Living with Diabetes

Caring for a Diabetic Animal

By Faith Maloney

When Sammy the dog was diagnosed with diabetes, Crystal wasn't sure if she could manage. It all looked too intimidating. Crystal had never even given shots to an animal before.

But she talked to her vet and to his staff, and then she went to the Internet and found hundreds of people who had experience with diabetic animals. And then she dove right in.

"My lifestyle changed from that point on," she told me. "My husband had recently retired, and we wanted to enjoy some time together and go on some trips. And so, since Sammy needed an insulin shot every 12 hours apart, he just had to come with us everywhere!"

Most animals need to have two insulin shots a day, preferably 12 hours apart, so that the body can function properly through the whole 24 hours.

"I hovered over him to make sure he ate before I gave him his shot," said Crystal. "My vet told me that he needed to have food in his system before he got his insulin. I think I drove everyone in the house a bit mad fussing so much, but we eventually got the routine down."

Fiona loved the attention!

My late colleague Nathania, who ran Best Friends education programs, adopted a diabetic dog named Fiona, an older silky terrier whose owner had passed away. Nathania was doing a lot of school visits, so she was on the road a lot. Fiona got used to traveling and meeting lots of new people.

Nathania always introduced Fiona to the kids in the classrooms. Fiona loved it, and she got a lot of extra loving from the kids when Nathania explained what a diabetic dog needed to live a good life.

Managing diabetes is not hard, but it is time-consuming. Sometimes, a family member or perhaps a kindly neighbor needs to be trained to give the injections as well. In Crystal's case, she eventually trained one of her daughters to give Sammy his life-saving insulin, so that she could spend some time away from home without having to take Sammy absolutely everywhere, too.

Once taking care of a diabetic dog or cat becomes routine, people tend to forget the initial struggles. Having a healthier, happier pet is a great reward for that bit of extra work.

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