Tyler McCready, like most high school seniors, donned a cap and gown for his graduation from Rose Bud High in Arkansas. So, too, did his constant companion, Sinatra.
Sinatra, who appears to have at least one blue eye like his namesake, is McCready’s diabetic alert dog. And the two are connected at the hip. So it just made sense for the pair to walk and receive the diploma together.
“He’s been here since 10th grade, so he’s earned it,” said Jerry McCready, Tyler’s dad, told THV11.
“He hasn’t really been a good chick magnet yet, I haven’t gotten any phone numbers,” Tyler said jokingly.
Tyler was diagnosed with Type I diabetes back in 2012 and since then, he and his family have learned how to live with the disease.
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“We knew nothing about diabetes, we knew nothing about counting carbs, nothing like that. We were thrown into a whirlwind,” Tyler’s father said.
They got a GoFundMe together to raise money for a service dog, one who could let Tyler know when his blood sugar was getting high or low.
“Within a couple of weeks we got that money up and he was mine,” said Tyler.
“He goes to church, he goes everywhere with him,” Jerry said. “He will paw and alert him that his sugar is dropping. And usually the dog is a little bit quicker than the diabetic equipment that he’s got,” dad said.
It seemed only right that Sinatra get the full cap-and-gown treatment along with his best friend.
Tyler says he wants to attend college at Full Sail University in Florida. Sinatra, of course, will go along with him.
