Application forms

Thank you for contacting Sugar Dogs International for your service dog team training. While others claim to train diabetic alert dogs, we offer Perfect Health coaching for Every Person.  Our lifestyle has a serious dog component.  We’ve been training Sugar Dogs since 1966.

This is a long dialog and we apologize.  It may contain some info that doesn’t apply to you or your health challenges.  Most questions are answered on our website by reading the informative Chapters and the Questions and Honest Answers page.

You may be familiar with some of the modalities we will suggest.  We will build on your knowledge and offer a Perfect Health (Ayurvedic) lifestyle plan.  Enjoy peace, love and enjoy a Sugar Dog in your sweet life.

We train people all over the world to train their own Sugar Dogs in their own homes via e-mail.  (Personally, I think female Poodles make the BEST Sugar Dogs – don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings about breeds or gender they like, but … honesty is the best policy. Neutered male Poodles are fabulous cuddlers and they like working as Sugar Dogs too.)  Having a Sugar Dog helps in many ways.

Our program is NOT like guide dog training or other obedience lessons.  Trust us on this.  We operate on a LOVE based method.  We believe that you get what you give.  Give love, it’s absolutely free.  And then, if the Poodle loves you, it will alert for whatever challenge arises.  We know based upon scientific fact that dogs can assist with blood pressure, heart, cancer, blood glucose (BG), mobility, MS, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, PTSD, Pediatric Schizophrenia, other psychological and medical labels.

Please be advised that effective 5-19-2020, Sugar Dogs International will no longer accept as clients those persons challenged with mental illness of any type (whether diagnosed or undiagnosed with obvious aggressive, mean or evil behavior), autistic disorders, ADD, ADHD, ASD, chronic GAD, etc. This declination includes children, teens and adults who cannot control their anger, mood, temper or actions.

We don’t guarantee any other breed but we do guarantee Poodles.  Full-bloodied, AKC registered Poodles are the best from our point of view but we are NOT into backyard breeders.  We love training rescued animals BUT keep reading…  If you hire an expert, isn’t that what you want?  Their honest opinion about what they’ve invested their lives learning?  Yes, of course it is.  We’ve had people be unhappy with a specific Poodle, but we’ve never had a really loved Poodle fail to help its human and others, if it possibly can. That’s why we call them Sugar Dogs – well, that and the fact that I’ve been a diabetic since I was 9 years old and we moved.  Moving is a very stressful event for a child or an adult. Within a year of moving from a tiny town to a small city, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which was called juvenile brittle diabetes at that time.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is stress related.  That’s a whole separate lesson and may not apply to you.

We are professionals that understand stress and we understand stress relief.  We will teach it to you.  We understand “dis-ease” and we study with the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.  We meditate at Sugar Dog Headquarters.  The entire Board of Directors have received their personal Primordial Sound Mantras.  In fact, we meditate with Sugar Dogs. We also pray with them and cry with them and laugh with them and include them in every detail of our lives.  We take them to the hospital with us.  Our dearest Ed and his Sugar Dog Mocha went to ER together twice.  And our dear Marissa and her two little red-headed Poodles have spent many a night at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.  Robin landed in Ohio for her mother’s funeral and experienced “service dog denial” problems after she was rushed to ER, her sweet little Dr. Niko at her side, and she called us.  We reminded her of the ADA Magic Words and like magic, the medical staff got to work on Robin.  Dr. Niko was included in the treatment program and all was well.  Our prayers were answered.  We are thankful and you will be too for your Sugar Dog.  We promise. Yes, there is one catch:  YOU have to LOVE YOUR SUGAR DOG and be consistent in your practice.

Please have an open mind.  We are working on the cutting edge of molecular science. Mayo Clinic says, “We don’t know what causes Type 1 diabetes (T1D).”  There is no medical evidence to support the virus theory.  Often diabetes causes a person to be susceptible to other “dis-ease,” after all diabetes mellitus is an immunosuppressive “dis-ease.”  And so it is found after a viral illness that just simply won’t go away.  Sometimes, like heart “dis-ease,” it’s a silent killer.  This “dis-ease” and many others can be controlled with a whole new lifestyle.  My own Sugar Dogs help me.  Let us help you train your Poodle to be a service animal.  Having a Sugar Dog helps in lots of ways, not just diabetic self-management.

While I can’t wave a magic wand (I’d love to!), I believe we can help you too.  None of this is magical thinking.  This is cutting edge science.

