It turns out that some animals have Type 1 diabetes, just like us, and they can also live perfectly healthy, normal lives with the disease, just like us!
One of the special guests at the Children With Diabetes Friends for Life conference was PJ, the diabetic dog. Ashley Foster, PJ's owner, and veterinarian Dr. Chuck Wiedmeyer accompanied PJ and explained a little bit about canine diabetes management. PJ gets her blood sugar checked regularly, although drawing blood from a dog is not as simple as pricking her paws! She takes insulin injections, and also wears a CGM!
A dog's lifestyle tends to be less variable than a human's - all dogs do is sleep, eat, walk/run, sleep, and eat. So PJ takes about the same amount of insulin per day, and her blood sugars don't vary too much. She's lucky that Ashley takes such good care of her! I wonder if PJ even knows she has diabetes.
Meeting PJ and seeing her wear her CGM and get her bg measured was interesting, but it was also interesting to hear Dr. Wiedmeyer talk about diabetes in all sorts of animals, including cats and horses! For more information on animals with Type 1, visit petdiabetes.com.
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