Lucy, our rescued cattle dog, is an angel... April 21, 2014

[Fishslayer]

Lucy is fixed!

Left the house at 6:00 AM yesterday & went up to Mission Viejo.

Lucy's surgery went well. She's still lethargic today but has been out to do her business & ate a bit of food & got her normal insulin this AM.

Got home 7:30 last night.

I was up till midnight, then got up again at 4:00 AM to check her blood sugar. Just so paranoid about her getting out of her food/insulin routine.

She spent the night in her crate with her BiteNot collar on. She doesn't seem to mind it at all. Even though Lucy is just about blind, I think the BiteNot is even better than the Cone of Shame because she doesn't bang around on stuff as much. Thanks, Mel!

I'm keeping an eye on her & she hasn't made a move for her sutures yet. I'll be checking her blood sugar throughout the day as well.

I won't be completely comfortable till Lucy's back into her routine and she's healed up. Diabetics can be prone to infection. But for now she's doing great! The vet gave us Tramadol for pain.

I can't thank all of you enough for your generosity, encouragement & moral support!

Bit of drama when I left. After making SURE I had everything, even checking the top of the car, off I went. As soon as I hit the freeway I reallized that I had left Lucy's insulin at the vet's. Took the next offramp, made a wrong turn & reallized I HAD to get back on the freeway. I didn't know what time they closed & it was already after 5:30 PM.

I hit EVERY red light (naturally) & I could feel myself growing older at every one. Did I mention it was 5:30 PM? Uh huh... rush hour. AH! The intersection's right up there but traffic is backed up. I grabbed an empty left turn lane into the shpping center. I found out why it was empty. It didn't go anywhere!

I am absolutely panicked by now. Back out I go. Get to the vets about 6:00. They close at 7:00... I was hyperventilated so much my head was light...

So... all's well.

Rick

[Patty]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Rick,
Glad to hear Lucy did well. Hope she heals quickly and is back into her routine soon. I hadn't heard of the BiteNot collar...looks better than the dreaded cone.
Take care,
Patty

[Cara's Mom]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Glad to hear Lucy is doing allright and that you survived too!!!

[peggy0]

Re: Lucy is fixed!

Congratulations! My pups always came through spaying very quickly. Hope Lucie does as well. I've been driving, hyperventilating to get somewhere before they close to pick up one of my pets grey hairs

[Fishslayer]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Rick,
Glad to hear Lucy did well. Hope she heals quickly and is back into her routine soon. I hadn't heard of the BiteNot collar...looks better than the dreaded cone.
Take care,
Patty

Seems to work pretty well.




Rick

[eyelostit]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

I'm so glad Lucy is Ok, I really like that collar, are these the new kinds? I was used to seeing the cone collars, these look alot better.

[Fishslayer]

Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. As Lucy's energy level has gone up she sometimes has ummm.... "moments."

This morning we had our first major "difference of opinion."

This AM she had her BG test & ate her food with no drama.

When it came time for her injection she was NOT having any. She would start yelping & whinging when I even approached with the syringe.

I felt every emotion the others have outlined here. Frustration being foremost.

I also remembered the advice given here. I capped the syringe & took Lucy out for a play session (actually, she justs walks with me while I throw balls for my other dogs) & walkabout in the yard.

15 minutes later we went back inside & she allowed the injection without a whimper! She even obeyed my "still" command while I was injecting.

What would we do without this website?

Rick

[ladygirl]

Re: Injecting a reluctant dog

Rick I know what you mean, only mine has been everyday twice a day!

Reading over your message I think I may try tonight to feed Princess first, take her on her walk, and then when we come back and she gets a little more settled in, I will try injecting her. Thanks for the suggestion!

I hope all continues to go well with Lucy, you are a great adoptive owner for her!

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Injecting a reluctant dog

Gosh - what a great idea! I'm glad it worked!

[Fishslayer]

Re: Injecting a reluctant dog

Rick I know what you mean, only mine has been everyday twice a day!

Reading over your message I think I may try tonight to feed Princess first, take her on her walk, and then when we come back and she gets a little more settled in, I will try injecting her. Thanks for the suggestion!

Lucy is always a bit more sluggish after her meal (so am I come to think of it )

I hope all continues to go well with Lucy, you are a great adoptive owner for her!

I'm just her foster human. Lucy is available. She just got spayed.


Rick

[k9diabetes]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

That was a great idea!!

When we first got Chris, he was struggling with his uncorrected heart problem, a PDA - no energy since he wasn't getting enough oxygen... After the surgery, it was like meeting a different dog!! The day before he was so weak and exhausted we thought he might not make it. After the surgery, he was playful, energetic, and crazy.

Sounds like Lucy might undergo something of a transformation too now that she feels good again. Which is a very heartwarming thing to witness even if it does mean you will have to get a bit creative!

Hope she's well on her way to recovering from the surgery. I imagine she might be a bit sore yet and wasn't too interested in any more sharp things poking into her.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

By the way, is Lucy on heartworm preventative?

If not, does she need to be?

Let me know if that's something we need to buy.

Natalie

[Fishslayer]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

By the way, is Lucy on heartworm preventative?

If not, does she need to be?

Let me know if that's something we need to buy.

Natalie

Good question. Our dogs are not currently on it. We don't get a lot of mosquitos here and HW is extremely rare (almost nonexistent) in our area.

This summer we did use Heartguard because we were going to the dog park (20 miles away) a lot and it is mosquito central.

Won't be needing it till spring at any rate.

Lucy update: She had a BG of 145 this AM. I tested her pee at about 9:00 AM & it was about 100. By far the lowest I've ever gotten with the Diastix. Her urine had a cloudy look to it.

I am VERY antsy to get her PM reading. I've been watching her pretty closely today & haven't seen any signs of low BG. She's been playful & full of energy today. Her water intake is pretty normal. She has a really big drink in the morning & not much more or less than my other dogs during the day.

I'll be getting Lucy's sutures out next week. I'll inquire about changing over to NPH.
Might be a good idea to change over while I still have some Vetsulin left just in case she doesn't react well to NPH?


OH CRAP! Wife just told me Lucy got into the cat food! I moved it to put food in the chest freezer today & forgot to put it back up.

Oh well. There goes her BG tonight... I'm guessing it'll be way high.

If she reacts to it the way my other Cattle Dog, Dingo does, gonna be a SMELLY night, too!


Rick

[k9diabetes]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Lucy's a very observant girl!

Probably would be good to have some Vetsulin on hand just in case the NPH doesn't work for her. Usually it's not that it doesn't work at all, just not better than the Vetsulin.

But it would be good to get a curve of her post-surgery - all pain gone and healed up - use of insulin at this dose before making any changes so probably could wait a week or two. Her dosage on Vetsulin will guide the starting dose of the NPH and if she was really beautifully regulated on Vetsulin, as in nice very flat blood glucose curve with all numbers in the 100s, then I might vote for not rocking the boat. I suspect though that her curve is not all that flat. Will be interesting to see!

Natalie

[Fishslayer]

Re: Lucie has a foster home!! Yes!! Thank you Rick!!

Lucy was about 350 last night & 150 this AM.

Dr Wheaton said to do a curve Tuesday.

Her sutures are looking great. No sign at all of any swelling, redness or oozing.

I've reduced her food by about an eighth cup or so.


Rick