Good news, Happy is acting a bit more like his cheerful and mischievous self stealing seats and demanding some attention. For the past two weeks he has managed to keep his weight over 18 pounds which is a major accomplishment considering that there where times he would lose an half a pound or more overnight. While he has to go back to the vet this week to get his glucose rechecked, the fact that he has been able to maintain 18 pounds for several weeks at least gives us some hope that it has not bounced back up into the 600 plus range.

And amazingly, after a good six months without grooming, Happy’s hair is finally getting long enough that we had to make an appointment to get him groomed. Usually he has to get groomed every two to three months at the most, because his hair grows so fast. But thanks to the damage that was being done by the high glucose, his hair barely grew. For a good three months or so, you would have thought that he had just come from the groomer that day, it was so short. Now that his glucose is high, but not off the chart his hair is finally beginning to grow.

It is a strong testimony of the damage done by diabetes to both man and animal. There is not a cell or organ of the body that is not impacted by this deadly disease. From the eyes to the kidneys, and from hair to toenails, their is not an area of the body that will not be impacted or destroyed by the cruel ravages of diabetes.

Diabetes has taken a toll on Happy, but his sweet nature has not changed. He is still a sweet and loving pup.

Fortunately for Happy his hair is starting to grow back. But sadly, the damage done to his eyes is not so easily repaired. Once and a rare while it seems like, if your hands are in a certain spot, he will follow their movement which give us a little bit of hope that he still has some sight, howbeit very, very little. We have noticed that now, unless his sugar is climbing, he rarely bumps into walls or cabinets. Whether that means that he is extremely nearsighted or has adjusted to his blindness and built the mental map he needs to safely navigate the house we do not know.

While he is showing more confidence in moving about the house, we still have to carry him outside. Eighteen pounds does not sound like much weight when compared to the 28 pounds he used to be, but when you are feeling sick, its near midnight or 2 in the morning and you are half asleep, or it is the 5 time in an hour that he has begged to go outside, 18 pounds can quickly feel very heavy. To make our life easier we have been pondering the idea of getting a pet stroller. Amazon has a nice looking stroller for a fairly good price.

(Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate site. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

It looks like a fairly nice stroller. It has a 30 pound capacity so it should have no problem holding Happy, especially with his recent weight loss. It folds up making for easier storage and only weighs 11 pounds which is great. But I wonder if the small wheels will be in issue when negotiating steps or the drop between the house and sidewalk. Amazon has some dog strollers with 12 inch wheels, but they are more expensive. And when you are on a tight budget, every dollar counts.

So we will have to give more thought about what we will do to make it easier to take Happy outside, especially at night. This stroller looks like a great option, but since we are trying to move to a cheaper place in the country having bigger wheels could outweigh the cost.

But for now the good news is that Happy has managed to maintain his weight for 2 whole weeks. And that is a change that we have been praying for since May.

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