Terrifying morning.
We are the parents of four furkids. Three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - Maggi (a 'failed' foster), 9 yo; Dulcinea, 6 yo, Bentley (Bennie), 1.5 yo; and our English Toy Spaniel, Bosley who is a rescue that we think is somewhere around 10-11 yo. About two years ago Bosley was diagnosed with diabetes. It is well controlled and, aside from making sure that he gets his two shots a day on time, we don't think a whole lot about it.
I was awakened this morning by our organic alarm clock, someone scratching at the door wanting to go out. When I stumbled out into the living room, three of the dogs were at the door, but Bosley was just sitting in the middle of the room. This was a little odd. Bosley is normally the late riser, sleeping soundly on the couch until much later in the morning. When I went over to him the lights were on, but seemingly nobody was home. When I petted him and talked to him there was no tail wag (Bosley ALWAYS has a tail wagging!). I tried to get him to stand up, but his back end didn't seem to be working quite right. I lifted him up on the couch and he just sort of collapsed. I offered him a biscuit. No sale. Then I offered him a soft chewie. Still no sale. At this point I was beginning to get scared. Bosley NEVER refuses food!! Finally I tried some honey on a spoon. Bosley has been known to try and eat the spoon when there is honey involved. Still no response. His eyes appeared to be focused, but there was a distinct lack of affect. His breathing seemed to be slow and somewhat labored. I called Liz out to look at him and she agreed that something was seriously wrong. Visions of stroke, heart attack, etc. started running through my head. I called the vet and they said to bring him right in. I had to carry him out to the car. As we raced toward the vet's I wasn't even sure he was going to make it. He was wheezing as he breathed, his eyes were closed, and he was limp in Liz's lap.
We got to the vet and carried him in. About 2 minutes later the tech came out to take us to the exam room. She asked what the problem was and, as she was glancing at his chart, she asked: "He's not diabetic or anything is he?" We told her that yes he was diabetic. I don't think I've ever seen anyone in that office move quite so fast. She turned, opened to door, and called for Dr. Greenfield. And scribbled LO-BG on the chart. The Dr came in with his testing kit. Bosley's sugar was so low that the meter couldn't even read it. They whisked him off and about 10 minutes later came back with Bosley - who was looking, if not all better, at least a whole lot better than he had been.
Then began the Q&A to try and figure out what had happened. We have a very standard routine. He gets two shots of insulin (always the same brand) a day, at 11:30am and again at 11:30pm. He eats dinner at 5:30. With each shot he gets a dent-a-stik to chew while he gets the actual shot, then about 1-2 oz of turkey meatloaf and a large dog cookie, since you are supposed to eat when you take your shot. Nothing had changed with our routine. Bosley had eaten with great appetite last night and had his shot at 11:30. Then Liz mentioned that we had just got a new box of needles and started using them on Tuesday evening. She had been a little concerned, since they were from a different manufacturer than we had been using. Our old needles were 50-unit capacity and the new ones were 20-unit. No big deal, since Bosley only gets 8-units per shot. And, frankly I prefer the 20-unit since the graduations are easier to read. But the insulin sure came up a lot further in the tube in the 20-unit needle. Having worked for 15 years for a company that manufactured 'medical devices', I know how many checks and balances there are and how closely the government watches over it all, so I didn't think anything about the change in size. 8-units is 8-units, whether yo put it in a needle capable of holding 20-units of 50-units, right? Wrong! It turns out that, for reasons known only to some arcane scientist somewhere, there are actually two different sizes of 'unit', one being two and a half times larger than the other. There is the U-100 size and the U-40 size. (Notice that 100 is 2.5x40). Somehow somebody had grabbed the wrong box of needles. The insulin we use uses the U-100 size unit. The needles we got the last time were U-40. Poor Bosley, instead of getting 8 units, he was getting 20 units and had gone into hypoglycemic shock.
