When we are in public, especially at a workshop or meeting, Dulce is usually in a small cage. This is mostly for her protection. She is very small and it easy for her to get stepped on.
She just alerted while in the cage. I was pretty sure had at night a few weeks ago, as I woke up with a wicked high, but wasn't sure she had woke me.
Basically she pulls on the cage door, just as she pulls on the leash.
Smart girl!
Sent from my Windows Phone
I found yesterday that Microsoft has decided not to have a High School Liaison any more.
That makes me sad.
I don’t need him everyday. And I don’t need him for JUST computer science. In fact, I got an email from the acting specialist in charge of Instructional Technology asking about software for Digital Art and Design.
I can help some, the Microsoft High School Liaison could help more.
I am also going to need him as my Game Programming class progresses.
It’s because I’m a drug dog handler and I know what to expect in the drug dog world. You train a dog to find marijuana, and it finds marijuana. Train it to find meth, and it finds meth. Okay, you get the occasional prescription drug by mistake because its related chemically, but you get what I mean.
So I train my drug dog to alert on blood sugar over 240. She does really great at finding samples I’ve collected at over 240. Then the silly dog starts alerting when I’m 180 and I need insulin. <huh?>
She has been doing it for the past four weeks.
Pulled it off again tonight. We’re finishing up dog class – she starts tugging at the leashes — and to be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was low, but no, in the 180s and short 3 units according to the meter. Probably dehydrated since we were doing agility and I was running two dogs in the Texas summer heat. Took the insulin, drank some water, sat in the car for a bit to cool off in the A/C and felt much better.
And yes, I’m praising and accepting those alerts, and scratching my head every time she does them, because honestly, SHE’S RIGHT, but it isn’t what I trained.
And she’s yet to alert when I didn’t need insulin or sugar.
Apparently the average temperature of a house in Texas is too hot for their A1c Test. They are supposed be sending me a coupon in the mail for a new set of Tests since both failed.
I wanted to see how working with Dulce had affected my A1c, and I won’t be able to find out until I get the coupon for the new tests, if they do arrive.
I won’t be doing business with them again.
The worst part was the customer service rep – she kept asking a question and then kept reading her script without waiting for the answer. I might as well have been talking with a recording.
I have posted a few notes, but it’s been a really busy week. I left Dulce at home on Monday, the first day of school. We didn’t get full official approval until after noon on Monday anyway, and I think that not having her there was a good decision.
She was there all day the rest of the week. A few people had some concerns, but I think most of them were resolved very quickly. She has been on her best behavior, only peeing the minute we get out of the building at the end of the day.
When my blood sugar is normal, she snoozes. When it is out of range, she alerts – she did on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday. My blood sugar was in the 130 most of the day on Thursday and even lower today, but no crashes. Just nice even blood sugar.
I’m trying to get into some good routines – like drink some slim fast before we do errands, etc. at lunch. I have a tendency to want her outside, even though she hasn’t peed then, before I take care of myself.
My lapband is a little tight right now, so I really can’t eat anything solid until my off period, which is okay. Right now, I’m making 4th period my off period and 6th period my lunch.
My biggest problem: people who want to pet her. Can you imagine what it would be like if every student pet her? She would be exhausted by the end of the day. As it is, her show dog training suites her well, she likes to be admired.
I had an excellent blood sugar day at school today.
Guess what Dulce did?
She slept. She woke up about 5 minutes before the bell rang at the end of the day, asked to go out, we went and she did. Well, she did get up and run errands with me at lunch.
Left at about 4:35.
It was a good day.
It will be a while before I will completely heal from two years of elevated blood sugars, but I’m getting better.
Seriously
People walk up and reach down and pet Dulce. They don’t
Lowest weight since lap band.
However, the Aria scale and my network are being stubborn and not talking so I don’t remember exactly which tenth. <pout>
So now I have lost over 40 pounds.
Same TLC Edge wasted that year. Interesting that I’ve now seemed to have left all the Medical Edge doctors, though the cardiologists don’t know it yet.
Had to stop several people from petting her. Usually adults, some kids that knew me.
We were in the hall, between classes, and she started pulling on the leash (our alert), in the afternoon. I checked. Over 180, needed 2 units of insulin.
Now, this is NOT what I trained. I trained the dog to alert out of range. For the past two weeks she has been doing this – alerting when I’m in range but needing insulin.
However this is not a bad thing. I am rewarding this. I wish I understood it.
The other weird thing is that she doesn’t go to the bathroom all day. The room is cool and she doesn’t drink a lot of water or move around a lot. However, she does go out as soon as we go outside at the end of the day.
Though I did tell my principal he could say no, if he thought it wasn’t a good day.
I do think that today wouldn’t have been good as much as I missed her. I’ve missed her most of last week, so there you go.
I have paperwork from the district allowing her as a Diabetes Alert Dog on a three month trial basis, to be reevaluated then.
Personally that is more than I expected and very fair.
I did have to correct the paperwork. Since it was written she has been reliably alerting lows, and they got her name wrong, but I really don’t care about the name.
I also go to talk to the parent of my one of my students who has poorly controlled diabetes. They have labs, and he is very much interested in getting help for his son. Seems that he has been having seizures lately.
Tough.