Meet Our Service Dog Team Graduates!
Congratulations to these terrific teams for their hard work! We wish them all the best!
Cooper and Courtney
Graduated April 2024
Gwen and Frannie
Graduated April 2024
Xander and Cobra
Graduated March 2024
Hunter and Choco “Latte”
Graduated March 2024
Elise and Mary
Graduated January 2024
Ella and Mickey
Graduated December 2023
Scout and Josie
Honoring Ron Santo #10
The beautiful smiles!
Graduated August 2023
Relaxing under a booth while the humans socialize.
Happily united!
Stopped to check and take care of glucose level after Magic alerted!!
Magic and Jorja
Graduated July 2023
Flying home to Illinois!!
KingLynn and Lauren
Graduated May 2023
Lynn and Parker
Graduated April 2023
Bailey and Sophie
Graduated April 2023
Graduated April 2023
Kyle and Callie
Graduated April 2023
Macelyn and Sherman
Graduated March 2023
Kenzie and Jody
Graduated December 2022
Marcelo and Jet
Graduated September 2022
Vicki,
I’m writing to express our sincere gratitude for the assistance in our new D.A.D, Jet. She is amazing and immediately connected with our little Marcelo. I know it will take some time to continue with her training but she has already alerted several times to both highs and lows and I’m so impressed with her. Our experience with Dexcom is so terrible that I feel immediate relief knowing we have a much better back up plan to fill in where Dexcom has been failing us.
Thank you for helping us get Jet!
I also wanted to say how impressed I was with your trainer, Gracie! She was absolutely great! She is so knowledgeable and I felt relieved with her helping us with training at delivery. Their training program is outstanding and she did such a nice job sending me reports and photos to keep me up to date. Bark To Basics has a really great program and I’m happy you’re foundation is with them now!
Anyway, I just wanted to write really quick to say thank you so much! We appreciate it more than I can express. Have a great night,
Krissie
Sydney and Ericka
Graduated August 2022
Belle
The look right before a low alert!
Let’s check!
July 2022
Lunch time!
Graduated June 2022
Cade and Noor
Noor alerts Cade while at the mall.
The smile on their faces is is heartwarming!
A new family is united!
Shopping and training!
Graduated May 2022
John and Moxie
This tram ride is fun!
John and Moxie
John E., Moxie, and Vicki S. Such a happy day!
A boy and his dog! True love on both sides.
Group photo!! A family united!
Graduated January 2022
Brennan and Logan
Vicki,
It has been amazing having Logan with Brennan. It is such a comfort knowing that he is there looking out for Brennan, even when we can't be there. They are a wonderful team and it is awesome watching them bond and grow together. We are so grateful to the Ron and Vicki Santo Diabetic Alert Dog Foundation for giving us this opportunity. Without them, our boy would not have his best friend and guardian angel right by his side every day.
Debbie
Graduated January 2022
Graduated December 2021
Emily and Maxx
Alerting to a low glucose at the airport.
Waiting as mom takes care of herself.
Training at the mall
My name is Emily and I have been a type 1 diabetic for 23 years. I use an insulin pump and CGM. I noticed at 29 I wasn't always able to detect my low sugars as I once was and having a small child this concerned me. Occasionally the CGM malfunctions and I have to send it back to the company. When this occurs I am without the transmitter for two or three days while the replacement is being shipped. I have had a handful of close calls with low sugars that I didn't notice I was low. I heard about diabetic alert dogs and was very fortunate to come across the Ron and Vicki Santo Foundation. I received my diabetic alert dog, Maxx December 2021. Gracie, the trainer, has been amazing throughout the whole process. Since having Maxx he alerted me to a low sugar I had at the mall the first week I had him. I had not felt this low (which was 32) and my CGM had not yet detected it. It was the Christmas season and the mall was very busy. I was amazed that with everything going on he was able to alert so soon especially before the CGM. Maxx has been a blessing to me and my family, having type 1 diabetes the more tools you have the better off you are to effectively manage the disease. I feel more secure knowing between myself, Maxx and my CGM I have a better chance of keeping my A1c in range. I am forever grateful to the Ron and Vicki Santo Foundation for providing me with this opportunity.
Graduated December 2021
Elizabeth and Gaige
Strike a pose!
Say cheese!!!!
Graduated December 2021
Hi Vicki,
In just the first month of having Hero with me, the biggest change for me is the level of comfort I have at night. I rest easier knowing Hero is there, and can protect me when I otherwise would be unaware of blood sugar changes. I do not wake up to the CGM alarms or symptoms of low blood sugars anymore, but with Hero, she is persistent enough to make sure I wake up, treat my blood sugar as she gets a treat of her own. She has continued to get more and more accurate with her alerts, and has given me a lot of confidence as I hope to live on my own sometime in the near future. Before getting Hero I never thought that would be an option, with the risk of me going low, and never waking up to correct, living alone was not possible. Now, with some more time and learning for both of us, that becomes a real possibility for me and I am grateful beyond words! I am more confident in my ability to manage my diabetes at all times thanks to Hero, she has become a great companion in my life, she has truly opened up the possibilities for what my future may hold, and helps me to feel safe every night when I get into bed. I am so thankful to everyone at the Ron and Vicki Santo Foundation and Bark to Basics for all of their hard work to bring Hero and I together.
I can never say thank you enough times,
Marcus O.
Marcus and Hero
Heeling at the mall.
Our first photo!
I only have eyes for Marcus!
We got this!
Graduated November 2021
Amy and Winston
Gwen and Chevy
Graduated November 2021
Gwen was just 6 years old and struggling to maintain her blood sugar from her condition called Glycogen Storage Disease when she met her Chevy. It was love at first sniff and the rest is history. Chevy currently attends fifth grade with Gwen and loves his life and takes his job to keep Gwen and now her younger sister with the same disease safe.