Some Cheese With that Whine!

Before I start let me say this….THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR…it is simply words!  I am spouting off because I am just a little angry!

I am PISSED OFF AT DIABETES and worse yet DIABETES IS PISSED OFF AT ME. Yes I know diseases can’t show emotion but some time it sure seems like they can and diabetes is one of them.

Diabetes is a nasty disease. It affects each person slightly differently and it manifests slightly differently in each person. They can call it Type 1, Type 2, auto immune, gestational, LADA, MODY, etc and each person who has been given a label wears that TYPE like a badge. It is a brand…a brand that we are different that we are somehow broken and un-whole. Sometimes it feels like we are also unworthy of even wearing that badge. Like for petes sake: CANT YOU EVEN DO DIABETES RIGHT????

I am just getting lab results back….my A1C was 8.3. My cholesterol was high and my thyroid a tad on the low side. Plus I gained back the weight that I lost. I am pissed because the only thing that has changed is the amount of insulin that I am taking. I am MORE ACTIVE and eating close to the same that I was when I lost the weight…so what the h#(* is going on? In May I was taking .025 units of insulin per hour of U50 (half strength of regular) insulin. In September…just this am I upped my dose to .850 units per hour of regular insulin PLUS I GET AN A1C on 8.3. WTF!

Add that into the fact I am REALLY SICK AND TIRED OF THE BLAME GAME! Well it is YOUR FAULT that you have diabetes!!! You need to lose weight, You need to exercise more, you can’t do that, you should do this, WELL OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG OR YOUR NUMBERS WOULD COME DOWN! Read any diabetic website and you will see the blame game…..YOU EAT TO MANY CARBS….YOU NEED TO USE THIS SUPPLIMENT…YOU NEED TO TRY THIS MEDICINE….WELL THIS PRODUCT WILL HELP CURE MORNING RESISTANCE.

EVERY DAY I pray for a cure…..I don’t see that happening. It actually wouldn’t surprise me if there isn’t already a cure that we are not hearing about . Diabetes is a TRILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY…..those making that kind of money don’t want a cure! Are you kidding me…..one test strip is one dollar…..in my case they are making between 10 and 15 bucks a day just to check my glucose levels. The needles, insulin, pills, sensors, pumps tubing, glucagons, glucose tabs or solutions…oh wait don’t forget the lil thingy that cuts they end off of needles so you don’t accidentally jab yourself, or how about carrying cases for all the junk you got to carry….this list could go on and on.

OK so it is my fault and they are going to bankrupt me for being so weak and helpless……no kidding a casket at Costco is $950….YOU DO THE MATH which is cheapest! No I am not going there but don’t think I don’t ponder it.

Then lets talk about what diabetes can do to your body in the long term……skin rashes, heart problems, strokes, eye problems, just to mention a few…oh gee we have that to look forward to as well. WELL IF YOU TAKE CONTROL of your disease then those problems MIGHT NOT HAPPEN. So gee I get to be responsible for all of that to….

I am not a saint but I can sure as hell tell you I haven’t done anything in my life that would CAUSE this disease. This disease I WAS BORN WITH IT and while I can do a lot to take action against it and slow down its progression it is still going to be there! I have done EVERYTHING they have told me to do and more. I have read everything I can get my hands on and applied it. I have thought outside of the box and tried new and unusual and yet for this moment the diabetes seems to have won this round of the battle. There will be another round and I am sure that sometimes it is going to win and sometimes I will win but you know what the END is going to be the same. Maybe sooner…maybe later…but in the end it is still the same.

I realize this is pretty negative but I am tired and frustrated. I want to lash out at folks who don’t even quite get the words that they spew out of their mouth as easily as they fart. I won’t but I want to!!! What I do get is the CRAP HAPPENS IN THIS WORLD….IT IS WHAT IT IS AND IT WILL BE WHAT IT IS. At some point you just step back and say I AM DOING THE BEST I KNOW HOW AND SCREW YOU IF IT IT ISNT UP TO YOUR STANDARDS!

So would you like some cheese with my whine????????

Bravo In the News

Bravo was recently wrote up in a local newspaper called the Deseret News.  A wonderful lady by the name of Cathy Free came to my house and interviewed me.  She even got to see a real time alert.  I thought Bravo was alerting to Kim as she is very often low….but no he was alerting to me. 

Here is the link to the article… http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700063994/Bravos-sensitive-sniffer-is-life-saver.html

Be sure to read Vickie Trainers comment underneath the article. 

Puzzle

This is the newest addition to my house.  Puzzle is past cute….she is adorable and smart! I have raised ALOT of puppies in the last 15 years and she might just be the best puppy I have had. 
I took possession of Puzzle at 6 weeks.  Two of the pups stood out to me when i evaluated the litter.  Well actually they all did but looking at a dog for me and looking at a dog that will go to someone else is 2 different things.  I like independent, free spirited, and VERY energetic…….but most people don't need, want, nor can handle that.  Puzzle and her sister both really showed an attraction to diabetic scent.  Her sister was just more independent and wanted to do things her own way, while Puzzle was into being with me.   She followed me everywhere.   When I threw the wing she would go get and come back to me.  When I placed the diabetic scent on the path and threw the wing over the top…she tore after it and hit the diabetic scent and immediately stopped and went “wow…what is that”.  Then she picked the scent tube up and came back to me.  She rode quietly in her crate for 2 hours before she told us that she needed to go out.
Puzzle was in my home for 2 weeks before she had an accident in the house.  She is very clean and meticulous.  That is her dad coming out in her.  The accident was more my fault than hers…..I just could not up enough to get her outside.
For the first 4 days of her life, we had lots and lots of snuggle time, we worked on sit, scent, place, and here. She would tuck her lil bum and come to a perfect sit.  She would lay down and relax on place.  I would take my scent containers and place in the middle of the floor as soon as her lil nose would hit the scent we would have a party.  I would get all excited and give her a special treat for the “find”’  Here is a short clip of Puzzle on 3rd day of her being with me doing “scent work”.

