My husband, Scotty & I have been together 14 years.  In all this time he’s wanted a “scottie”.  I had never seen one in person before but I had lots of “scottie” things because of my husband.

I really didn’t want a dog at the beginning as we had been living in an apartment &  just didn’t have the room or time to devote to a dog.  I also preferred cats over dogs as to me they were just easier to take care of.   Scotty, on the other hand, doesn’t particularly care about cats & was very adamant about me not having any. 

Several years later when Scotty had to have some surgery done & was recuperating this stray black/white cat found me outside our apt. complex one day & of course, I decided to keep him against Scotty’s wishes.  We had many a battle over this cat, but now after 6 yrs. Checkers is very much a part of our life. 

One Christmas 6 yrs. Ago, Scotty informed me that we were going to have to move to Gulfport, MS because his Mother was no longer able to take care of herself.  Well, needless to say, I was definitely not happy about this decision.  I didn’t want to leave all my family & friends, but regardless, we moved anyway. 

About 18 mo. ago we were in the mall & I suggested we go look in the Pet store where we bought fish supplies for our aquariums.  While there we just happened to see this little “scottie” for sale.  I wasn’t the least bit impressed by this little scrawny  puppy, but then, all puppies are cute, aren’t they?  The girl that worked there told us she could put a 24 hr. hold on him & we could think about it.  We talked all the way home & could think of a million reasons why we shouldn’t buy him.  We just knew we didn’t really have that kind of money to spend at that time as the house needed so many repairs done to it.  Well,  we decided not to get him so I called the Pet store & told her to take him off the Hold List.  We just couldn’t stop talking about him & I kept saying, he really was a cute little thing, wasn’t he?  I could fix my backyard just for him.  You have to understand that when we moved here one of the first things I did was have Scotty build me a fence around a portion of the backyard so his Mother’s German Shepherd & Dobermann weren’t allowed.  I didn’t like these dogs as they were always tearing my flowers up & I didn’t like having to take care of them in the first place.  I wanted a place to go with my cat & I was tired of stepping in dog poop.  It was a constant source of irritation to me.  I tell you this because for me to offer my backyard with all it’s lovely flowers, etc. would be really something for me to offer. 

Well, Scotty said he would leave the decision to me.  I said no, it had to be a mutual decision & he would have to promise me that he would help housebreak him, etc.  Anyway, we drove back to the mall & all along the way we said that if he was still there we would get him & if not, then it just wasn’t meant to be. 

At first I didn’t see him & Scotty said my face looked so crestfallen.  Actually, in 
away I was thinking well good the decision has been taken away from me.  Wrong!! He had just been moved to another cage.  After getting food, & supplies we all headed home.   Laddie-Me-Boy was to be his name.   Scotty had visions of him being in dog shows, & becoming a stud.   This was to be his dog, his buddy.  Well none of his plans worked out.  Laddie, you see, turned out to be a very sick little dog.  He had Diabetes.  He would have to have insulin in order to live.  What a shock this was.  I think we were both numb.  I wasn’t afraid to give him shots as I had to give my son allergy shots when he was little, but to just know that for the rest of this little dog’s life I was going to have to do this was a scarey thing. 

How do you get it across to a little puppy that you don’t mean to hurt him by sticking him? Now he doesn’t even act like he feels them anymore,he’s so used to them. 

The Pet store offered to give us another puppy in his place.  I refused.  I only wanted Laddie.  They finally gave me a complete refund, but even if they hadn’t, there was no way I would have given Laddie up. 

I started Laddie out in the kitchen as it had tile on the floor.  He had his own bed & of course his own dishes. Trying to housebreak him was just going nowhere.  After 3 wks. 
Of his constant drinking & urinating just as much, not gaining weight like he should 
I just knew something wasn’t right with him.  I kept asking the vet about it & at first everybody just kept saying, well, he’s a puppy & they go a lot. Then we started discussing the possibility of Diabetes or Cushings disease. 

Scotty came home from work one morning about 3:30am & woke me up saying Laddie was paralyzed in his back legs & couldn’t lift his head.  I flew out of bed.  Ran & gave him a little Karo syrup on my finger & that helped him a little.  I immediately called the vet & he met us at his clinic.  He checked Laddie’s blood sugar & it was 29.  He was going into a diabetic coma, or Hypoglecemic as you would call it, also.  A normal blood sugar range is considered to be around 80-180.  The vet gave him something called “STAT” a thick brown sugar looking  stuff.  Laddie was fine almost immediately.  I got to bring him back home but had to take him back at 8:30am & leave him so he could be started on insulin to see if he would respond to it.  He did & so I got to go get him that afternoon.  Several months went by before we could really get his sugar level fairly decent.  He would go way into the 400’s, finally we’d get him in the 300’s, down to the 200’s & today & for the past 9 mo.  he stays between 70-230 which is pretty regulated.    Each time he would drop down to a more acceptable range it was like a celebration time. 

