We thought of you with love today.
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.

We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.

Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we'll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

Author: Unknown

Diagnosed: November 2001

Treatment: 8 Units Humulin-L BID 

Food : Hills I/D 

We celebrate Coty's birthday on March 30. I brought him home on May 11, 1993. 
To the best of my knowledge he is a Spaniel/Terrier mix. I had always liked 
the name Coty and knew if I had a little boy that would be his name. 

As a puppy, at bedtime, he would collect all his toys, put them into his bed and 
then drag his bed from the living room into the bedroom. That was until he got teeth,
and then he ate the bed. We would take walks to the park and play fetch with
a ball in the backyard. We would also visit Grandma and play with her dog Jody.
In 1998 Coty and I went to live with Grandma (my mom). I am very fortunate
to have her. She helps with his care while I am at work or if I go out of town. 
I can’t thank her enough for always being there for me. 

Coty was diagnosed in Nov. 2001 with diabetes. He is such a sweet dog, almost
to a fault. He never complains and never lets you know when he isn’t feeling well.
Looking back the early signs were that he had wet the bed a couple times, and for
a moment there I thought, Did "I" do that? He was drinking excessive amounts 
of water, which I thought was because it was warm outside. He also started to get
weak and was unable to jump up onto the bed. He mainly stays outside but comes
inside to sleep with mommy. Then one day I looked at him and I was in shock to see
this dog had lost so much weight. I called the vet and took him in. He had gone 
from 29 lbs. to 17 lbs. When I was told he had diabetes, my first thought was that
he had to be put down. When the vet asked if I could give his insulin shots, I said,
"I don’t know." I had just had him into the vet a few weeks prior to have his teeth 
cleaned so this was so unexpected. I did not have the blood test run that they
normally do with any procedure and I can’t help but think that if only I had done that,
they would have caught this sooner. He already showed signs of cataracts and 
I was told he would more than likely develop glaucoma and eventually be blind. 

We had one episode of hypoglycemia in August 2002. That was very scary but we 
got through it. He has glaucoma in both eyes and one has ruptured . Of course he 
didn’t make a peep. The vet says she doesn’t believe he can see and as long as his 
eyes do not bother him, they will put off removing them. As of August 2003, we have 
just gotten over a bought of Pancreatitis, showing keytones and he was hepatic. He 
was on fluids for a week and now we are back to normal. The vet always comments
on how good of a patient he is and that he is such a happy dog. It is a blessing to
have a vet that cares about your animals just as much as you do. 

It is even a bigger blessing to find such a great group of people who are so caring, 
so supportive and so knowledgeable. Thank you for being here. 
Nicole & Coty
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