“Barking Mad” is the latest addition to the Jack Lily and Friends series of children’s books, launched on the 28 June and features loveable cockney Staffie, Nelson. Nelson meets lifesaving Diabetes Alert Dog “Pal” who warns his owner Claire Pearson when her blood sugar levels drop dangerously low and saves her life every day.
Gerald Smythe met Claire at the Kent County Show in 2016 and was totally amazed at what Pal could do. Claire has Type 1 diabetes and has no hypo awareness which means that without Pal she would frequently fall into a diabetic coma and need to be rushed to A&E. Hearing Claire’s story, Gerald knew he wanted to help the Medical Detection Dogs charity that trained Pal by donating a percentage of the Jack Lilly and Friends books profits.
Gerald Smythe says “Claire is a truly amazing person. She has a very complex medical condition and without Pal life would be very difficult. Seeing Pal warn her for the first time that she was in danger made the hairs on my arms stand up. Unbelievably he has alerted Claire over 12,000 times in the last five years saving the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds.”
To read more about Claire’s story please visit: www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/claire-and-pal
To purchase “Barking Mad” please visit: www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/merchandise