once Baxter arrives in January to live with Addie Grace Louviere, they will never be apart. He will ride with her in cars, fly on airplanes, go with her to restaurants, and will sleep by her side at night.
He will be her constant companion and he will keep her safe, because that is his job.
Baxter is a diabetic alert dog, and Addie Grace has Type 1 diabetes.
That means that Addie Grace’s pancreas produces little to no insulin, which keeps her in a constant state of danger.
She must maintain a certain blood sugar level through insulin administration, or she risks slipping into a diabetic coma.
Right now, Addie Grace wears a Dexcom glucose monitor and an insulin pump, and she is kept under strict supervision, day and night.
Her mother, Emily Fontenot, is a nurse and knows all too well the importance of keeping her daughter’s levels monitored.
However, Addie Grace is also a 10-year-old girl with all the standard desires of her age, to explore the freedoms of independence, and make her own choices. But her condition has hampered that for her, and her mom knows it.
Fontenot said she first noticed Addie Grace’s symptoms last October while the family was on a trip to Florida.
“I noticed her severe thirst. She was tired. She was losing weight. And that’s when it hit me,” Fontenot said.
As a nurse, she was aware of the symptoms’ indication, and a trip to the pediatrician confirmed what she had feared—Type 1 diabetes.
A month into her diagnosis, Addie Grace began constant blood glucose monitoring; and a month after that she began to wear her insulin pump.
When asked about how her diagnosis has changed her life, Addie Grace hung her head, and her eyes searched the floor for what was presumably where to begin.
She sighed, and her mother prompted, “What about your freedom? It’s kind of taken that from you, huh?”
Addie didn’t look up, but nodded. Then she said, “I can’t go out and play at my friend’s houses because they don’t know what to do if I go into a coma.”
Asking about her conditional limitations was not the way to get Addie Grace to grin. But, asking about her hobbies did the trick.
Her gaze shot up from the floor and a smile spread across her face.
“I love going to the barn and visiting with the animals,” she said, “especially with my horse, Lena.
“I have a special bond with animals. We just got a cat, and he already follows me around everywhere I go. His name is Buddy.”
Between Lena and Buddy, it sounds like Baxter will be in good company. Yet Baxter, once fully trained, will arrive with something extra—the return of Addie’s freedom.
Baxter comes from a California-based company, Diabetic Alert Dogs of America.
Fontenot said it cost $2,500 just to be put on the waiting list for a dog, among which, once listed, Addie Grace numbered 27. And after a dog is chosen, the receiving family has until the dog is trained to come up with $7,500, just to retain the dog’s delivery.
Fontenot said the total cost of a diabetic alert dog is around $15,000. But, once delivered, Baxter will be certified and licensed to remain with Addie Grace at all times, and she will be licensed to handle him.
In explaining how Addie Grace was afforded the chance to partner-up with Baxter, Fontenot said she had gotten an email from the owner of DADA telling her of a grant she could apply for which would help defray the cost of getting an alert dog. That grant was from a non-profit organization called Emma’s Journey.
Fontenot applied, and Addie Grace was selected to receive the grant, which payed for half of the cost of Baxter.
“They’ve (DADA) videoed his training,” Addie Grace said. “We’ve gotten to watch him get his training on YouTube.”
He is a black and white Parti Labradoodle and he was chosen by Fontenot for his hypoallergenic and hygenic characteristics, while he was chosen by Addie Grace because he is the exact kind of dog she wanted.
According to Addie Grace, Baxter will be trained to detect changes in her blood sugar levels based on the smell of her saliva. He will then alert based on whether or not the levels he has detected are dangerous, or not.
Fontenot added that at night Baxter will check on Addie Grace and will wake her up if indeed he detects dangerous blood sugar levels. And if Addie Grace doesn’t wake up, Baxter will have bells attached to his collar to alert the house of the situation.
Fontenot said she is expecting a sample kit in the mail any day now, with which Addie Grace’s saliva samples will be sent back to the training facility for Baxter to use in training to protect her.
As the day for Baxter’s delivery approaches, a trainer will come with Baxter to visit Addie Grace for a week or so. This is when Addie Grace will receive her training in handling Baxter and become licensed.
“We just found out he (Baxter) is progressing quickly in his training,” Fontenot said. “So, we may get him before January. It’s a six to eight month training course. But, it varies from dog to dog how quickly they pick it up.”
Addie Grace said her school is already slated to hold class introduction and familiarity sessions with Baxter, so that he is more readily made a part of the regular school day environment.
Also, Fontenot and Addie Grace will hold a barrel race, Oct. 12, at the SugArena in New Iberia, to benefit the care and support of Baxter. It will be called Barreling for Baxter, and anyone who is interested is invited to attend.