We will develop a training plan for you individually.  It involves lots of finger stick glucose tests for diabetics.  Diabetes is about self-management.  The Sugar Dog acts as a gentle reminder to test regularly, and pump or inject insulin when the blood glucose (BG) is high, or more importantly, eat NOW if the BG is low.  Again, our ideas are cutting edge science and may offer a very different perspective than what you’ve learned in the past. Please be willing to learn this.  Open your mind to molecular science and open your heart to Sugar Dog Love. While I wouldn’t wish Type 1 diabetes (T1D) on my worst enemy, if I had to choose a “dis-ease,” I would choose this one.  I’m now 63.  I have good pulse in my feet, which means no neuropathy.  My kidneys are in great shape, considering how long I’ve been a diabetic.  I have inherited glaucoma and had been a Type 1 diabetic (T1D) for more than 50 years before I developed retinopathy.  I do wear glasses but I’m a reader.  I married and had a child, who is now married and blessed me with a granddaughter.  I went to law school and had a 40+ year career in the legal profession.  I’ve taught in colleges, universities, law schools and in private workshops.  I’ve taught on Pennsylvania Ave. in D.C.  I’m certified to teach Primordial Sound Meditation and Perfect Health Ayurvedic Lifestyle by Deepak Chopra, MD (the world’s #1 best known endocrinologist).  Meditation is a part of our program and yes, it helps tremendously with the stress we feel as human beings regardless of any diagnosis.

Sugar Dogs International is comprised of volunteers:  a Master of Education, RNs who specialize in Diabetes Education, a Social Worker, an Artistic Administrative Staff, a Type 2 Coordinator (Seniors Supporting Seniors), IT folks, and it feels like a gazillion diabetics of all types, even expectant mothers, plus many people with other types of medical challenges.  Oh yes, and oodles of Poodles and other dogs as well!  We invite you to join us.

While the focus of our training method initially was helping diabetics, because each training method is designed individually by our enlightened professionals, we also assist epileptics, persons challenged by Parkinson’s “dis-ease,” PTSD, and other psychological and neurological labels, as well as mobility concerns, even hypertension, heart challenges, including arrhythmia, we can help anyone seeking Perfect Health.  We have one toy Poodle who has alerted to breast cancer in two different women.  One knew before the Sugar Dog alerted and one didn’t.  The alerts were spontaneous and it was obvious what the little Sugar Dog was trying to say as she repetitively pressed her nose on the ladies’ breasts.  This isn’t rocket science, YOU can do it – even 5-year-olds can do it with their families’ support and patience.  Sugar Dogs are smart.  LOVE and consistency are the keys to the Sugar Dogs Kingdom.

If you are interested in joining our elite list of international clients, please print the application form, the medical form and ALL the other forms, and mail all with your initial donation to:     Sugar Dogs International, Inc., P.O.Box 86, Brooker, FL 32622  USA

Please leave blank anything that does not apply to you (or your child, if applying on behalf of a child).

Application Form

Applicant Medical History Form   We cannot begin until we receive this form, the prescription and a copy of the letter from your physician.  Please keep the original physician’s letter for your own reference.  We also want copies of blood test results, MRI results and other radiographic reports if you have mobility issues or a neurological challenge.  Please include any other documents you believe may be helpful to our professional staff designing a Perfect Health lifestyle tailored to meet your needs.  Please attach your physician’s management plan in accordance with the bold notice on p. 2 of the form.

About 10 years ago, there was a trained standard Poodle available from another diabetic alert dog trainer for $18,000 or $19,500 if you wanted it to awaken another person, other than the diabetic.  What an outrage!  How much isn’t the question.  Ours is a love based program. We work from donations.  We suggest an initial donation of $125 for U.S. veterans and people adopting from Florida Poodle Rescue.  $500 for diabetics and other chronic “dis-eases” as we will be with you forever, and $250 for the disabled or those on Social Security (proof required).  These donations are used to order your service dog’s patch and cover our initial expenses associated with reviewing your application, preparing correspondence, paying Internet and licensing fees, making copies for your file, postage, etc.  At one time, veterans were trained for free through the VA’s pilot program at James A. Haley VA Hospital as we trained their staff for free in 2012; however, we understand that this program is no longer being offered.  The reduced suggested donation for a veteran is $125 (copy of DD-214 required).  We will train you via email wherever you are in the world.  With various translation programs available, our training method is available.

For Frequently Asked Questions & Very Honest Answers – please see that Chapter on this website.

Are you a poodle person     Are you a Poodle person?  We’ll tell you right now that Paula is Poodle crazy.

