A MEDICAL detection dog, who was named after and sponsored by the West Devon village of Lifton, has given a women with diabetes ‘her life back’.

Villagers in Lifton raised funds and sponsored the training of the black Labrador cross curly coat retriever named Lifton, several years ago. He was trained as a diabetes alert dog and helped a diabetic lady until her circumstances changed. Lifton was retrained and placed with a new diabetic client, Heather Way.

Lifton and Heather’s story has been featured in the Medical Detection Dogs charity’s magazine The Sniff.

Heather has lived with diabetes for 40 years and lost awareness of oncoming hypo and hyper attacks three to four years ago. She told The Sniff she simply could not live her life without Lifton.

She was diagnosed in 1977 after becoming ill and almost dying when her weight dropped to four stone. She’s lost part of her stomach as well after suffering a ruptured appendix. Living alone, Heather was finding life increasingly difficult — her house is specially adapted for her needs and she can get around indoors without a wheelchair but has suffered accident after accident as blackouts and fits took their toll.

She told The Sniff: ‘These days, my right hand can move up but not out and my left can do out but not up.’

Luckily with extra help from Medical Detection Dogs trainer Helen Marsden, Lifton picks things up and fetches her walking stick for her as well as doing his regular job as a medical alert assistance dog. Helen is one of the instructors who worked with Lifton when he was placed in his original partnership and also helped to retrain him when he had to learn to alert to Heather’s hypo and hyper odour and range, which is below 5mmol (blood sugar levels) and above 15mmol — slightly different to his previous partner.

Before Lifton, Heather had reached the point where she wouldn’t leave the house — she was too nervous to go into town in case she collapsed and no-one would know why. These days Heather goes out on her mobility scooter with Lifton walking alongside as he has been trained to do, and spends two hours in the Yorkshire countryside most days in the knowledge that he is there to help if anything happens.

She said: ‘Before Lifton I was becoming a complete recluse. I’m even thinking now of going on a a long trip. Of course we would have to try a training flight first to see if he’s ok with it, but I would really love to go abroad with Lifton one day.

‘I could never thank Medical Detection Dogs enough for allowing me to have Lifton and giving me my life back. I could never repay, in a lifetime, everything they have done for me.’

Medical detection dogs are trained in the detection of cancer and other diseases through their sense of smell. With a diabetes alert dog, the dog will alert the owner if their blood sugar is about to drop or rise suddenly or they are about to have an attack and will go to fetch their medical kit.

Tim Sutton-Woodhouse, a Lifton parish councillor and a volunteer for Medical Detection Dogs, spearheaded the idea several years ago to sponsor the dog and receives regular updates as to how he is getting on.

He said: ‘Lifton’s first client had a pancreas transplant, so no longer needed him. His new client is a lady with diabetes among other issues and helps her with all her problems. It’s so great to see him helping people. We’re very proud.’