The very next day after I had worked her on scent, worked the other dogs on obedience, fed, and aired dogs I was sitting in my chair snuggling with Puzzle.  She was in the crook of my arm fast asleep.  She suddenly awoke and looked up at me.  She stood up and crawled up my chest and got on my shoulder and started sniffing and digging at my ear.  It wasnt like a puppy playing with your ear…this was more a dog on a mission.  I pulled her back down and she crawled right back up and repeated it.  About that rtime Bravo sits up, walks over puts his head in my lap and gives me THE STARE. Radar jumps up on the back of my chair and starts swatting my head.  Oh gee….do you think I need to test.  I was 62.  At 6 weeks…this lil dog alerted.  It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck!
A few days later a friend who is diabetic and I were driving somewhere with the puppy in back seat in her crate.  Puppy was thoroughly aired and was expected to sleep for our trip.  We had gone maybe 10 miles when puppy starts whining.  She gets louder and louder.  I pull over to air her…nothing.  Back in the crate still she complained about something but we didnt know what.  Finally I suggested we test our BG…..sure enough Kim was low.  She treated…puppy went to sleep.
Two nights ago, I did the whole cascading low crap.  Once again the thing that got me up was Radar biting the soft flesh on the back on my arms…but Bravo was pawing n whining and Puzzle was HOWLING in her crate.  Epie was in her crate running circles.  According to my meter I was 12 (BG number not age!)
She is very young and the jury is still out as to who and what she will become….but I sure am liking what I am seeing so far!
Here are a few more pictures of her… Puzzle and Cheveyo (Dad) Puzzle
Puzzle n Bravo Puzzle n Radar

IKC Presentation

 

Bravo and Max at Murray Park doing a DAD presentation.

Wonderful Photos taken by KRW Photography!

I recently did a presentation for the IKC club on Diabetic Alert Dogs.  It was short but hopefully informative for them.  They also got to see a real alert at the end…………that added to the excitement!

We focused on scent work, the importance of solid obedience, and service dogs.

More Honored, Humbled, and Awed…. Bravo is nominated for 2010 AKC ACE Award

I received a letter a few weeks ago informing me that Bravo had been nominated for the 2010 AKC ACE Award. The following is a overview of that award as seen on the AKC website.

“Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE)

In 1999, The American Kennel Club took action to express its time-honored respect for the extraordinary canine-human bond, as well as its appreciation for the innumerable ways in which dogs meaningfully contribute to our lives. That initiative gave rise to The AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE), which celebrated its first presentation year in 2000.

To qualify, the dog is required to be AKC registered or an AKC recognized breed, and have performed some exemplary act, whether large or seemingly small, that has significantly benefited a community or individual. One award will be given every year in each of the following five categories: Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue, Therapy, Service, and Exemplary Companion Dog. When appropriate, dogs earning honorable mention will be selected.

Each of the five honorees will receive a cash award of $1000 and an engraved sterling-silver collar medallion to be presented at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. Their names will be engraved on a plaque that hangs permanently in The American Kennel Club Library in New York City. Dogs receiving honorable mention will be awarded an engraved bronze medallion.” (http://www.akc.org/news/ace/index.cfm)

With the letter came an award certificate and more personal letter.  As most of you know, I am not often speechless, but lately that seems to be a theme.  No matter whether Bravo wins…being nominated is a humbling honor.

The following is the letter that was submitted to the AKC.  Virginia Erickson submitted the letter but the author is unknown.

“Bravo is a 4-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever who belongs to KC Owens of SLC, UT. Bravo is a true ambassador to the Chesapeake Retriever Breed. He is active in AKC Hunt Tests, Agility, Obedience, Rally, Dock Jumping, and he is a Therapy Dog with Intermountain Therapy Animals.

Last year Bravo started alerting his owner to dangerous hypoglycemia and now works as her service dog. No matter what this dog is doing or where he is at, he stops and tells her that her blood sugar is dropping. He tends to be about 15 to 30 minutes ahead of her blood glucose meter.

KC says: “You know I have had some amazing dogs over the years. I have titled dogs in many venues, but no award I have ever received matches the feelings I have when this dog wakes me up in the middle of the night to tell me my blood sugar is low. It is a gift, a gift from him to me! It has brought me to my knees knowing how much these alerts make a difference in allowing me to keep a more regular life. In my humble opinion, Bravo is nothing short of an angel! You hear that dogs are mans best friend……Bravo is more than that he is my very heartbeat”
KC herself has given so much to the dog world. She is an AKC judge, she is on the board of directors for at least 3 dog clubs, she helps teach classes for therapy dogs, and in general is willing to help out anyone who needs it.

I hope you consider this dog for the 2010 ACE Award for service dog. The bond between this team is incredible…I swear he never takes his eyes off of her.
Thank You!”

I am not anyone special nor in many ways is Bravo…we make a good team I agree but I can name many people and dogs who do far more that either of us do.  I know in my heart that the bond between the two of us is a very special one and should be treated as such but I have been fortunate enough to witness that same bond in many dogs and owners on many different levels. 

There is an old saying from an unknown author that says “My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am”. How true is that………our dogs think we are perfect in every way.  I know most of them wish we would give them more cookies, but even when we don’t they still love us with everything they have! George Eliot stated it this way, “We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults.  Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment.”