What could be sweeter then a diabetic pet?

mini-schnauzer, date of birth 6/10/92)

Ten years ago my eleven-year-old daughter decided that she wanted a puppy, it did not matter
that we had  two dogs outside she wanted her own.  We took a family vote and I was voted 
down three against one.  My daughter, son and hubby all thought we should have a housedog.
 Mind you I love dogs, but thought the two we had outside were enough.  My daughter really
wanted a Yorkie, but we ended up with a mini-schnauzer named Kirby (after the Minnesota 
Twins player Kirby Puckett).  When I first saw Kirby I thought he was the ugliest pup I had 
ever seen.  But you know what he stole my heart immediately.  As I had predicted, I soon
became the caretaker of Kirby. My daughter discovered boys and that was the end of taking 
care of the dog. Kirby was about 7 years old when I discovered a lump growing on his
hind leg, had two different vets look at it and said don’t worry about it if you ever have him 
put under we will take it off then.  Finally had it removed and was discovered to be mast cell 
cancer.  He has had about 4-5 surgeries at last count to remove the cancer lumps, we will not 
remove anymore the surgeries are to hard on him.  This, however; is when the diabetes came
into play.  He was put on a steroid to combat the cancer and ended up getting diabetes. 
He was first diagnosed in September of 2000.  I remember it well, I called vet and gave his
symptoms peeing a lot and drinking a lot of water, vet thought he had always been Cushnoid
but brought him in and discovered diabetes.  It has been a battle royal ever since, he has 
never truly regulated, more of a brittle diabetic.  My vet still thinks he is Cushnoid but tests
come back inconclusive.  I do not home test, wish I could, but can’t bring myself to do it 
to the dog and he is highly sensitive anyway.  Hence, we go to the vet quite often and I am
sure we are one of his best clients.  Seriously, I have a sup er caring vet and trust him 
whole-heartedly with Kirby’s care.   Kirby went blind within 6 months of diagnosis and 
we chose not to have cataract surgery because of all his other health problems.  Most
people don’t even realize he is blind, he does really well.  We live each day to the fullest 
and take this disease one day at a time.  There are so many ups and downs but I truly
couldn’t have survived without the  www.petdiabetes.com  site. 
I have made so many friends and it has 
been truly a wealth of information and support.

Thank you  Judy for this wonderful list! 

Mary and Kirby

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