“Scooby”
our special boy
22.04.03 - 19.07.13
( Male -Maltese x Poodle)
“He had a number of issues during his stay in this world but went
thru them all with a cheesy grin and seemed to know that what
evermedicines or test that he had we were trying to help him”.
2 x Cruciates / Pancreatits /Enlarged Liver /Insulin Diabeticand
Lymphoma Cancer
We purchased Scooby from the local Pet store. June 2003.
Within a few days, he was very sick, and could not breath. This was just the
start of his rocky life unknown to us.
December 2007- Scooby was not himself this morning. He just sat and did not
want to walk and then his eyes rolled back into his head, could only walk a few
steps then he collapsed, had intermittent head tilt, lost control of his legs.
Our vets referred to us to the Specialist centre, where many expensive tests
were done and Scooby was admitted to ICU. They knew within a few hours he
had a disease called G.M.E.Granulomatous MeningoEncephalomyelitis, a
disease of the brain and spinal cord.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_granulomatous_meningoencephali.html
http://veterinarysurgicalcenters.com/Inflammatory-Brain-Disease.html
We read the internet, as any concerned and emotional owner does, and did not
expect him to live. After a few days of no improvement we brought him back
our vets to have him Euthanased. Scoobywas aware we were with him, but
could not move his limbs. Our vets decided to watch him for the day, and
administer a product by Troy, called Nutrigel.
We went back that night, and he was standing up. They had worked wonders,
and we can only assume the centre may have had him sedated. We moved
forward and he made a full recovery. He was however on Prednisone and
Imuran and went to Interceptor for Heartworm. The Proheart 12month injection
could no longer be given to him.
Unknown to us, Prednisone is a very dangerous drug long term, and as I had
been reluctant to allow our vets to reduce the Prednisone, as I did not want
GME to return, the results were Pancreatitis late 2008 and 6 months later May
2009 he was diagnosed with Diabetes (Insulin dependant).
November 2010, our vets found a Mass, enlarged liver. We were referred for an
ultrasound. The Prednisone had caused this to occur , but did get lucky it was
repairable.The specialist strongly suggested westart to pull him off the
prednisone and hope the GME did not return. We did this over weeks, and it
GME never returned. He was put on Creon 10,000 to assist him for remainder
of his life.Omeprazole is “Losec was prescribed by the specialist, but it caused
us 12 months of cow pat motions and loss of weight. This was a huge mistake
putting Scooby on this drug to help clear up the mass. We withdrew it , but
the symptons took 12 months to clear up back to normal.
Scooby now was a diabetic , that could no longer be immunized, due to the
GME,so life was quite rigid and secluded for him and our other dogs.
We were extremely careful who he spoke to (other dogs) and where we could
go for walks. Luckily he had C5 injection in Aug 2009 , so we had to hope he
had immunity. In Oct 2011 we ran a Titre test and after careful consideration
and research it was decided in May 2012, to give Scooby a booster of Parvac
vaccine only . This was a risk, we knew that due to his past issues, but
everything turned out fine.
With Diabetes came change of diet, checking blood glucose levels am/pm prior
to injecting insulin, regular exercise and very rigid time frames. Our lives
revolved around him. Our work, social, and outings. We purchased several
Accucheck machines and ongoing strips. After much research on the internet,
we found the best place and less intrusive to take blood was the elbow. I shaved
the hair back , down to the skin, and lightly pricked the skin with a 26 Gauge
veterinary needle ( new needle each time), and then squeezed the area to gain a
bead of blood. The strip was put against the blood to gain a reading (Edge to
edge). (http://www.caninediabetes.org/blood2.html). some sites suggest putting
vaseline onto elbow callus, but it must be dry and this system does work. We
tried the tail, ears and veins but the elbow was painless , fast and simple.
Always gaining a reading.
I never injected insulin without this reading. Our aim was predosing (before
injecting insulin) to have reading of 10-12 on the Accucheck machine. Scooby
was a 10KG dog. We had tried Canin Insulin. humanMixtard 30/70, and then
got perfect readings most of the time, after we swtitched to Mixtard 50/50 and
injected with human penfill and needles 28Gauge . We kept a daily diary of the
readings and dose injected as this was very useful when glucose readings
altered. I used my diary to refer back to. Any exceptions I would highlight. I
found best site for injecting insulin was along the side of his body mainly near
the back flank area and sides of his belly, however sites had to be moved.
www.novonordisk.com.au
www.accu-check.com
https://www.diabetesvic.org.au/type-1-diabetes/insulin-therapy-andpumps/types-of-insulin
https://www.bd.com/ca/diabetes/english/page.aspx?cat=14501&id=14894
Scooby was doing very well as a diabetic, but the food regime we had was
incredible and much research went into it. I was very diligent with his diet,
excercise routine and dosing every 12 hours, and believe this gave Scooby a
fantastic existence. I noted certain foods would increase his sugar levels
rapidly. Carrots, to much free range chicken, etc. We found a all cooked diet
of Macro free range Roo, Hoki fish from Aldi, cooked free range eggs, and the
Health roll for Adults made by Vets all natural in Victoria NSW made a huge
difference + Broccoli. Rice can only be Bassamiti rice for diabetics, but he only
had this if he was off colour.
I contacted Vets All Natural and found them to be incredibly helpful and
supportive to us. The roll brought Scooby's glucose levels back to normal and
the roll can be frozen and then thawed. We used this for from June 2012 when I
located the company on the internet during my research.
8th Feb 2013 we went into Vet for routine tests. Titre ,Fructosamine and general
blood work. I had taken note of 2 lumps on the back of his hind legs, that I had
only noticed 48 hours prior, he had a tiny cough, I assumed could be kennel
cough but knew antoibiotics would clear this up, but his neck just did not feel
right. As I was pointing these out to our vet , life changed in a split second.
He had Lymphoma Cancer. I could not believe this little dog had to endure yet
another illness. I asked for tests to be run, to confirm this diagnosis. The vets
ran blood work and cytology. The tests were back and confirmed within hours.
Oral chemotherapy began. Prednisone and Leukran. We began Doxorubicin
chemotherapy that week also, to give Scooby his best chance. We had beaten
every other disease, so we decided to give this our best also. We once again
altered the diet, however that was tricky, as it couldn't affect his diabetes, or the
cancer. Scooby stayed on Prednisone, Leukran and monthly Doxorubicin and
was doing so well. His hair did thin and he did age a lot faster. He looked old,
but was still very happy throughout the Chemotherapy, and I still had his
glucose levels under control. The chemotherapy did not make him sick, we only
had 2 -3 small vomits throughout the time. He was doing very well and we were
at 6 months, when he started coughing and seemed to have trouble breathing.
The chemo had affected his heart. This is the gamble we took. Had we not
proceeded with the Doxorubicin he would have only had 4-6 weeks to live.
With Doxorubicin we had 6 months. We tried heart medication for 48 hours to
relieve the fluid on the heart, but he deteriorated fast and was very
uncomfortable, so the decision was made so he did not suffer to let him go pain
free and quietly.
For a very sick little dog, he had a wonderful life full of twice daily walks,
many outings, and a holiday to Forster NSW. He was never housebound. With
our dedication and our team of vets particularly the amazing David
Mylonashttp://www.blacktownvets.com.au/
How to take blood and best area to inject
Diet for a diabetic
Diet changes with Cancer, still a diabetic.