Previous publicity includes an article on K9magazine.com, which is an international publication based in London, UK, as well as Florida’s premier dog magazine, our Official Dog Magazine, The New Barker (Spring 2011).

On and we have Royalty!  Beautiful young people who have trained Sugar Dogs to help them in their daily lives.  Two young ladies have trained five dogs and deserve special recognition.  Both suffer from stress related Type 1 diabetes (T1D).  We have a Queen of Sugar Dogs and a Princess Royale of Sugar Dogs.

Our lifestyle research with Dr. Chopra on stress relief and handling service animals is wonderful.  We’ve got terrific success stories about people regaining Perfect Health, some by “walking off their meds,” and keeping their Sugar Dogs anyway.  After all, would you give up a dog that saved your life?  Ever?  We have a plan to care for your Sugar Dog if you should predecease the service animal.  We’ve tried to think of each and every step that will help you train your own Sugar Dog and be successful.  We are learning all the time and with you and your Sugar Dog on our team, we all gain in understanding.

Please complete the application, get your doctor to complete the medical form, write the prescription and prepare a letter of medical necessity, and return the original documents via snail mail with your initial donation.  We have received checks that ranged from $50 to $7500 with applications, so please know that whatever you send is fine.  Please send something.  Unfortunately, we cannot review an application without a donation.    We exist on your generosity.  We want to help others.

Personally, I’m so into helping others that I was a test subject in Dr. Faustman’s lab study at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital.  Deepak’s brother, Sanjiv Chopra, M.D. teaches at Harvard Medical School.  We spoke to the endocrinology professors at the James A. Haley VA Hospital on the University of South Florida (USF) campus in October 2012 and they had great ideas for a pilot program using our training program.  In the past, we have worked with the Dept. of Molecular Medicine at USF.  Recently, we have been working with the student veterinarians at the University of Florida (UF).  See the Sugar Dog Stories on the website.  What we are doing is real science.  It’s not a get rich quick scheme, that’s for sure.  It’s also not a cure for any medical condition.  We’re hoping Dr. Faustman’s Lab’s research pays off with a cure for diabetes.  She’s working on a series of injections of a modified TB drug, a generic that’s been on the market for 85+ years.  Truly, we’re against the drug companies, the artificial pancreas, gadgets and all costing so much, when a cure may be readily available with a generic drug.  The American Diabetes Association does not support Dr. Faustman’s Lab because it will put them out of business.  There’s also Dr. Lu’s new product, Ludaxx, that is “curing” diabetes.  (It’s a scam.)  Have no fear:  Our program follows your physician’s prescribed plan versus some junk that puts you or your child at further risk.

Please put on your seatbelts, keep your hands, arms and heads inside the car, and get ready for the learning experience of a lifetime.  Yes, heads because 2 are better than 1 and this involves a real team effort of the person and their dog, plus their families, caregivers and the other wonderful people in their lives.  This is a lifestyle program and it has a very serious dog component!

Again, welcome to Sugar Dogs International!

Application Checklist    Use this checklist to get started.

Please let us know if you have a dog or if you are currently looking for a dog.  You may select any breed; however, please do your research and allow the smartest dog to select you, rather than settling for a dog with the saddest eyes or a specific color.  Listen to your heart in the choice YES but also listen to your head and think about any candidate for your service animal successfully completing the tasks required.  Is it smart enough?  Is it healthy enough?  Blind dogs taken in carts and intentionally kept close to their humans can alert perfectly well to diabetes and “dis-ease” but will not do well as mobility service dogs.  Is the dog large enough or will it be too large later?  Can it travel?  Some breeds simply cannot fly.  Some breeds are unwelcome based upon their looks regardless of how sweet one particular dog may be — in a confrontational situation, anyone can get their hackles up.  We’ll help with that as well as with challenges you may encounter in your daily life.  We want to help you make a smart choice.  So let us know on these points, OK? We require at least two (2) levels of obedience training with a dog trainer who does NOT use the evil leash-jerk method of correction (causes paralysis, herniated discs, cervical fractures) and an example Public Access Test is on the website.  Socializing is important for you and your Sugar Dog candidate.  Go and do.  Take bags of course (to pick up after your dog)!

I have my dog (required form)   If you have your Sugar Dog candidate, please provide some info on the dog as well. Oh and if you’re on Facebook, please go to Sugar Dogs International and LIKE us and leave a comment or photo of your Sugar Dog.  Let us know what you and your Sugar Dog are doing and we’ll put it up for all to see.

Sugar Dogs Kisses to YOU!