Glad to hear that Tiberius is back to 'being in the moment' - one of the most
comforting things for us about living with our Mouche.

We will see you all at the pugnique!



Joyce


----- Original Message -----
From: pugnicsue
To: ottawapugnic@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 6:23 AM
Subject: [Ottawa PugNic] Tiberius diagnosed with Diabetes


We found out last Tuesday.
He hasn't been totally up to par all summer, even longer.
And then his seasonal allergies hit at the start of August.
He went on Prednisone whose side effects include increased thirst and
increased peeing but this year it seemed to be more than I remember
from past summers.
I took him to his wonderful Vet (Pretoria Pet Hospital) for a small
bump that appeared on his back mid-spine. Turns out that was some
kind of cyst/boil/pimple thingy...but at the same time his eyes were
starting to produce a discharge.
Even with the prescribed drops, they weren't getting better and he
was in fact getting sicker over the Labour Day weekend.
So back we went to Pretoria on the following Tuesday.
A urine sample came up with the postive results for blood sugar and
the ketones - something I'd never heard of having no experience with
this disease either in humans or dogs.
That he was getting quite sick quite fast and was starting to lose
weight - fast - was also apparent. His first trip weigh-in showed
that he'd lost 2 kilos since his last visit. Yay - he could afford to
lose that.
But his second vsit showed that he'd lost another kilo - over 4 days.

I knew that his litter brother Otis was also diagnosed with this a
few years back, with the same timing. We had Ty tested then and the
results did not indicate it then.

After being seen at the Pretoria Pet Hospital, Dr. Susan Crump
referred us to the Alta Vista Animal Hospital where Tiberius was
admitted and spent 3 nights getting his blood sugar and ketone
readings back to normal. They are, more or less. And though he was
drinking water and passing it like a race horse for a month, he was
also somewhat dehydrated.

He's been home for 3 days now and is adapting to his new regime (as
am I :) )
- new food and feeding schedule
- insulin shots twice a day
- a bevy of other meds for his sesonal itching and a secondary eye
irritation - not cataracts (at this time): 1 antibiotic, Benadryl 3 X
day, 3 kinds of eyes drops - 3 X a day
- the dreaded Elizabethan collar, aka - the radar dish
- the restriction of treats
- using the doggie litter box I fashioned to save my floors this
summer.
lol

And still in all...Tiberius is happy. In the moment. As ever. He is
the spirit of joyful pugness now that he is feeling better. He also
looks much better than he has for months. All along he's been eating
well and now sleeps very very well.

>> What this means for the Ottawa PugNic <<

This is the 6th year of the Ottawa PugNic, which we founded through
Ty's website in 2001. It really hasn't been the same for me
since my sister Shirley passed away in January 2004. It was always an
event for our small family -- me, Meredith and (her now husband :) )
Eric, Shirley and Jim. Meredith and Eric won't be able to make it
this time - but will see Ty the week preceding.

Due to all this, Tiberius won't be "hosting" the PugNic, per se, this
year.
I'll bring him and we'll stay for as long as he wants, which is not
the
full 2 - 2 1/2 hours we always have in the past.

The event started as a little outing so we could meet more pugs and
pug people.
Boy did we ever.
:)
Tiberius is - if not Famous, then at least Known - to pug people
around the world through his website.
Such a funny world when a dog gets e-mail.
lol
But now it's time for me and Ty to dial down our involvement in the
PugNic.
We will be there; we won't be "running it" anymore or devoting more
web pages to it.

I hope that donations will still be collected for FOAP -Friends of
Abandonned Pets, and for BARK - Bytown Association of Rescued Kanines.

I look forward to bringing Ty for the tail wagging.

See you soon, all health matters allowing.

xox to all puggies

Susan





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