Here’s to Hope!
There are 10 easy lessons to our training method. Basic obedience is practiced with a Sugar Dog as you live your life.
The actual story of Mark’s Sugar Dog Hope began with June. His beautiful wife Cami wife rescued June (red standard Poodle) from a farm living in an outdoor pen at 4 months and she spontaneously alerted within a month. Mark was very attached to June and they took obedience lessons together. June died at 16 months with an Addison’s attack. Mark then spent 4 months searching for another red or dark apricot Poodle and he found Hope for sale online at only 5 weeks old. Mark drove 2 hours to meet Hope and waited another 5 weeks to bring her home.Merry is known for search and rescue dogs and Hope was to be her first pup with this job as a diabetic alert dog. Mark knew Hope was perfect when she brought Mark his blood glucose test kit from the table at 13-14 weeks old and Mark subsequently tested positive for low BG. Hope has since learned to sit and tap Mark for both high and low and has awakened him probably 30-40 times with either low or high during the night in the past 2 years. Hope will climb up on the side of the bed and tap Mark’s arm or face gently to wake him. Hope gets her rest in short naps, she never goes more than 2 hours without checking on Mark.We are thankful to share Mark’s beautiful story of Hope, Harper and June.
Mark in KY reported “about 5″ of snow on the ground, deck and steps are ice covered and it’s cold. Hope is usually walked out front but it’s too dangerous with the 1/2″ of ice on top of the snow. So Hope is using the back yard until the weather improves. She will walk on top of it and push through occasionally so she is slow and careful, she has even used the deck a few times instead of sliding out to the yard. Apryl, our Shih Tzu just walks on top of it but our red standard Poodle weighs in at 53 pounds and can break through the ice.”
Mark and Hope have come a long way since sweet Hope was a puppy. Sugar Dog Hope now alerts consistently and Mark’s HbA1c results are excellent.
Aiming for excellence surely pays off. Great work!
~~~~~
We recently received a great update from Mark and Hope:
Mark found a good deal on a handle that fits higher on Hope’s shoulder blades and only has 1 chest strap so it’s more comfortable for Hope to sleep in from Sitstay.com and it was inexpensive. She doesn’t seem to mind it. Hope wears it out now with her bandana instead of her big patch harness. It is red. The bandana is from bibsandblankies on Etsy.
Hope is doing fine: alerting to blood glucose (BG), both high and low. She alerts about 80 and 160-170.
Just showing off the new handle
The bandana is from bibsandblankies on Etsy.
Hope is a Perfect Sugar Dog Rock Star. Mark learned the training method before he and his beautiful wife adopted Hope. Then they set off on their adventures: walking city streets, visiting a farm regularly, vacationing, working and taking care of business. Hope is certified as a diabetic alert dog & more, much more. She’s Perfect. She’s Hope.
Aim for Excellence! Train an authentic, an original Sugar Dog for yourself in your own home. Mark did and his whole family is truly glad. We appreciate the beautiful photos. Keep up the great work. Aim for Excellence.
Recently, Hope experienced some health problems after finally accompanying Mark to work at his office. Unfortunately, Mark recently lost Hope to illness. She’ll be waiting for him at the Rainbow Bridge.
Mark is now training his third Sugar Dog. Her name is Hannah and she’s a black moyne Standard Poodle of a size that is between Miniature and Standard, or a smaller Standard than some of the taller Poodles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For further information, please contact MySugarDogs@gmail.com with “Sugar Dogs” in the reference or subject line. Thank you!
Disclosure: We recommend that you seek medical care from a board certified endocrinologist if you are a diabetic, or your physician of choice. We recommend that you seek tax advice from a certified public accountant or a board certified tax lawyer. We also recommend that you seek legal advice from a board certified attorney as nothing contained on this website is offered as medical advice, tax advice or legal advice.
Sugar Dogs International, Inc. is an all volunteer Florida corporation. Our federal tax ID number is available upon request. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, the Florida Division of Agriculture and the Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling 1-800-435-7352 within the State of Florida. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State. CH44762







As Hope’s breeder, I cannot adequately express my pride and gratitude that she is of such value to Mark. Thank you so much for helping her become all she can be!