By Chloe Wagner
Tampa-based nonprofit Dogs Inc. has gifted a Brandon resident with the organization’s first Type 1 diabetes service dog, kickstarting the organization’s new Type 1 program.
Dogs Inc., created in 1982, has a variety of nationwide programs for service dogs, including guide dogs, service dogs for veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, Gold Star family dogs and more. The Type 1 service dog program is brand-new, with Latha Dawn Sullivan being the first recipient.
Sullivan was diagnosed with Type 1 when she was 3 years old. Growing up, Sullivan struggled with diabetes “ruling her life,” as well as her siblings and parents’ lives, she said.
“I was considered a ‘brittle diabetic’ because my blood sugar levels were constantly fluctuating based on my emotions, stress, excitement and daily activities,” Sullivan said. “I was very blessed to have a wonderful family that always made life as normal as possible.”
She began her Type 1 service dog research in 2022, quickly hitting financial and locational roadblocks. The only program that met her standards was Dogs Inc., which had not advertised a Type 1 service program.
Sullivan reached out to the nonprofit and was informed that it had recently launched a program for Type 1 diabetics and jumped on the opportunity to be added to its waitlist at the end of 2025. While wait times for service dogs vary, Sullivan’s service dog, a black Labrador lovingly named Rita, was placed within her care at the beginning of 2026.
Dogs Inc. was able to provide Sullivan with Rita free of cost, as all of its programs come at no cost to the service dog recipient. Dogs Inc. is fully funded off donations and is operated by volunteers.
Alysia Santos is the scent detection program manager for the Type 1 program at Dogs Inc., overseeing the entire process of training and homing of the dogs.
The total training period for the dogs lasts around two years. Volunteer puppy raisers provide the puppies with foundational training till they are about 16-18 months. Dogs Inc. will then train the dogs with more specified and advanced tasks for around 16 weeks.
Type 1 trainers will teach the dogs to put their paws on them and eventually pair that cue with the scent of low blood sugar, which is followed by more advanced, nuanced tasks. The smells are obtained by volunteers with Type 1 who donate scent samples, such as perspiration or saliva.
“I look for a dog that experiences the world through its nose. It will walk beside you, but maybe be air-scenting, and that is totally okay for them to do,” Santos said. “We just love a dog that likes to live with sniffing.”
Rita has greatly impacted Sullivan and the management of her Type 1 diabetes. She was constantly on alert with her diabetes before receiving Rita, carrying an emergency bag full of medications, snacks and juices everywhere she went. She has been able to live her life with less stress with Rita, as she is trained to detect blood sugar level changes and notifies Sullivan 10-20 minutes before her electronic medical devices can.
“The difference with or without my service dog is straight forward. Not having Rita, I was having too many nighttime lows that could be very dangerous if I didn’t wake up. Now that Rita and I are together, she is alerting me in plenty of time to treat it before it calls for emergency personnel,” Sullivan said.
Dogs Inc.’s Type 1 program is continuing to grow, according to Santos. It recently acquired a new team member and are looking for more. The organization is always looking for volunteer puppy raisers and scent sample participants.
For more information and to get involved, visit https://dogsinc.org/.
You must be logged in to post a comment.