Madison County Schools welcome student’s medical service dog

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - A four-legged student started class at Sparkman High School Wednesday.

Captain Theo made his first appearance in Madison County Schools.

He is a trained service dog that helps students detect potential medical issues.

Theo and his owner, Dylan Lancaster, visited with the head nurse and medical students at the Career Technical Center.

Lancaster talked to students about his service dog’s life-saving abilities.

"Just basic information about diabetes. Signs and symptoms and also diabetic alert dogs, which are dogs that can smell a type 1 diabetic’s blood sugar before it shifts in the too high or too low direction,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster is a student at Sparkman High School. He had a dog for seven years but it recently died from cancer. Theo is his new dog.

The service dogs can cost anywhere from $16,000 to $20,000.

Students at Sparkman helped Lancaster raise money to buy Theo.

Lancaster now runs a nonprofit and has helped half a dozen people secure their own dogs.

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