By Kyle Jorrey 

What has four legs, curly golden locks and enjoys a perfectly placed corner kick? 
 
Ruby ... the unofficial mascot of the Cal Lutheran men's soccer team. 
 
Ruby is a service dog belonging to junior forward Max Scott, who has Type 1 diabetes. The 3-year-old goldendoodle is trained to alert Max when his blood sugar levels are abnormal so he can take the necessary steps to correct them. 
 
So, wherever Max goes, Ruby follows - whether it's to class, on bus rides or on bicoastal flights with his Kingsmen teammates. 
 
"People around campus refer to me as 'the dude with a dog,'" Max said. "I'm OK with that." 
 
When Cal Lutheran head coach Miguel Ruiz started scouting Max in 2021 out of Mililani High School in Oahu, Hawaii, he was unaware of his medical condition. In their second conversation, the talented striker was upfront: he and Ruby were a package deal. 
 
"He let me know, 'Hey coach, I've got this dog, and she goes wherever I go.' And honestly, I was cool with it," Ruiz said. "I really didn't know much about it, but luckily the school was completely supportive. I think that's a real testament to CLU. This is a good place for them." 
 
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which can be triggered by lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet that cause the body to become resistant to insulin, Type 1 is genetic and most often identified in young children. 
 
Max received his diagnosis when he was 10 years old and preparing to leave on a baseball trip to another island. Instead of joining his teammates, he went to the hospital. 
 
"Initially I was like 'Oh my gosh my life is over,' but the doctors were very reassuring. They let me know, 'Yes, this is a terrible disease ... but it doesn't mean you can't be a normal kid. Yes, you have diabetes, but it doesn't mean you can't do what you want to do.'" 
 
Knowing their son soon would be out of their care, Max's parents, Sean and Leslie, sought out Diabetic Alert Dogs of America, a Nevada-based organization specializing in training dogs to detect changes in blood sugar. In October 2021, they brought home Ruby. 
 
With her remarkable sense of smell, Ruby can detect when Max's blood sugar levels are too high or too low. When he's nearby, she alerts him by sitting down and gently tapping him with her paw. If he's out of reach, such as during a match, Ruby resorts to a dog's most reliable form of communication: barking. 
 
"She's really good at her job," said Max, 20. "But it's like a game to her. Whenever she alerts, she gets a treat." 
 
A testament to Ruby's good-natured personality, or perhaps her adorable face, teammates, coaches and the Cal Lutheran community have embraced the canine with open arms. The university provides Max with his own room to accommodate Ruby's kennel. She sleeps nearby to ensure she can wake her owner up at night if necessary. 
 
Sporting a red service dog harness, a purple and gold CLU collar, and a green leash, Ruby accompanies Max almost everywhere, including to most of his classes. He leaves her behind during gym workouts ("she doesn't like really loud noises"), occasional labs and on unusually hot days at practice. 
 
"That's her time to just be a dog and not be on the clock," said Max, who is majoring in biology with hopes of one day becoming a pediatric endocrinologist, so he can treat kids and teens with diabetes. 
 

Extra responsibility 

Living with Type 1 diabetes means always having to be prepared. Unlike his teammates, Max has a laundry list of items he must remember whenever he leaves for a match. Medicine, check. Extra food, check. Ruby's dog bowl, check. 
 
"I feel like I have to overpack all the time. I can't just throw on my uniform and my shoes and just hop on the bus," he said. "You always have to be prepared for every situation because you never know when you might get stuck somewhere for seven hours. I need to have food just in case. I need to have medicine just in case. Or else you go straight to the hospital." 
 
"I always joke with my friends, it's like being a dog dad. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, but she makes it worth it." 
 
Once a year, Ruby must travel to Las Vegas to freshen up on her training. This year, Max coordinated the visit with a trip the soccer team made to the East Coast. 
 
Separation anxiety, Max learned, goes both ways. 
 
"It just felt weird not having her," he said. 
 

On the field 

During games, Max tethers Ruby to the bench, where she dutifully awaits her owner's return. As Max is a starter who puts in major minutes, his teammates step up to keep her company. 
 
"She's able to chill on the bench with the boys. It's cute because they will come over and refill her water bowl and pet her," Max said. 
 
Ruby has even found a way to break through the tough exterior of the team's head coach. 
 
"She's great. She does so much for (Max). When they say a dog is man's best friend, that describes Ruby perfectly," said Ruiz, now in his sixth year leading the program. 
 
Ruiz said Max and Ruby help keep things in perspective. 
 
"Sometimes when we face adversity as a team, we can think the world is ending, but they're a reminder that people are dealing with bigger issues," the coach said. "Max just shows all of us that you can persevere through difficult challenges. For having gone through a lot, he's got a great attitude." 
 
Ruiz and Max have formed a bond of their own. The coach said he's learned a lot from his player about living with diabetes. 
 
"I think at the beginning I didn't always understand how it affected him," Ruiz said. "So, we talked about it, and now I know if he says, 'Hey coach, I need to step out,' I get it. He takes a few minutes to get what he needs, and then he's back out there." 
 
And when Max has been on the field this year, good things have happened. 
 
He's tied for the team lead in assists (2) and is third in goals (3). Just this month, Max recorded key scores against CalTech to earn the Kingsmen a much-needed draw and against Pomona Pitzer to help them get a 3-2 win. Ruby, of course, looked on proudly. 
 
"It goes way beyond diabetes and taking care of that aspect," Max said of his bond with Ruby. "She's always there for me. She's always there to cheer me up. It's also that unconditional love. She makes life less lonely, especially being so far from home."