Looks like KY diabetic dog Shiner found a home!

[k9diabetes]

From: "wmaccoll" <Innersong@aol.com>
Date: June 3, 2008 4:46:43 PM CDT
To: diabetespet@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [diabetespet] Diabetic Dog "Shiner" dumped by owner in Kentucky Pound. HELP!
Reply-To: diabetespet@yahoogroups.com


Hello,
I am brand new to this group and hope it is not out of line posting this plea here for a diabetic dog that was dumped by his owner this morning in the Leitchfield Kentucky POUND! Can anyone help this dog, or do you know of any rescue groups who could help? I am involved with Border Collie rescue, and that is where I saw the message below, on the BC rescue boards.
______________________

This morning, I received a many-times-forwarded email with this plea for help:

We have a border collie born August 20, 2000. We are not are not able to take care of him any more. He is a good dog. He became ill Memorial Day weekend and is at the animal hospital but we have to do something with him today. They have been kind to help us for a few days until we try and maybe find a home. Otherwise we are going to put him down. The vet says he has diabetes and will require shots every day. Is there anyone out there who would be interested in a special needs nice border collie? My phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. We do have papers on him. All shots up to date and he has been neutered.

I immediately emailed the owner to get some more information on the dog (how is he with other animals? kids? the usual stuff) and to ask her permission to post him here. This was her reply:

I just took him to the animal shelter in leitchfield. He is a good dog. Has not been around animals except to bark at deer and turkey. His name is shiner has one black eye. I would love for him to have a good home. This past week diagnosed with diabetes requiring two shots per day. He is black and white. We have had him since a pup. I have tried very hard over the past three days to relocate him to another good home as we have given him. If you need more info let me know.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I know this is really a long shot, that anyone would be looking for an 8 year-old, diabetic BC...but I feel so awful for this poor dog, getting dumped by his family after a whopping three days of looking for a new home for him. So I'm posting him here on the off chance someone can help.

Leitchfield is a little over an hour north of me, so I could help with pulling and transport if he needs to move south. Some of you might recognize the name of this shelter as it has recently sent out a number of pleas for help--here is a link to a local Craigslist post about the situation:http://bgky.craigslist.org/pet/686136193.html.

Since Shiner was just dropped off this morning, he doesn't have his own page on the shelter's Petfinder site yet. Here is a link to its general site, though, and I'll add a link to his page when it's available: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY103.html.>>>>> END CROSSPOSTED MESSAGE
___________________

We are also very concerned about how Shiner will do in the pound, WITHOUT getting the treatment he needs for his diabetes! Will he get sick, or go into a diabetic coma?

Thanks for your time to read this, and any help or crossposting would be much appreciated.

Wendy MacColl

[k9diabetes]

My Email to Wendy:

Hi Wendy,

Has anyone talked to the owner about the diabetes care and let her know that it's really no big deal?

With NPH through Wal-mart, it's also not very expensive. There are cheap ways to maintain Shiner, which may not have been explained to them.

Could you send me her email?

Natalie
www.k9diabetes.com (http://www.k9diabetes.com/)
_________________

[k9diabetes]

My Email to the Shelter:

Hi,


I've been contacted about Shiner, the diabetic border collie just dropped off. I'd be happy to donate insulin, send syringes, etc.

Also I was wondering if anyone really knowledgeable about diabetes in dogs (not necessarily the vet) has talked to the owner about how thoroughly manageable this disease is and how well dogs handle injections, how it can be very affordable with NPH from Wal-mart...


I started a website for people whose dogs have diabetes. www.k9diabetes.com (http://www.k9diabetes.com/).

I would gladly work with the owners to make this situation manageable or even to work with someone willing to rescue or foster the dog.


I know of another dog who was given insulin while at a county shelter. Will Shiner be receiving insulin?

I wish I could take him. I can't do that. But I will do anything at all that I can do to let Shiner have a long happy life. There's no reason for diabetes to get in the way of that.


