This is kind of a hypothetical question, because it’s related to a dog I look after outside THS, but it could happen, so I wonder what people think. A five-year-old dog has been diagnosed with diabetes. The owner says she won’t have the dog given injections, because it would be “torture” for her. She’s having the dog looked after by neighbours when she goes away for three weeks this summer, and isn’t telling them about the unmedicated diabetes. Can this ever be OK? For me it’s not. There could be a crisis at any time. But it occurred to me that if a dog seems well and the owner hasn’t told you it’s diabetic and unmedicated, and then there’s a problem - what then?
I think its unfair for the owners of the pet not to disclose the medical problem, unfair on the dog and the people looking after it.
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Whenever you have someone look after a pet, that person should be aware of health issues and have access to medical advice. I can’t imagine why someone would choose not to give a dog insulin for diabetes. Maybe dogs are different than cats, but the diabetic cats I’ve known hardly even feel the super thin needles. Okay just reread this: Torture for THE OWNER, not the dog. Sheesh! Some people.
I don’t know about this dog, but even if the diabetes is mild and can be controlled by careful diet that is something any carer would need to be aware of. One of our cats became diabetic briefly as a result of longterm steroid use due to IBS. Once he was off the steroids he went into remission fairy quickly and we didn’t need to start him on insulin, but we’re still very careful with his carbs.
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I think that is very irresponsible of the owner. I watched a dog with diabetes about a year and a half ago and up until that point it had been well controlled and there were never any issues. He started experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis the day after we got there and then we had to put him to sleep the next day. This is a serious complication that can come on very suddenly and intensify very rapidly as was the case with this dog. Granted this dog was much older than the one you are talking about, but this could happen to any animal with diabetes.
Without knowing he has this condition, the person may not think much of the dog skipping a meal for example, but that can be serious with a diabetic animal. In our case, the dog not eating was the first thing that alerted us that it was probably something related to his condition.
Giving animals insulin shots is one of the easiest things to do in my opinion–the needle is so thin and short, it takes like two seconds and it almost feels like you aren’t even giving them a shot at all.
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The dog will not feel well without medical intervention. How can you do that to a loved one and your pets are in that group. It could get really serious and like humans so much can happen. Diabetic coma, blindness and so much more if not controlled. Is she projecting her fear of needles onto the dog. Maybe someone from the vets office can call her and talk to her. I hope the dog gets the help it needs.
As part of the T&Cs of THS owners should disclose medical conditions and also give the sitter the contact details of the vet where the pet is registered.
If pet became unwell on a Trusted House Sitter sit - a sitter would take them to the registered vet who would be aware of the diagnosis.
Then the owner would need to decide on what treatment should be given ( based on the vets advice )
Although THS says that the sitters should pay vet bills upfront, we don’t agree with this policy
This is why we always insist on having the vets contact details and have agreed in advance with hosts that they will pay any vet bills upfront ( or set up an account ) .
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This is a dog that is being looked after outside THS…
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I was answering the question that the OP asked us ( THS sitters ) what are our thoughts if it happened to us on a sit ..
I’m not a fan of hypotheticals, but I’d narrow your question, in the context of THS, down to this: “What happens if an animal in my care has a crisis?”
You’d follow the advice in the Welcome Guide, where owners list the veterinarian instructions. If needed, you can also call the advice line. And then do what the professionals say.
All the other issues are important and sadly not relevant to a sitter. I’ve encountered so many animals who are not being treated in a manner that I think is appropriate, or what I would do for my own pet. I’ve made peace with the fact that I cannot save the world; all I can do is make that animal’s life better in the brief time I have with them. Even the most well-intentioned owners sometimes forget to share critical information. I see my role as going my best to deal with uncertainty while serving the animals as best I can.
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Thats abuse plain & simple.
The dog will not suffer when receiving insulin. I’ve had to give fluids before and know one thing, when animals associate something with feeling better, they become used to it. The problem in that situation is the owner, not the pet.
If the owner in question had a child with insulin dependent diabetes they’d have family services at their door ready to take the child into custody. Poor pup… it’s so sad that some animals have to put up obscene amounts of negligence in pure silence and suffering.
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