Loki Rescue To The

A special puppy becomes a lifesaving service dog

By Cynthia McFarland

When Andrew and Amber Laudicina bought the adorable white boxer puppy with the brindle patches on his eyes, they had no idea the role he would play in their lives—in Amber’s life, particularly.

Loki, as they named the energetic 8-week-old, bred locally by Liston’s Boxers, joined their family in February 2014.

Amber had been struggling with physical issues for some time, but it wasn’t until April 2014 that she was o cially diagnosed with gastroparesis, a disorder that occurs when the stomach takes too long to empty food. This disorder, also known as delayed gastric emptying, is a result of weak or abnormal muscles in the stomach.

There’s no known cure for gastroparesis, and in Amber’s case, her stomach actually became paralyzed and surgery was required to remove most of it. Only in her 20s, Amber found herself living in the ICU and then a rehab facility for close to seven months. Eventually, she was allowed to go home but spent nearly two years on a feeding tube with home health care nurses checking on her weekly.

Amber was relieved to be home again, but life with this frustrating disease made her feel like she couldn’t trust her body. Her blood sugar and blood pressure were no longer reliable and she required medication.

“Loki was a rambunctious puppy, and we thought he was just being incredibly annoying at two or three in the morning,” says Amber. “One minute he was a couch potato, and the next minute he was totally focused on me, jumping on the bed and digging at the covers. No matter what Andrew did to try and distract Loki, he was completely fixated on me. He was moaning, smacking his lips and acting stressed out himself.”

The first time this happened, Andrew checked Amber’s blood sugar and was horrified to find it was so low, she could have died. Amber needed immediate medical attention.

“It was very stressful to think I could have fallen asleep and not woken up again,” says Amber, who’s now 30.

When Loki reacted the same way multiple times, a light bulb went o for Amber. Her young dog recognized she was in trouble before she did. It was as though he was saying, “Hey, pay attention! You need help now!”

Amber spoke to a dog trainer and learned that dogs are able to detect the lack of glucose on a person’s breath due to a drop in blood sugar. When this happened to Amber, that’s when Loki would “alert.”

Because Loki was already tuning into this on his own, Amber decided to have him trained to become a service dog. The process is intensive and took about two years, but in 2016, Loki’s service dog status was o cial.

In addition to alerting to a drop in blood sugar, Loki is also able to detect when Amber’s blood pressure is too low. When this happens, he is trained to press his body against hers to prevent her from falling. By paying attention to Loki when he “alerts,” Amber usually has enough time to sit down with her back against a wall, allowing Loki to then press against her, holding her in place until her blood pressure stabilizes and help arrives.

The first few times Loki alerted to Amber’s drop in blood pressure, he wasn’t o cially trained as a service dog, but his instinct was to try and hold her up.

Although it’s not required by law, Loki wears a custom-made service vest whenever he and Amber are out in public. The vest has a special built-in handle that Amber holds for stability, and when on the verge of passing out, she can slip her arm through it so, as she is in and out of consciousness, she doesn’t slump over and hit her head.

Loki’s vest also carries her identification, medication, keys and instructions for first responders. If she ever has to be rushed to the hospital, which has happened more than once, all the information a first responder would need is on hand. This is important, because Amber becomes nonverbal when she’s having an episode.

Loki’s sensitivity to Amber is nothing short of remarkable, especially when you consider he was aware of her problems—and doing his best to help—when he was still a puppy, long before he was trained to do so.

“He would actually make mouth noises and lick his lips like he was trying to talk,” says Amber.

Faithful Companion

Loki is always on duty. This past January Amber and Loki were at the mall when Loki alerted that something was wrong. When this happens at home, Amber doesn’t have to walk far at all to be able to sit down safely. But in a public space, a bench or something she can lean against, isn’t always close by.

“I just ignore him sometimes, and this time was no di erent,” relates Amber. “I wasn’t able to get anywhere I could safely sit down. I fell and hit my head and ended up with a concussion. I was later told that I had several seizures.”

Even though Loki was wearing his service dog vest and trying to help Amber, some people watching the event unfold tried to pull him away from her. Even more disturbing, there were people who pulled out their phones to record Amber’s distress without doing anything to help. (Those videos were later taken down when found on social media.)

Fortunately, someone called 911. When emergency personnel arrived, Loki quickly jumped onto the gurney when they rolled Amber out to the ambulance and rode to the hospital with her, where Andrew met them both.

Looking Ahead

“I’m truly handicapped by this disease, but because I’m young and look healthy, most people don’t realize something is really wrong with me,” says Amber. “I am getting stronger every day and am hoping and praying that by the time Loki’s older, I won’t have to replace him with another service dog.”

Lately, there are more good days than bad, but Loki has to be with Amber whenever she’s alone.

“My life has become dependent on this dog,” she says. “I can’t express in words how much he means to me. It wasn’t until he came into my life that I knew God was real. He was meant to be with me.”

LEARN MORE › Check out Loki’s Facebook page to learn more about this special canine: facebook.com/groups/LokitheServiceDog