Feel free to call me, email me, post at the forum... anything!!!


Natalie

[We Hope]

Natalie,

According to other information, this is the shelter

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY103.html

Grayson County Humane Society/SPCA

They have links on this page where one can sponsor a pet at the shelter with a Visa or MasterCard donation. Perhaps we could donate for Shiner and that would help pay for his insulin and other diabetes supplies.

[acushdogsmom]

There's a YouTube video of Shiner here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmaCbHjsz-w

(I think the person who posted the video of Shiner on YouTube may be an employee at the shelter where Shiner is now)

[k9diabetes]

Donna from the Grayson SPCA sent me a note this morning. It looks like they feel like Shiner will do best in a new home and are hoping to get him out of the shelter as soon as possible because he's not used to being around other dogs and cats.

She sent me the following information about him.


Shiner has lived all of his life outside on a farm, but he has been on heartworm preventive, etc. and slept in a heated pen at night.

Around Memorial Day, his owner noticed he was very sick and carried him to the vet because Shiner could not walk on his own. He had lost at least 20 lbs. and after much testing, it was determined that he is diabetic.

He had previously been groomed but the groomer had shaved him even though the owner had asked her not to.

Shiner has been in the vet’s clinic until today.

The owner said that with their lifestyle, they cannot be at home to give him his 2 insulin shots per day. She had emailed and called around to find rescue; her husband wanted to just go ahead and kill him. A vet tech called me and asked if I could possibly help and then the woman called and asked for help. I told her we would do our best to find him a place and that if she would bring him to the shelter, we would make sure he gets his shots and asked for some insulin to get us started. So she brought him and all of his paperwork to the shelter today (I have never seen so much paperwork on a dog at the shelter before, including his registration papers).

He is neutered; he will be 8 in August (I think she said).

He is very sweet, but you can imagine that he is scared. He has never been around other dogs or cats, and I was envisioning how a new prisoner might feel upon arrival with the other inmates throwing out their comments. When the woman left, she said she will give it until Saturday and then she’d check back on him, however, she signed him over to us as far as I’m concerned. I told her if we could not find him a place, then we could discuss killing him, but I truly don’t see the point if there is someone out there willing to give him a chance.

If you think you can help Shiner, please contact us. We would like to get him moved out soon for his own sake. As far as I can see, he is COMPLETELY vetted and we can help with transport. If you need a health certificate, that would cost you $12.50.


-----------

My Response:


Yeah, it sounds like they didn't pay much attention to him for him to have gotten so bad before they noticed and to be so ready to be rid of him. I'm sure it doesn't help that he's been so sick - he may handle things a little better when he's been feeling better for a while.

First, of course I'd be happy to sponsor him with a donation. And I can order syringes and have them sent to you.

What is his insulin dose and what kind of insulin did she buy? (It makes a difference for the syringes)

I hope it's Humulin N or Relion/Novolin N - that's the most affordable and the easiest to supply syringes for. If it's N, it's most affordably purchased at Wal-mart and does not require a prescription. A 1,000-unit bottle costs about $23 and 100 syringes there would be around $12 I think... I buy my syringes elsewhere. I would probably just send you money to purchase insulin if need be as it's a bit tricky to ship it.

Also, did the vet want him to eat a particular food? The vet may have skipped that under the circumstances and it's not absolutely necessary but if so that could be supplied also.

Several members of my k9diabetes forum have expressed an interest in donating so I imagine we could come up with some syringes, food, and possibly additional funds.

Let me know about the food and insulin and I'll get that moving.

[k9diabetes]

Per Denise at the CDMB, the insulin is NPH and they were given no syringes so will need to purchase those right away.

I just made a PayPal donation directly to the shelter since they have some immediate purchases to make. Click here (http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY103.html) to go to the shelter's page and click on the donate button. You can use a credit card or PayPal.

I followed up my donation with an email to Donna at the Shelter - her email address is on the adoptable pet pages (email dwhite@aggressiveonline.net (dwhite@aggressiveonline.net)) - letting her know I wanted to sponsor Shiner and help pay for whatever he needs.

