Diabetic dog’s late-night alarm pushed parents to check on their sleeping daughter — and what they found was terrifying

Sometimes, the most powerful moments come quietly, without warning, and surprisingly, it's often our furry companions who come to the rescue. In a video shared in 2023 by a TikTok user (@theboggs_family), a remarkable moment unfolded one night. When the family noticed their daughter's service dog looking anxious, they had no idea she was alerting them to something much more serious. 

The video, shared by the mother, featured their daughter’s medical alert dog, Spy. As the onscreen text explained, “This is our daughter's medical alert dog who came downstairs after they'd been asleep awhile to tell us something was wrong.” In the footage, Spy appeared agitated, pacing around and trying to get the family’s attention. Recognizing the unusual behavior, they quickly followed the dog upstairs to check on their daughter.

At the time, her continuous glucose monitor was still warming up, which meant there was no live blood sugar reading available. Just an hour earlier, the family had changed her insulin pump and administered a dose, so they weren’t expecting any major issues. Still, as the mother explained in the video, “We thought, well, maybe she's low? But obviously something was wrong, Spy was telling us...so we needed to check.” The mother expressed how she felt bad that they had to wake their daughter up in the middle of the night, but they had to listen to the service dog. "I hate that we have to wake her up, but it's important we don't ignore Spy." Trusting the dog’s instincts, they checked their daughter’s blood sugar manually and found it was dangerously high at 338. “This dog is such a blessing to our family! We truly can't be more thankful,” she added.

In the caption, the mother summed up the incident with the statement, “The nose always knows! Even when it’s sleeping.” The video not only showed the vital role service dogs play in managing chronic conditions, but also reminded viewers of how deeply connected these animals are to the people they care for. And, naturally, the video became a hit with internet users, reaching more than 20.4 million views so far. Many users flooded the comment section with warm messages and praises. @frenchmama_740 wrote, "Dogs are angels on this earth. They're so intelligent beyond what we can even imagine. I hope Spy lives a long, happy life with her little human." 

@brandip723 revealed, "My type one little girl is 11. She has been type one since she was 3. I would love to get a service dog for her! They are such smart dogs!" @crystalgehrkehoffman recounted, "I, too, was a young diabetic. I clearly remember my parents waking me up to check my blood sugar [sic]. The concern on Spy’s face is something to witness. Amazing!" @nicole_mohamed shared her personal experience, "My mom's Labbie did the same with my brother. She was never trained as a medic alert dog. But has alerted my parents to a lot of sugar highs and lows."

For more inspiring service dog content, follow @theboggs_family on TikTok.