Aida Turturro is locked in a battle with type-2 diabetes. But the “The Sopranos” actress has an unlikely and powerful ally: her black Labrador Retriever, Buddy.

“He’s getting me out to exercise a lot more,” the actress told Diabetes Health magazine. “We go walking and running on the beach.”

Turturro, who is also a spokesperson for the Diabetes Awareness Campaign, says she was initially in denial after receiving her diagnosis more than six years ago. “For about two years I lived with high blood sugars and didn’t face it,” she says.

Then a doctor gave her a stern warning about the risks she faced if the disease went untreated, including heart disease, kidney disease, neuropathy, and blindness.

Turturro left her doctor’s office determined to take control of her health. And now she wants to help other diabetes sufferers do the same.

And while Turturro initially got Buddy to help motivate her to exercise, the 1-year-old dog provides much more than that, she says. “It just makes you happy when you’re walking with an animal like that.”