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Service dog keeping teen with rare disease safe

'Keeva' is trained to alert to scents before a potentially fatal allergic reaction

WISCASSET, Maine — A high trained medical alert dog is helping keep a Wiscasset teen, who suffers from a rare condition that makes her allergic to almost everything, safe --  and her family is more than grateful. 

16-year old Martina Baker Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, also known as MCAS.

That means a whiff of a certain scent can send her into anaphylactic shock -- which can be fatal.

In January, family and friends raised 12-thousand dollars to train and transport Keeva, a former rescue dog to Maine. The three-year old Afghan-boxer mix is also trained to work with diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's patients has an incredible sense of smell.  Keeva alerts Martina to scents that could trigger a reaction and has made it safe for the teenager go out in public again. She has had fewer hospitalizations, got her driver's license and landed a part-time job.

 'I feel less alone and like way more independent. I can go places and do things,' said Baker.

For more information about Mast Cell Activation Diseases click here

Information about medical alert service dogs click here

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