Dr. Greenfield had gone to the storeroom and grabbed a box of every type of hypo they had and brought them all into the exam room and asked which one we had gotten last. I showed him and, sure enough, it was U-40 instead of U-100. Ever seen a vet get mad? His exact words were: "Heads are going to roll!". He apologized over and over, he told us this was entirely their mistake, he gave us a box of the correct needles and told us there would be no charge for today's visit or any subsequent follow-up visit that might be needed. He had given Bosley some glucose intravenously, and then a syringe of glucose orally. He gave us two syringes of glucose to take home for 'if needed'. By the time we got out to the car, Bosley was weak but sitting up and trying to figure out how he had ended up in the car, when I suspect the last thing he remembered was going to sleep last night. The vet told us we should try and get him to eat something when we got home. By the time we got home, Bosley wasn't quite ready to walk into the house by himself, so I carried him in and put him on the couch. I then went into the kitchen to fix him some chicken and rice. As I was cutting up the chicken I looked down, and who should I find standing right next to me wagging his tail and hoping that something good was going to be for him but Bosley! He ate a whole (small) bowl of chicken and rice, a square of turkey meatloaf, and a dog cookie, and would have eaten more. He is now sleeping comfortably on the couch next to Liz.
Needless to say, both Liz and I are feeling like a couple of wrung out towels. We were sure we were losing him and we just weren't ready for that. I am not angry at the vet's office. We've been going to them for 15 years and they have always been there for us. Accidents happen and I suspect this type of accident isn't going to happen again, at least not in this office. Our vet immediately accepted responsibility for their error and Bosley is fine. Heck, I've had M.D.'s put me a whole lot closer to checking out (and I am not exaggerating!). We are just so happy that Bosley is OK. Whew!
And, again, for any of you with diabetic dogs, make sure to know whether you are using U-100 or U-40 syringes and always check to make sure you are getting the right kind when you get a new box.
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That sounds scary! I'm glad he's feeling better. 
This month marks my 50th year with Type 1 diabetes and I have had my share of speechless, staring moments. Luckily I am able to test multiple times daily and am on an insulin regime that tends to keep things under good control, but there are those occasions.
I'm curious about a couple of things. First, where on a dog is a blood drop generally taken for a glucose test? The pads are the only place that comes to mind and that sounds painful.
Secondly, is it a human insulin that you're using or one from an animal pancreas? You're relying on a relatively short acting type since he gets his injections around mealtime, whether it's Humalog, Regular or another. What made a world of difference in ending the low blood sugars for me was using both a short and long acting insulin; the long acting Lantus to serve as a base level ("basal"
and rapid acting Humalog immediately before mealtimes to cover the carbs. I don't know if this is something that is normally done with animals but it could prove beneficial.
Over the years, the dogs have always seemed to sense in the middle of the night when I was in trouble and would wake me with a wet nose or a paw.
Glad to see Bosley doing better; it sounds like he's in good hands.
I do the same thing with my 2 girls, ‘cept I mostly use hamburger when I’m broke (when the wallet is “flush,” I mix the hamburger with ground turkey and/or ground chicken). Same with the veggies – broccoli, zucchini, brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, brown rice, lentils, dried cranberries, oatmeal, an apple and a pear, ground flaxseed. That, lasts 2 weeks when I freeze half of it. I use Nature’s Variety as filler. When I’m really really broke, I just stick to the bare basics (baked chicken and rice with NV), but when they get the full Monty, we’re all happy.
you how long it's been since my dog actually jumped up and down when fixing his dinner! Never that I can remember lol
He absolutely loves this (his) turkey meatloaf! It comes out pretty thin in thickness so the squares aren't a whole lot but
I think maybe that's better so he'll be more apt to eat some more of the dry kibble.
I was getting his square out for his dinner tonight and he actually tried to grab it! haha
I also bought some ground chicken to use sometime, just for a change.
This is so easy to make and use, so thank you so much!
We use the ground turkey because around here it is cheaper than ground beef.
