Author: kathleen

“I should get put a vest on my dog and train them.”

This has been said to me about three times. Once at a rest stop, twice by another teacher on another campus, and once today. It usually makes me want to slap them because I know they don’t have the training chops.

I’ve trained and handled the number one obedience beagle. I’ve trained two dogs who went into service as police dogs and I have trained several police officers to train their dogs.

And as my husband says, they get to have the chronic, life threatening illness too.

Yes, she makes mistakes. She jumped on a caterer’s waiter tonight, which he was gracious about and she got corrected for. Thankfully she weighs all of 15 pounds. She also peeked under a dressing room – I usually get a handicapped one but they were busy today – all the handicapped parking spaces were actually taken. She also missed the opportunity to earn a people treat.

When I first started entertaining the notion of a Diabetes Alert Dog, I really didn’t know anything.

First, I thought the dog would only alert for emergencies. Man was that so wrong.

Second, I thought we needed an elaborate alert. Wrong again.

Third, I thought it was going to take a lot of training. She’s done most of the work.

Dulce alerts when I just need to eat a bit early, or need a snack. Great solution – eliminates the wild grabbing of carbs, and I can be more thoughtful about what I was eating. Instead of a massive amount of carbs, just need a couple of lifesavers, or better yet, schedule an earlier lunch.

I thought we needed an elaborate alert, but really just need her to put her paws on my knee.

And guess who figured all this out.

Yeah, the dog.

Yes, it’s taken a lot of training. Especially the day to day behavior stuff. But a lot of the alert stuff is stuff Dulce does naturally and I’m not sure that is true with most DADs.

I was at a meeting, Dulce was some what restless.

Then she jumps up on me.

I test.

I am at 89. Eat something.

I am good.

She gets a cookie.

We are all happy.

Sent from my Windows Phone

I’ve been getting compliments on Dulce’s behavior – especially at a restaurant at dinner – and she is so new at that. I stopped using a cage when we were eating in August.

My answer: thank you but she’s a service dog, she’s expected to be well behaved but also graciously accept compliment since she is self trained.

I arrived and there were two problems at my hotel:

• A “My Little Pony Convention”
• My door wouldn’t open

First a question: Do you tip maintenance? My plan is to get some change and leave him a tip in an envelope.

First the door knob wouldn’t turn, second the door itself was stuck. Apparently all the doors on the 9^th floor need their batteries replaced.

The sad part, is that this hotel is one of the hotels I could pick for TCEA in February and I like the room and the price. It has a corner sitting area. It has a mobile desk and a nice office chair. So far, the internet seems to be working well.

Now to the “My Little Pony” thing. I’m not sure which is worse, the young adults dressed up in furry costumes (and yes, I know the implications and it creeps me out), or the hordes of young children who should probably still be in school. We don’t do that age group well. Probably more my issue than hers.

First, service dogs are very expensive. I can't tell you if the expense is a good or a bad thing.

If I had had to purchase a trained service dog I wouldn't have one. I am lucky, I can train my own.

I will tell you if service dogs are regulated, they will be even more expensive and I wouldn't even be able to use Dulce. 

As it was, I had to convince my school district that I needed her. And my gym.

I will say that restaurants have been easiest but not all stores. 

How do I prove that Dulce truly does what she does without endangering my health?

Its all truly a mess and the liars need to stop.

Sent from my Windows Phone

While I have been in this decade on this scale before, and I have been in this decade at the doctor’s office – my Aria weighs 5 pounds heavier at least – I have finally seen this decade again. It’s been at least last December.

I saw it briefly before winter last year, gained about 5 pounds and have bounced around that weight for months. It’s taken going back to school to see any progress.

I’ve been working out all summer, but the activity level isn’t the same, and any traveling I’ve done has been very sedentary. Since school has started back, I’ve only missed going to the gym twice, and those were very long and on my feet days.

I have been discouraged though, that my arthritis pain is still bad.

Thought I had enough carbs on board for a workout. Stopped at the gym on the way home. At 26 minutes into the work (I was going for 30), Dulce got up from her mat. Told my workout neighbor that meant it was time to go.

She timed it pretty well, didn’t really feel the effects until I hit the house. I grabbed her and a few things out of the car, greeted Macy when it hit me. Had husband get the meter out of the car since the one in the house was out of strips and the strips were upstairs.

Freaking 61!

We had a low party, I had protein Gatorade, and laid down and let it work. She keep checking on me every few minutes, even though I was willing to give in completely. After a while I picked back up and went out to dinner with the husband not in any shape to cook.

Diabetes sucks.

I started getting Senor Errors on Friday morning. Didn’t think much of it, as I was at the end of the life of the current sensor. It’s the first I’ve had since the beginning of my first box. However, I got another sensor error at lunch today, and decided I needed to call customer support about it. However, I was at lunch with friends, wanted to get my nails done for the next weeks AND knew I needed to be near the “blue thing”.

So I waited until I got home.

Nice friendly service. Everything checks out, we decided that we would toss this sensor and that she would send me two new ones. Have no clear what caused the problem but reviewed the rules, and put a new sensor in. I’ll need to put a tad more insulin in their cartridge I’m sure.

Impressed I wasn’t put on hold for someone to call me back. (That was Animas on the weekends). Was overall very favorable impressed with the whole customer support experience.

We’ve been working together for over a year now, and I still get caught by surprise.

People ask me what her alert is – I had trained for a “pick up” of the leash, but that just doesn’t work for either of us.

Banging the crate door and whining when she is “in her officer” and pawing at me when she isn’t works fine. Or when we’re at the gym and she gets up from her mat.

Also, she does it SO early. Last night I was 103, from a 180 just an hour before. If that trend had continued, and I’m sure it would have, we’d have been caught on a highway under construction. Never pretty.

Long before it will be a problem.

Good dog.