[k9diabetes]

Most recent note from Donna... I feel pretty good about Shiner being in these folks' hands.


Hi Natalie, and thanks for all of your advice and help. With this and another $20 donation we received, we should be in good shape for his meds and that’s really all he needs at this point. Beth is giving the shots and also giving him his food allotment.
Today he was going with Joan to visit the nursing home as she chooses someone new each week and she thought he would do well and enjoy being out. He enjoyed being in the office and when his owner called to check on him, she was surprised to know he was lying in the office and going for a visit and that so any people were rooting for him. Maybe this has opened her eyes to what we do.

Donna White
Grayson County Humane Society
213 William Thomason Byway
Leitchfield, KY 42754
270-230-8839
www.graysoncountyhumanesociety.petfinder.org (http://www.graysoncountyhumanesociety.petfinder.org/)

[acushdogsmom]

Shiner's petfinder page:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11320567

Shiner's own webpage:

http://www.graysonhumane.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=602045

According to the above mentioned link, Shiner was a "big hit" today with the nursing home residents when the shelter worker took him there for a visit. :)

[k9diabetes]

Dolly.... Shiner's still looking for a home... They say he's good with other dogs and cats...

Okay, no pressure!

But I did want to bump this back to the top.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Brief update on Shiner's web page from June 10.

6-10-08 We have tried Shiner with other dogs (Halloo and Charlize) and he was fine with them. He does not fence fight while in the field. He was also wonderful in the cat room. He liked eating the canned cat food while the cats gathered around.

[acushdogsmom]

Looks like Shiner is still at the Shelter (Grayson County Humane Society/SPCA, Leitchfield, KY) but I see that there is a new 2 minute video of Shiner (posted on YouTube on July 10th):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LeFCxCqeHE

Same new video is also on Shiner's webpage:

http://www.graysonhumane.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=602045

And on his petfinder page, here:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11320567

[k9diabetes]

He's such a cool guy. I can't believe a family could reject him. Maybe being at the shelter where he gets some interaction is the happiest he's been in a long time...

[We Hope]

Shiner still needs somebody to take him home!

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11320567

http://www.graysonhumane.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=602045

http://images.rescuegroups.org/fullsize/s273a602045m1686675.jpg
If you are interested in meeting or learning more about this pet, email dwhite@aggressiveonline.net or call 270.230.8839 for more information.

Our shelter is located at 213 E. William Thomason Byway
Leitchfield, KY 42754

Shelter hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 to 2:30 (central time zone)

Name: Shiner
Status: Available for Adoption (adoption info)
Species: Dog
Breed: Border Collie (medium coat)
Sex: Male
General Potential Size: Large
Good with Dogs: Yes
Good with Cats: Yes
Special Needs: Diabetic

[acushdogsmom]

Another video of Shiner is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhHX_X9xFUk

(click on "view in high quality" ... it really is a better quality video when you watch it in the high quality mode)

[k9diabetes]

Today's version of Shiner's page:

Name: Shiner
Status: Adopted!
Species: Dog
Breed: Border Collie (medium coat)
Sex: Male
General Potential Size: Large
Good with Dogs: Yes
Good with Cats: Yes
Special Needs: Diabetic

[We Hope]

So glad he finally has one! If we didn't have a "one dog" rule here, I would have tried to adopt him. Who knows, we might be "meeting" Shiner and his folks here! :)

Kathy

[k9diabetes]

I knew Shiner was trying out a home because I contacted the shelter last week to see if they would like some of Chris' supplies for him. Sent him a care package and a postcard about the website so I really am hoping to see him here.

Also told them that if it came to Shiner being euthanized because they couldn't find him a home that we would take him. No questions asked. But I am glad it has not come to that!

Wishing Shiner much happiness, finally... I hate that he spent almost 8 years with a family that didn't care much about him. Weird... in a way, diabetes saved his life, his emotional life at least.

Natalie