In Loving Memory
5/9/09 update: Very sad news!
My name is Lydia and I am a female Yorkie about 5 years old. My story isn’t known to anyone but me. What is known is that I came into the shelter and then to SBRET a very, very sick girl. I was too thin and couldn’t keep any food down. The very kind staff at the vet’s office did tests and discovered I have diabetes. It took a while before I felt better and my true self started showing through. I’ve been with my foster home for a few weeks now and I love her very much. In fact, my favorite place to be is in her lap. If I can’t be in her lap, I’ll lie quietly just a few feet a way.
I don’t play with toys. I don’t play with the other dogs. I don’t play with children. I just lie very near my foster mom waiting for her to say something to me, pet me or pick me up. I don’t get into things either. Don’t think I’m not a happy dog, because I am. Whenever she comes home from running errands or lets me out of my crate in the morning, I run around wagging my tail and jump up and down. It’s just that I’m a companion dog and my purpose is to focus on my person – to listen to them talk, to watch them work, and to cuddle with them whenever they need me.
The diabetes is an issue. Sometimes, if my blood sugar gets a little high, I have potty accidents. I can’t hold my urine like a lot of dogs. And sometimes I growl a bit at the other dogs that live here. I also get a little jumpy. My foster mom says she understands – she has diabetes, too. And when her sugar is off, she just doesn’t feel as good, and it makes her a little jumpy, too. I’m usually really good at getting my shots – I have to have two a day. I have whirled around and yipped because it can hurt. I’ve never, never, never put my teeth on my foster mom, but I don’t have any other way to let her know that it hurts. She’s very understanding about that because it sometimes hurts her when she takes her shots, too. For more information about canine diabetes, go to www.caninediabetes.org or www.petdiabetes.com.
My foster mom says I’m very smart; that I just need someone who can be patient with me while I learn their routine. It would be best if my new mom stayed home at least part of the day, since I need to go out frequently. I’m leery of men, so I’d need time to get use to any men in the home. Because of my illness, it would be best if I was an only dog. That way I wouldn’t worry so much about getting hurt if I’m not feeling good. For the same reason, I shouldn’t live in a home with children.
It may seem like I need a very special home, but my foster mom knows that you’re out there, just waiting for an equally special girl.
5/9/09 update: We are sad to report that our little Lydia lost her fight against diabetes on 5-8-09. When we got Lydia along with other Yorkies that were dumped in the woods, she was by far in the worst shape. We actually almost lost her a time or two in the beginning. Since then we, along with our wonderful vets, had been trying to get the diabetes under control. It was difficult to regulate since we didn’t know how long she had gone untreated, but we just had to keep trying. Sadly the diabetes had just done to much damage to her little body, and we had to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. While we are all very sad about Lydia’s passing, we take comfort in knowing that at least we made her life as comfortable as possible, and we showed her love that she may have never known. She was in the loving arms of her foster mom as she passed – that was the last gift we could give sweet miss Lydia.