Each battle we won was another gift. 

At the beginning of his Diabetes I couldn’t find not one single Dr. that had ever heard of a puppy with diabetes.  I took Laddie to several different vets & some even said I should just put him to sleep as I was going to be in for a very tough time.  A lot of expense, an emotional roller coaster as he would be up one day & down the next.  They just didn’t know how to deal with a diabetic dog.  Well, I cried all the way home from one such visit & I vowed, I would not put Laddie to sleep, that I would somehow find away to take care of him & make him well.  I called everybody I could think of.   I called Dr.’s out of state.  I went to the library & read everything I could possible find on Diabetes in general.  So much of the way Diabetes is treated in pets is the same as in humans. 

Nothing was easy about dealing with this problem at the beginning & even now you still are always very much aware of the problem.  You never outgrow the need to be overly-protective.  You are always aware of anything different.  You watch when he’s outside to make sure he isn’t eating something he shouldn’t.  You make sure his stool is normal,  his eating & drinking habits are ok.   You just know when things are going as they should. 

I have learned so much over the past 2 ½ years.  I decided I didn’t want Laddie eating the special food the vet had him on that also had the bad preservatives & chemicals in it.  I had a special recipe made up for him that consists of all good things like, chicken, barley,  fresh string beans,  broccoli, squash, zucchini, & carrots.  Sometimes I might add some peas or piece of sweet potato.  I also have added oats, millet, amaranth & apple at times.  This is all fit for humans.   He gets what amounts to ¼ c chicken, ¼ vegetables & ¾ c barley twice a day.  He gets lots of supplements to make sure he gets everything he needs. 

Cataracts is almost a certainty with Diabetes so you really have to watch their eyes. 
Laddie goes to an Optamologist in New Orleans, about 1 ½ hrs. away from here.    His cataracts are still very small & the Dr. is very impressed with just how well he’s doing.  She said that he might never have to have surgery if they stay like this. She said she has never seen a dog with Diabetes so well controlled. It made me feel very good to know that just maybe I’m doing everything right for my little guy. 

Scotty always kids me saying that when I’m in the room there’s no question about who Laddie wants to be with.  He said that someday he’s going to have his own dog.    Laddie thinks of Scotty as another one of his many, many toys. He loves to lay on Scotty’s foot as we eat supper or watch TV, but if I’m in another room, he’s always right there beside me.  He’s been my constant companion & never ceases to bring a smile to my face.  My backyard is his domain when he’s outside.  Our bed that was suppose to be off limits is his, too.  I now also have another cat, named Tiger that was a stray here.  He & Checkers keep each other company.  Needless to say, neither cat is thrilled about having Laddie as part of their lives, but they all get along fairly well.  Checkers doesn’t take any crap from Laddie but Tiger makes the mistake of running from him & to Laddie,  he thinks this means game time so he chases  him.  I had to block one of the front bedrooms off so the cats could eat & use the litter box in peace. 

At this time Laddie is a very happy, spoiled little “scottie”.  I would have never dreamed that I would fall so in love with this little dog.  He has done some weird  things like the time outside when he actually swallowed a whole Hummingbird.  I just couldn’t believe that until he threw it up a few minutes later.  Unfortunately, the Hummingbird didn’t make it. 

Before closing I would like to say that there is a wonderful group of people that I’ve met on the internet.  The “muffin” list are people that have diabetic pets.   Susan Flewelling is the owner.  This list has been a Godsend to all of us.  There we share all our thoughts, problems, & good wishes with each other.  We have accumulated vasts amounts of useful information from all over the country with many, many different vets opinions.   So many of us have become fast & true friends through some of the most difficult times.  We’ve all cried when one of our beloved pets goes to a place we refer to as the Rainbow Bridge where there they run & play out of pain, & they wait to be reunited with their owner again. 

I think the one thing I would like to get across to everybody is that Diabetes is not a death sentence.  You just have to be willing to make the commitment it takes in dealing with this problem.  In my case I wouldn’t take a million dollars for Laddie. 

Laddie's done so well over the years & hopefully he has many, many more to come.  I really haven't changed much with Laddie.  I might have deleted some of the supplements or added something I thought was better.  I do have to take him back to the Optamologist next month for his 6 mo. eye check up.  I sure hope nothing has changed as the Dr. said he's just never ever seen a dog with Diabetes that hasn't had to have cataract surgery by now.  He's just amazed with how well Laddie is doing & contributes it all to how well he's being taken care of.  I must admit, I do love him more than anything or anybody, so my husband says, haha!  I can't think of anything in particular that Laddie has done really funny lately.  He & my 3 yr. old cat, Callie do take turns chasing each other & that's always fun to watch when she hides under the chair & waits for him to walk by & then does a sneak attack on him.  He stays inside most of the time, especially this time of year when it's just so hot & humid.  Mosquitoes are out in full force to which drives us all nuts.