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You are here: Home / Dogs / Don’t Jinx This

Don’t Jinx This

July 30, 2014

Sophie in shade under tree

When I?first thought about?doing this post, I worried I might jinx it — you know, just by writing about well blind Sophie was doing with her diabetes, I would pretty well guarantee she’d crash in the next week. But, here goes anyway!

You may recall that we learned on?New Year’s Day that Sophie was diabetic?(Happy New Year!), and that we struggled for a month to get her regulated. No amount of changes in?dosages or insulins could keep her blood sugar in a stable, predictable range, and watching her values fluctuate was driving us all crazy — especially Sophie, who got really tired of being pricked all the time for the glucose monitoring curves we were doing. Yet, oddly, much of the time Sophie appeared just fine. Our internal medicine specialist, Dr. Marielle Goossens at Peak in Burlington, consulted with a veterinary endocrinologist at UC Davis to see if there was something else we could do.

The endocrinologist said that there are always a few animals whose bodies just don’t respond the way they should to insulin, and that their blood glucose levels will never be particularly stable. This specialist said, in effect, that we should focus on the patient and not the numbers — in other words, if Sophie is acting normally, drinking and eating normally, and otherwise seems healthy and her usual self, we should stop worrying so much about what her glucose numbers are. We should keep her at the insulin dose that seems to work for her, and relax. That was sound advice, and that’s what we’ve done ever since.

And so far (uh oh!) …Sophie’s been doing great! I took that photo above last week when Sophie was enjoying hanging out on a lovely summer morning under the oak tree in the front yard. Here she is snoozing contentedly in the shade:

Sophie sleeping in shade

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Comments

  1. Barb Ribinski says

    July 30, 2014 at 11:24 am

    I’m glad Sophie is doing so well. I find it amazing that she is comfortable and content to fall asleep out in the yard like that. I’m not sure I ever see dogs do that. At least not where they seem to be sleeping so soundly. I guess the cool grass and the warm sun just felt good.

  2. Shirley and James says

    July 30, 2014 at 11:36 am

    Sophie is so darling! Thanks for helping this little one too–with such love and care!

  3. Miranda Brooks says

    July 30, 2014 at 11:59 am

    Well, I guess in Sophie’s case if it isn’t really visibly broken, don’t try to fix it! Glad she enjoys a grass nap. I used to have a small dog who loved to bake. She’d lay out in the grass in the hot sun and pant like crazy facing the sun when just a few feet away was cool grass and shade. She’d lay right next to the fireplace in winter too so she was a heat seeker for sure.

  4. Anne in FL says

    July 30, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    Soft green grass, dappled sunshine, ability to move into and out of the shade of a big beautiful tree, most likely a slight breeze…..ahhhh…….Sophie can I come over and nap with you under your tree???

  5. MaryJane Cooper says

    July 30, 2014 at 1:15 pm

    So glad you posted this info about diabetes and Sophie. My friend’s dog just got diagnosed with diabetes this week, and I know she would feel comforted to know that you can’t always get the dosages right, but that it might not be bad if her dog is doing okay.
    God Bless Sophie and you and Alayne.

  6. Tonya Allen says

    July 30, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    Well, this is good news. I’m sure Sophie appreciates not being poked with a needle so often. She looks quite content.

  7. Boundforglory says

    July 30, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    You deserve some good news. Let’s band together against any jinxing. : )
    Glad to hear this sweetheart is doing well!

  8. Ann says

    July 31, 2014 at 3:06 am

    I’m glad to hear Sophie is getting along well and is acting like her normal, loving self. I had a dog (she’s since passed) who dealt with pancreatitis on and off for the better part of her life. There were many times I never could even tell she wasn’t feeling well as her personality and energy level never changed. She lived to be 16 1/2. I think Sophie will do just fine. She’s such a cutie!

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