Lord Baltimore Lions learn about diabetes alert dogs

Lord Baltimore Lions Club members enjoyed a special program at their April meeting at Mac’s Catering in Millville. The program highlighted a service area of importance, as members attending had the opportunity to learn about the work of diabetic service dogs.

Guest speaker Marilyn Orlin, who suffers from an extreme form of type 1 diabetes, attended along with her husband Mitch and introduced Lions members to her diabetic service dog Riley. During her talk, attendees learned about the lifesaving care and  dedication of this highly skilled and sensitive service dog. Marilyn demonstrated how Riley will detect a rapid shift in her blood glucose and warn her to increase insulin to safely address this health crisis. If Marilyn is not responsive, Riley will alert Mitch by placing a paw on him.

Through the entire presentation, her golden doodle Riley maintained a close eye on Marilyn as she shared information and answered questions from the large gathering.

Promoting diabetes awareness is one of the major causes of Lions Clubs in the United States and worldwide. The Lord Baltimore Lions  are grateful to Marilyn and Lion Mitch for their presentation, and for taking the time to answer questions.

Lion John Monahan, who serves the Delaware Lions District as diabetes chair, reminded members of a diabetes initiative presently open to school nurses, school staff and interested parents in Delaware schools. It is called Lions Empowering School Nurses for Children with Diabetes and is a partnership among the Lions Clubs of Delaware, the Delaware Diabetes Coalition and the Delaware Department of Education School Health Services. It is made available at no cost through a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation.

For information about Delaware Lions and their role of support in this diabetes awareness partnership with schools, go to delawarelions.org/partnerships. Contact Monahan with questions at john.monahan13@gmail.com.

For details on the Lord Baltimore Lions Club, please visit our website at lordbaltimorelionsclub.org or contact Membership Chair Terry Elliott at Elliott.terrylee@yahoo.com  or Secretary Kathy Brannan at tinkerbell@yahoo.com.