.
Storm
My handsome Eskie boy, Storm, turned 14 years old Feb. 22. Storm, was
diagnosed last November, 2004 with diabetes & I've been devastated
ever since then because things don't seem to be going so well, recently
he has lost his eyesight almost overnight, and I worry how much more time
I have left with him. I thought it was bad enough that he had been
diagnosed with thyroid problems a few years ago, but with the meds he was
doing great. I have always worried about giving his injections, because
most of the time he cries & I feel horrible. I've been trying different
suggestions & it's getting better, he hasn't cried in about a week
or so thank goodness.
Much more to come on Storm's life!!
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The life of a little white snowball!
In 1994, we didn't know any better about buying a puppy from Petland,
so we
went ahead & brought home Snowball, a little American Eskimo girl.
Our dog
Candi, a Black Lab/Springer Spaniel, was 8 years old then & didn't
really
appreciate us bringing home a fluffy white bundle of energy! But she
tolerated the naughty little Snowball & they soon became friends.
In 1996, Candi was diagnosed with bone cancer & didn't have much
longer to
live. I was devastated. I couldn't believe I was going to lose my beloved
dog. The pain of losing her was unbearable & I didn't know how
I would ever
survive without her. It was hard on Snowball too. She grieved for Candi,
she
became very depressed, she would not perk up for anything, so I decided
to
take a look at the local humane society to find Snowball a new friend
to
bring her out of her depression.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a puppy that looked exactly like
Candi, & I had my heart set on getting her, until I saw Storm,
the terrified
5 1/2 year old Eskie boy, trembling in his cage........I knew I had
to try
adopting him instead.........
He was an owner surrender, the family was moving & couldn't bring
him with.
I put my application in & prayed we would be accepted to bring
him into our
lives........when the call finally came, that Storm was ours, we rushed
over
to the HS to pick him up & bring him home! Snowball was ecstatic
about her
new friend, but Storm, like Candi before him, was not as thrilled.
He would
growl at her when she would try to play, but as always that didn't
stop her
from trying. She was back to her happy self again!
Storm immediately became my best buddy, just like Candi had been, he
is so
much like her! Storm's birthday is just 9 days after mine, his is Feb.
22
1991.
When Storm was diagnosed a few years ago with thyroid troubles, I was
so
scared & worried, but was reassured that with the medication he
would be
just fine. Then just last November, Storm began to drink lots of water
&
would have accidents on the bed, so I knew something was terribly wrong.
I
suspected diabetes but I didn't want to believe it. Even when the vet
told
me it was diabetes, I just stood there in disbelief & asked if
he could be
wrong about the diagnosis........
I was so devastated, thinking I was going to lose my beloved Stormy
Doodles
at any moment, because of this awful disease.
I didn't know if we could afford to keep up with all the vet bills
& the
cost of insulin & syringes, there have been so many vet visits
& we were &
still are struggling financially because my husband has had 2 heart
surgeries within 6 months of each other, & our other 2 Eskies have
had high
vet bills also, so it is tough making it thru everything......I've
been
trying to sell alot of things on Ebay to help cover all the expenses.
It was
so frustrating for the first few months, so many vet visits that would
get
more & more expensive each time, different insulins that didn't
seem to work
so the vet would try another, I didn't think we'd ever find one. Finally
the
Novolin N was the one that worked, Storm seems to be doing well on
it. We
haven't been able to get him in as much as he probably should be to
be
tested because of the cost, but when he does get in for his blood level
check it has been good. I am always worrying about him, & I make
myself sick
over it but he's my baby & I can't let anything happen to him!
I also do not have any way to test his levels at home, the vet never
even
told me if I could? I really don't care for this vet, but he's sadly
all we
can afford, he's so much cheaper than the others.
A few months ago, I thought things couldn't get any worse, but Storm
lost
his eyesight almost overnight, his eyes are so cloudy, it breaks my
heart to
see him this way because he isn't handling blindness very well. I feel
awful
because we can't even afford to find out if he could have his eyesight
restored. The poor little guy has to walk around so slow, always flinching
because he's afraid he will bump into something. When he does bump
into
something it throws him off & he gets confused. I have had to resort
to
carrying him outside to go potty, but he can still get back in the
house &
up the stairs by himself though it takes him quite a while to find
his way
with my help. When Storm first went blind, I had to scold naughty Snowball
because when Storm would cautiously walk slowly towards my voice so
he could
find his way back in the house, she would wait for him like a cat ready
to
pounce on a mouse, & that would scare poor Storm with her jumping
out at
him.
He spends alot of his time under the bed, one of his favorite spots.
I think
he feels safer there?
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Read More
Stories about Other Diabetic Pets
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