The TODAY Show features Beacon

Evelyn Lapadat of Elkhart is sensitive to even the smallest amount of gluten.

She is among the 3 million Americans who suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that prevents those afflicted from consuming this particular protein. Lapadat can feel sick for days if any gluten sneaks into something she eats.

In fact, things had gotten so bad that her mom, Dr. Wendy Lapadat, thought about quitting her job. Lapadat is a pediatrician at Beacon Medical Group Bristol Street.

But then they found Zeus and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Today Show this morning featured Evelyn, her mom and her pediatrician Dr. Sandy Morgan, who also practices at Bristol Street. Click here to watch The Today Show segment.

This very smart — and cute — Australian shepherd is specially trained to sniff out gluten from anything Evelyn touches.

And Zeus has changed her life.

“I haven’t gotten sick in a really long time and it’s like a really big relief,” Evelyn told The Today Show, during the crew’s visit to the Elkhart area last month.

Dr. Lapadat says the two are inseparable.

“I feel like I don’t have to be a complete control freak anymore. I feel like he can be a control freak for us,” Dr. Lapadat added in her interview with The Today Show.