Mary Tyler Moore's Pit Bull Senses Her Diabetes

Hundreds of former New York City shelter animals have Mary Tyler Moore to thank for helping them get into forever homes over the years. The comic legend, along with actress Bernadette Peters, is a founder of Broadway Barks, which had its 12th annual adoption event in Times Square on Saturday.

But, it turns out that Moore has her own pooch to thank for rescuing her on a regular basis. Spanky, a pit bull, and one of the actress's four dogs, lets her know when her blood sugar gets low.

"He helps me with my diabetes —he can sense when something's not right," Moore told PEOPLEPets.com at Broadway Barks. "He will come and sit and stare at me until I do something about it."

Moore and her husband also share their home with Shadow, a 12-year-old golden retriever; Shana, an 11-year-old miniature schnauzer; and Bond, James Bond, a 9-year-old Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. They each have wonderful vocabularies, she says.

Though the brood is getting older, Tyler Moore tries not to think about it too much. "They're all very healthy, and they get along beautifully. It's like having four kids."

Three of the kids share her king-size bed, and "they each have their specific positions on the bed," Moore says. "Spanky is happy down on the bottom. That is, until my husband gets in the bed, and then he somehow finds his way up to the top and spreads out across my husband's pillow."

Meet more celebrity furkids on PEOPLEPets.com:
Gwyneth Paltrow Fears Family Dog Will Be Called 'Daffy'
Bethenny Frankel's Dog Adjusting Well to New Baby Bryn

Helin Jung, helin@peoplepets.com