Interview with Austin: What It's Like Having Bo at the Lake

Austin spends the summers, Sunday through Thursday, at his Meme and Poppy 's lake house. He has been doing this since he was six-years-old. They are informed, educated and trained on how to care for his Type 1 (Autoimmune) Diabetes and they are meticulous with his care. This is Bo's first summer with Austin at the lake. (Prior to this year, neither boy or pup were ready to work together without my assistance.) In order to document Austin's thoughts and feelings on the subject, I asked him several questions about what it was like having Bo at the lake with him. What follows are his unedited responses.

Why do you want to take Bo with you to the lake?
Because he is ready and it exposes him to new experiences being with other dogs and it's interesting to see how he does and to have him their because it gives me more responsibilities.

Do you have any concerns about having Bo at the lake?
Yes. We were on a walk and there were two dogs. One was on a hill about 10 feet above us and one was on a camp site next to us. One dog started barking and Bo was okay. But then the dog on the hill barked down on him and Bo had troubling handling it. Bo barked back. Then when we saw another dog, he started barking. I feel like he was trying to keep himself from being in that position again.

What is the best part about having Bo at the lake?
He is entertaining. He is always following me and he likes to lay down with me.

What is the most difficult part about having Bo at the lake?
Picking up poop. It's just not something I enjoy doing.

How do you work through the difficulty of picking up poop?
I just do it. I just get it done with or I walk as far as I can into the woods, off the side of the road, and cue him to go two.

What have you learned about yourself since having Bo at the lake?
I haven't learned anything about myself.

What has most surprised you about having Bo at the the lake?
How well he works in a different environment. For example, he alerted Poppy in the middle of the night.

What do your friends at the lake say about Bo?
That he is really cool and that he is doing a really important thing.

Do your friends at the lake ask you questions about Bo's job?
Not really.

Has anyone tried to pet Bo when he was working at the lake?
Yes but I just told the kid no and he stopped.

Would you recommend that a 13-year-old boy living with Type 1 (autoimmune) Diabetes get a Diabetes Alert Dog?
Yes, because it helps with responsibilities. Also, it's very helpful because a lot of times I feel fine and Bo alerts and I'll be low and I won't feel it. It's really nice to have that back-up.

Boy and pup napping at the lake.