World Addison's Disease Day

Addison’s disease, an adrenal insufficiency, affects individuals worldwide, but assistance dogs may be a life-changing tool for those who suffer from it.

What is adrenal insufficiency and Addison’s disease?

In those who face primary, secondary, or tertiary adrenal insufficiency, the production of adrenal cortex hormones is absent or reduced. In Addison's disease, there is primary adrenal insufficiency, thus the adrenal cortex, a small part of the adrenal gland on top of the kidneys, does not produce enough or any hormones.

If someone with adrenal insufficiency cannot be properly stabilized with medication, they will frequently experience an adrenal crisis—a life-threatening situation caused by a severe lack of cortisol. Rapid intervention is essential for the person's well-being, but there is no man-made measurement instrument to detect low cortisol levels, which makes it a very dangerous condition.

What does the Addison assistance dog do?

It is scientifically proven that dogs can smell steroids. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is also a steroid and can be detected through scent. In situations of severe stress, a life-threatening adrenal crisis can occur, resulting in a deficiency of cortisol. A person experiencing an impending adrenal crisis emits a specific scent that a trained assistance dog can detect before the person themselves realizes what is happening. The dog learns a specific alert behavior linked to this change in body odor and signals to their handler. This early warning can prevent life-threatening situations.

Why an Addison assistance dog?

An Addison assistance dog can be trained to detect and alert to a drop in cortisol levels earlier than the person themselves notices it. Timely intervention cued by an Addison assistance dog can trigger the handler to administer life-saving medication and can prevent an impending adrenal crisis.

In addition to performing medical alert tasks, Addison assistance dogs can also significantly increase quality of life. People with adrenal insufficiency often experience debilitating symptoms and can limit their daily functioning. They may struggle to participate in social and community life and have a hard time maintaining a job. By reducing the need for professional medical help and increasing the handler’s confidence and independence, they can play a role in improving quality of life.

ADI accredited member organization Foundation Kibo Medical Detection Dogs in the Netherlands trains Addison assistance dogs. The training is provided through team training, in which the client learns to train their own adult dog into an official assistance dog under professional supervision. The training typically takes 12-16 months. Several clients of Kibo report that they have regained their lives and a sense of freedom thanks to their assistance dog. Where they previously did not dare leave their home alone, they can now go out confidently with their assistance dog. This has allowed them to regain a significant level of independence. In addition, the use of Addison assistance dogs has been proven to reduce hospital admissions among clients.

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Corrien Otte is an adrenal-insufficient patient who has been working as a secretary at the Kibo Foundation since 2017. In recent years, she is less able to sense when her cortisol levels are dropping, leading to more frequent impending adrenal crises. Since April of 2026, she has been in training with her dog Pateeke with hopes that she will graduate as an Addison assistance dog. Although her condition will always be a part of her life, she hopes that early detection from Pateeke will allow her condition to have less control over her daily life and place fewer limitations on her. This would enable her to enjoy things that may seem self-evident to others.

At the Kibo Foundation, medical assistance dogs have been trained since 2015 for people with Addison disease, diabetes, post traumatic stress disorder, autism, and epilepsy.

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