Slow and steady wins the race!

My recovery process was long and it definitely took a toll on my Mom. It was the most difficult recovery I’ve ever had, and I’ve had four surgeries in my seven years of being alive! I was just diagnosed with diabetes, pancreatitis, and may now have leukemia because my blood counts have been off the charts.  

Since I’ve been home from the hospital, I’ve been hiding in my little fort Mom made me to protect me from my brother Simba. He is still a puppy and doesn’t understand yet. Mom has kept us both separated for now so he doesn’t accidentally hurt me. Mom didn’t want to put me in a crate, because she wants me to have some space to move around. 

I was so weak and have been getting my insulin injections daily. I wait patiently as Mom tries to figure out how to tent my skin. I can tell she is nervous each time and doesn’t want to hurt me, but I know I need this to save my life.  I’ve been on a rigorous medicine schedule that has kept Mommy on her toes during this time and she doesn’t get to sleep very much.  

I’ve lost so much weight (6 pounds to be exact) and all of my bones have been showing. It made my fur-parents so sad to see me like this. I didn’t want to be like this either to be honest. 

My pancreatitis diagnosis made me feel so yucky and I was constantly in pain, so I didn’t have any appetite at all. Mom tried to get me to eat everything, including boiling chicken which only worked for a day or two, and I only ate when I felt like it. She even tried to give me scrambled eggs, but she didn’t know that the oils and the egg yolk would make my pancreatitis flare up again and make me more sick. I know she didn’t mean to make things worse, and she tried everything she could to get me to eat something. 

Mom brought me back to the veterinarian’s office for IV fluids as I was severely dehydrated. To top this off, my diabetes wasn’t controlled at all. During this visit, Mom got the news that I would have to stay again for another five-days. Mom was completely devastated, but she knew she tried her best with me.  The Dog Doctor even asked her if she wanted to let me go, because this journey was so hard on her. She told the dog doctor “Definitely not!” We’ve all come so far and she knew I still have the spark in my eyes to fight! Mom was committed to saving me even though this was hard financially and emotionally. 

My family visited me every day and I was really thankful for this. It helped with my recovery process! My blood sugars eventually went down slowly. The Dog Doctor didn’t want to go too aggressive on this, because low blood sugars are even worse than having it high. Low blood sugars can damage the brain and cause seizures. I went home five-days later and was eating normally. The Dog Doctor sent me home with more medicines to take and suggested I eat the prescription dog foods specifically to support the kidneys. Mom was reluctant but agreed to this temporarily. She also wanted to look for other options that may be better for me with lower fat and carbohydrates.  

She also found a friend from the Oahu Daushunds Facebook group who introduced her to the canine diabetes group to help her with the long path ahead of us. Mom has learned so much from them, and she dedicated her time to learn about this disease of mine. She even passed the online courses. This is also where she found out that all dogs with diabetes are called “sugar babies.” I can totally live with that! I can be sweet sometimes! Hehe. 

Mom even found some pretty cool items to help me like the Torus Pet Water Bowl that automatically refills with fresh. Filtered water! This was by far her favorite find! Not only did I get clean filtered water all day, but she didn’t have to worry about refilling it all the time with Simba and I constantly drinking water all day!! It’s never good to restrict water from a diabetic dog, so this was the perfect product for me. It also cleared my crazy eye boogers! How cool is that?

It’s been about a week since I left the dog doctors and I was happily eating anything that came my way. Mom has tried different foods that she found at a boutique pet store, such as dehydrated raw diets and even tried raw foods, but somehow at the same time as trying this, I started to feel nauseous again! Not only that, but my legs were giving out and I could barely walk! It went from one leg to all four legs and I couldn’t even keep myself up without any help! I was a big slug! 

Mom quickly called the emergency line for me and got me back into the veterinarian office within an hour! Mom really thought this was the end and that she would never see me again, but she couldn’t give up hope. She was in tears dropping me off, but she knew I was in good hands and that the people there would take good care of me.  They totally love me there, but don’t want to see me back all the time looking like a hot mess.  

I was the resident dog for about four days once again. I slowly regained my strength and controlled my blood glucose levels. I must say I was a great patient and I started to protect my cage and got jealous when my veterinarian technician friends were holding other sick dogs. Not cool at all - it’s definitely all about me!! 

I was released again after my blood glucose levels went back to normal range. Mom was as determined as ever to help me thrive this time around. She wanted to play things safe and went back to a low fat and low carbohydrate diet that she found that was available to help with my pancreas to heal properly. 

Mom has also looked into other supplements to assist with my diabetes and preventive care for other issues.  Did you know that 80% of diabetic dogs go blind if their blood glucose is not contained? Some dogs go blind overnight and some will have their eyesight go bad overtime or begin forming cataracts.  Mom wanted to be proactive and bought eye supplements for especially for dogs and I’ve been taking them every night. I hope I can see forever! I don’t want to be unable to see my family when I open my eyes. 

There was also a product that was highly recommended by the dog diabetes Facebook group for any upset stomach and GI issues. It has wonderful elements like Slippery Elm, Milk Thistle, Marshmallow Root and Dandelion root. She even uses this for the gassy farts I’ve been making! 

Mom also purchased a glucose monitor to keep track of my blood sugars. This proved way harder for the humans to draw blood rather than simply giving me Insulin, but I just sit patiently as they figure it out. It definitely wasn’t fun at all. Imagine getting your ears pierced 10 times in a row? Not fun at all. 

Mom was really amazing! She was even more prepared to take care of me this time around and didn’t want to give up this fight. 

Until next time! 

Nala, XoXo