Riley....

We just found our that Riley our chocolate lab of 7 years has diabetes. She's been turning away her food, and has had a few accidents... so we took her in for a vet visit. They drew her blood and reported her blood sugar was 450+, when it should be about 85 - so extremely high! We now have to decide whether to treat her or not. If we treat her she would be hospitalized for about a week, during the week they would test her blood sugar and insulin levels to determine the average amount of insulin she need to receive daily (broken out into two injections). This is b/c w/ dogs they do not have their blood sugar levels tested prior to the injection, so each month we would have to take Riley back in to ensure she's doing okay and the dosage is correct. Then after her hospital stay she would require two injections each day and we would need to regulate her food and water intake - ensuring her food is given to her w/in the same 60 minute timeframe each day.

If we decided not to do the insulin shots, we could watch Riley and treat any of the symptoms of the diabetes... different from humans, one of the major discomforts would be chronic bladder infections. Eventually she would have kidney and liver problems, and would have to be put to sleep. But until she gets sick she could have a very happy life. On the other hand, treated w/ no other problems she could live an additional 7 years. Matt and I have been so busy w/ the house,work, photos and the girls activities we really haven't even had a chance to talk about what to do. Part of me says, sadly... "she's a dog..." and I hate to think that we're paying for insulin shots for her and sacrificing saving for college. Then the other part of me says, "she's more than a dog, she's family. I mean doesn't it say something about who we are, by how we treat those around us??" I know choosing to not give her the shots isn't like we are mistreating her, but to look at her and tell her she can't enjoy a future b/c I want to buy name brand cereal... doesn't feel like good karma to me. Then add that Grace LOVES her - she just told me after a session of playing w/ her, "Mommy, Riley's sad - she wants to come home and live w/ me..." Riley was our first "baby" so Grace hasn't ever not had Riley as a side kick... the thought makes me sad.

I think Matt and I will have to do some serious research, we have a hard decision to make.