http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlOwDW3Flg8

The Mission of Dogs for Diabetics is to:

Provide quality medical alert assistance dogs to insulin-dependent diabetics through programs of training, placement, and follow-up services; and to,
Develop, promote and advocate standards of quality, performance, support and disclosure for all medical assistance dog teams.

Mark Ruefenacht is an insulin-dependent diabetic, with a family history of blindness due to diabetic retinopathy and non age-related advanced macular degeneration. With this strong motivation, Mark began his work with assistance dogs in 1995, raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) of San Rafael, California. He continues this volunteer service today as a regional Guide Dog Puppy Raising Group Leader and also leads a Research Si Development Puppy Raising program under the direction of GDB.

ln 1999, Mark was able to couple his professional experience in forensic science with his guide dog experience to
develop innovative new training protocols for dogs to detect hypoglycemia (acute low blood sugar) in insulin-dependent
diabetics. In 2004, he founded Dogs for Diabetics (D4D), the first-of-its-kind assistance dog organization fully accredited with Assistance Dogs International (ADI) for the training, placement, and follow-up services of dogs to assist type 1
diabetics. Over 100 dogs have been placed with diabetics to assist in the detection and prevention of hypoglycemia.
These dogs now safeguard lives as well as help prevent diabetes-related disabilities such as blindness, amputations and other severe medical complications.

As a pioneer in the medical assistance dog industry, Mark continues to champion minimum training standards and ethics for all medical assistance dog organizations; as well as access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and continued research into the training and use of dogs to assist in the mitigation of different medical conditions.

Mark has had the opportunity to share his story about his work with GDB and D4D as a speaker at numerous
international conferences. in 2010, he was recognized by Bark Magazine as one of the 100 most innovative dog trainers in the world. He has traveled around the world, working directly with numerous assistance and guide dog organizations to further the life-saving skills assistance dogs can provide to people with disabilities.

In 2012, Mark was awarded the Bronze medal and, in 2013, the Silver medal for the Jefferson Award to recognize his
work in promoting volunteerism in the community with GDB and D4D. He was a contributor on the revisions to the
American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 2011 and also served on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Disability Coalition to ensure thorough, but equitable, screening of persons with disabilities and assistance dogs.

He consults with corporations and government entities on the ADA and assistance dogs in the work place. Additionally, he
has served as an expert Witness on topics of assistance dog training and the ADA in the California court system.

Category: Nonprofits & Activism
Uploaded by: Diabetes Hands Foundation
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