| My name is Ricki. My diabetic baby's name is Freddie, a German shepherd
mix. And his brother is Chester, a beagle mix. I actually had two diabetic
dogs. My other diabetic baby was Buddy, a terrier mix. We are from Monroeville,
Pa, just outside of Pittsburgh.
Freddie was diagnosed with diabetes on December 4th, 2001, over 3 1/2
years ago. When he was diagnosed he was very sick. He did not have ketones,
but he was vomiting and would not eat. His doctors did not feel that he
would survive. It's been a bumpy ride. So many times since becoming diabetic
he has been sick and a dozen times we did not feel that he would survive.
I tell him all the time that he must have a direct line to God and is truly
an angel on earth. We have a constant battle with pancreatitis, which is
fairly
well managed through a low fat diet but still he gets it every now
and then I don't know how, but he does. Although, it has been since January
that he has been sick, the longest that he has ever went without needing
to be hospitalized.
Freddie also suffers from glaucoma. It will be one year on July 5th
(my
birthday and when Freddie came into my life in 2000, he was abused
and neglected, all of my boys were) that he has had this. When diagnosed
with
glaucoma his pressures were 58 and 68. Through many months of pills
and
about 15 drops a day, his pressures have been normal, 6 and 18, for
over six
months.
Buddy was diagnosed January 26, 2001, a little more than a month from
Freddie's diagnosis. Buddy's diabetes was nothing like Freddie's. Buddy's
was smooth sailing. The only time Buddy had any problems was when he was
first diagnosed. Buddy did not get sick at all after being diagnosed. We
did not have a difficult time regulating him, unlike Freddie. Unfortunately,
Buddy past away on October 11, 2004 of kidney failure.
Ricki, Freddie, and Chester Jones
Freddie's Photo Album
Chester
 
Angel Buddy
Rainbow Bridge - October 11, 2004
| Buddy was originally my aunt's dog. She got Buddy, he was 2 at the
time, from a shelter as a Chrtistmas present for my cousin, he was about
8. That was in December of 1994. I wanted to introduce Buddy to my dad.
So Buddy and I went for a ride. It was snowing and about 10 degrees. I
was wearing shorts, a sweatshirt, and no jacket. We were on our way back
to take Buddy back home, this was about 10 p.m. at night and Buddy wanted
to stick his head out of the window so I put it down half-way for him.
Well, Buddy decides he is going to jump out of the window of a moving car!
We are crossing a bridge when he does this. I am chasing Buddy on a slippy,
wet bridge. He is running around in circles and up and down the bridge.
All I keep thinking is what am I going to tell my aunt and cousin about
their new, "loved" dog. Well after about 10 minutes or so I finally caught
him. That was the first time I met him.
While living with my aunt he would constantly run away. He would somehow
jump up on the counters and open the window and jump down about 10' and
run away. I can't say that I blamed him, if I lived at that house I would
try to get out of there too! My gram also lived with my aunt. Neither one
of should be allowed to have pets. My gram would beat Buddy for no reason
(not that there could be a reason) with a cane. And my aunt should not
be allowed to care for a dead fly, let alone someone who counts on her
for the bare living
necessities, like food and water.
Because my gram did not want a dog, when nobody was home (which was
about 15 hours a day) she would make him stay outside, with no shelter,
food, or water. We live in Pittsburgh, Pa, so it gets pretty cold and snowy
here. They did not seem to care that Buddy was in danger with the cold.
So, my family went and bought him an "Igloo" and filled it with hay and
made a door for it. Which they were not very happy about. I don't know
why, but too bad. We would always go over and give him food and water.
Buddy only lasted a few months there when my aunt decided that she was
going to take Buddy back to the shelter. My dad, like me, is an avid dog
lover. He could not let that happen, so we took Buddy.
Buddy was always into something here. Anytime he was left alone for
a second, you knew that he was doing something that he shouldn't have been
doing. He was always in the trash, in the litterbox, chewing up pens, peeing
in the house. You name it, Buddy did it. Buddy had this amazing talent
of opening cans. If you left cans on the floor, Buddy would sneak and steal
them. He would go into another room and actually be able to open the can
with his teeth. When I would find him, he would be eating the contents,
happy as could be. I don't know how he got those cans opened, but he did.
They looked like they had been opened with a can opener. It is amazing
that he did not slice his tongue off or cut his gums. Buddy was a handful,
but he was a sweetheart. He was always giving away kisses, but you needed
to be careful with Buddy kisses because you never knew where his mouth
had been!
Buddy became deathly ill in November of 2001. He was diagnosed with
pancreatitis. He recovered well. And then, in January of 2002 he began
drinking tons of water and having accidents in the middle of the night.
On January 26, 2002 he was diagnosed with diabetes and had ketones. He
was hospitalized for a few days with I.V. fluids. Buddy responded well
to the insulin. He was regulated within 3 weeks. Buddy did go blind from
the diabetes, but he didn't seem to notice. Buddy was never sick until
October 4th, 2004. Buddy just wasn't himself. He had a hard time walking,
he was listless, not interested in anything, vomiting, and started to lose
his appetite (Buddy lived for eating). We took Buddy to the doctor Monday
morning (October 4th), his physical exam showed nothing. His bloodwork
however showed that he was in kidney failure. The doctors were not optimistic.
But, we decided that we had to try everything that we could for him. Buddy
was admitted into the hospital on Tuesday for I.V. fluids. During the week,
Buddy's bloodwork showed no improvement. But Buddy was looking and
acting better, with no vomiting. On Friday night, me and my husband
were taught how to give him sub-q fluids. Buddy went to the doctor on Saturday
for sub-q fluids that me and my husband gave. Buddy was acting great. He
was barking, eating, giving kisses again. Buddy did not act as if anything
was wrong. At about 7 p.m. Buddy vomited. He wouldn't eat, he could barely
walk. He spent the night in the corner. On Sunday morning, we thought that
maybe some fluids would help. So we gave him fluids. It did not help. By
the
afternoon, Buddy could not walk and he was very uncomfortable and restless.
All he did was lay on the bed and crawl around in circles. About 3 a.m.
on Monday October 11th, 2004 Buddy passed away.
| IN OUR HEARTS
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 |
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