A Highly Honoured Dog
A trip to the palace! One of our patients was recently honoured to go to London on Royal business. OsKar Aardvark, a 9 year old Lurcher, attended Buckingham Palace in November for an Investiture - his owner's father, Rigby Graham, received an MBE for Services to the Arts. OsKar was bathed, groomed, dressed in a purple diamante collar and transported to the capital in a chauffeur-driven car. On arrival at the Palace, he was greeted, by name, by the footmen and escorted (with his human companions!) to the Ballroom, where he behaved impeccably, whilst 110 people received their honours from Princess Anne. As the Princess Royal was leaving she saw OsKar wagging his tail to the National Anthem and she gave him a beaming smile. He was even included in the offi cial photographs after the ceremony. OsKar was able to take it all in his stride as he had already been to the Houses of Parliament.  OsKar was able to attend these formal functions because he is a very special medical detector dog. His owner has unstable Type 1 diabetes, needing insulin injections to control her blood sugar levels. If her blood sugar falls too low, which can lead to collapse and other serious health problems, she has no warning symptoms. OsKar is able to detect the almost imperceptible signs. He then alerts her, so she can take steps to sort things out. If she is unable to help herself, he can bring her medication, bring her sugary drinks, alert someone else to the problem, hide the car keys and ultimately press an alarm to summon paramedics. His training also included socialisation so he is comfortable in almost any situation. So although OsKar has not received an offi cial Honour, he is highly regarded within his family. |
