What happens when one of your Fur babies is diagnosed with diabetes

Our dog Meika is 9 years old & was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I started getting worried when I saw her drinking more, urinating frequently & one night she wet our bed (she’s never done that before, she’s a lady & always goes outside). Meika wasn’t vomiting or displaying any other behaviours.

I wanted to share with you how I felt when we received her diagnosis. As a Pet Pawrent just faced with the diagnosis, we were unaware of the dos & don’ts on how to properly care for a diabetic dog.

Firstly I asked our vet if in any way it was my fault (mother’s guilt), as Meika has always been my fur baby that enjoyed her food. Nicole, our vet, reassured me that certain breeds of dogs are predisposed to diabetes. Meika is a Toy Poodle & to be honest she has always carried extra weight.

Our first point of call was to get her on the correct amount of insulin & change her diet. I have two other poodles so we changed everyone’s diet to keep it simple as they all eat together.

On our first glucose curve for Meika I was on my way back home & received a call from the vet saying that she had just thrown up all of her breakfast. I turned around to pick her up & it was decided that she was soooo anxious from being there. As I lived close to the vet it would be kinder on her if I could bring her up for her testing (of course).

Unfortunately, a couple of days after her first glucose curve she began vomiting & was unable to have her insulin shot. We rushed her into SASH & she was hospitalised for 2 days. The good news is after 3 more curve testing's she is now on the correct dose of insulin & is doing well. She’s honestly like a different dog.

Once we felt comfortable with how she was going, I started to build Meika’s PACK ( people to help when needed), she had her first shot at 8.00 am & her second at 8.00 pm (2 shots a day therefore you need people to support you if you need to go out). I’m lucky to have great neighbours & a big sister that is a nurse & lives close by.

I’ve also started a Diabetic Dog group (we call ourselves the DDD’S- Diabetic Dog Divas). We support each other if one of us needs to go away or out for the night. When I first found out that she was diabetic, this was one of my biggest concerns – who can I trust? What do I do if we need to go out before her injections?

Our little girl has lost weight & has a new lease on life. I love seeing her playing with her little sister & she is such a good girl when she is getting her needle, we’re so proud of her.

I chose to get the Insulin Vet pen as I thought that it would be easier to use as it’s in a cartridge & it’s more convenient and accurate.

It took a little bit to gain confidence to give her an injection as we thought that we were going to hurt her, we have a little routine for her & now she reminds us when the alarm on our phones goes off.

She’s an absolute treasure & gives us so much love & joy