Oh guys, as I type this I am really upset, so much has happened in the past 24 hours and we still don't know what's to come.

We took our Yorkshire Terrier (named Teddy..because he kinda looks like a teddy lol) to the vet yesterday because he had what we thought could be an eye infection (eye was closing up a bit, mucky stuff etc). For the past 2 weeks we had been notice him drinking more and urinating more and yesterday my mum went to the chemist and got a sample bottle and managed to get a small sample which she took along with her to the vet. Initially the nurse wasn't going to test it because she didn't feel the need (or some other reason) but she did and it turned out he is diabetic and they have taken him to a 24 hour vetenary where they are monitoring him. It was such a shock, especially to be leaving the surgery without him.

Today we have been calling on/off throughout the day (just to add the 24 hour veterinary is not local and we do not drive) and they are trying to lower his ketones (?) which are currently at 4 (were 5), which means another night in there.

It's been a bit of a hard day because we've been speaking to our local vet (who admitted Ted into the 24 hour veterinary) as well as the 24 hour vet and they're both kinda saying different things. One being positive, the other..not exactly being negative but sort of saying "it's 50/50" which worries us so much. However we did agree that we'd rather the truth and honesty rather than trying to kid ourselves. From what I can see he will eventually be okay but obviously changes and lots of other stuff will happen, a lifestyle change for sure.

The only other thing worrying me is tomorrow they are doing a scan to see if there's been any damage to the pancreas or other organs inside, and for some reason this just scares me a bit.

I just feel upset, and I want to see him (which we've decided we'll do tomorrow if he still cannot come home) and for some reason I just feel all negative about it all. We lost my cat (admittedly it was cancer and inoperable due to it's advanced stage) and we love our dog so much, it just feels a bit of a bad dream at the moment

I just wanted to say that I am really sorry to hear your dog is ill, I do not have any experience with this in dogs, so can not advice, but hoping for you that your little one will be ok.

Thank you.

We are really worried. I have cried already because this has all come at such a shock. We spoke to the vet this morning who said the Ketons are still at 3 (he was admitted with 4 Wednesday evening) and if by tomorrow they are not at least down to 2 then there could either be another underlying cause (which requires a specialist located in London and can cost up to £5,000) or we have to think hard about decisions.

The thing that is upsetting me the most is he's basically a normal healthy dog (or was, it's hard to grasp) and it feels absolutely criminal to put a dog to sleep because of diabetes. We simply do not know what to do. On another hand he can't really come home until the ketons go (if they go) because he's at high risk and we cannot regulate him, so it's just all happening at once and it's f*cking awful. It's times like this I hate being an animal lover

I think it is probably the shock of having a what you think is a healthy dog to one suddenly being very ill. But I think its possible he had been diabetic without it having been known, reading up about it, the ketacidtosis is the danger.
I think your Vet really needs to explain to you in more detail, and what is best for your dog.
You did not say how old your dog is?

We think he may have been diabetic at least since the beginning of this year (although apparently Diabetes is hereditary) and the signs of any diabetes (or issues) have been in the past 3 weeks (with the excessive drinking and needing to wee more).

He is 5 years old, we got him at approx one year old after being found walking the streets of Hounslow! He is meant to be with us so we're not giving up completely.

I have to say that the vet (from our local surgery..who referred him to the 24 hour clinic) is very...to the point and seems quite quick to write him off? I may be completely wrong but funnily enough a friend of ours who has used the same clinic said the same (about this particular woman). She is throwing lots of stuff at us but nothing seems to be concrete (as of yet), leaving us with 101 scenarios to an outcome we do not yet know.

The 24 hour clinic however have been pretty good. Well put it this way they haven't told us anything to frighten us. Maybe I'm just trying to weigh the good with the bad. It's a tricky situation to be in.

We're thinking of popping over to see him soon because we've not seen him since we had to leave him at our vet on Wednesday. The (24 hour) vet said he seems a bit down, slightly depressed so we're wondering if us visiting will raise his spirits. He probably thinks we've abandoned him!

5 years is young, and I am very sorry. I hope that he will be ok, I have 3 dogs and understand your situation. It is good that you visit him, but imo if its not good news, and you would have to make a decision, I would take my dog home again (on pain killers/meds ) and have him with me and spoil him rotten for a while.

We had that situation with one of our dogs some years back, and it made me feel better that the dog had his usual surroundings and us by him for his last week.

Again I dont want to frighten you, your dog might be fine with the treatment, I hope so for you.

Quite good news! He's ketons have decreased (though not hugely but hey it's progress). That's a good sign indeed. I was really happy haha, hopefully we're on the right path. Who knows

There are Yahoo and other support groups for pets with diabetes (and their owners!).
My border collie has poor liver health and she owes her life to one such group.
She was given 3-6 months to live but with their advice I nursed her through a critical period and 2 years on, she is so happy and lively, people think she is much younger (or even a working dog).
These groups are great for moral support but also you get to share knowledge and experience with people, in some cases, from all over the world. My former vet practice actually introduced new treatment as a result of what I leaned from someone in US.
So - while you shouldn't prolong suffering - don't forget that one vet can't know everything and don't give up hope too early.

I am really really pleased to hear that.

Okay so we went to see him and he seems to us (and the vet, though they don't exactly see it as we do) that he is depressed. Ted (for an unknown reason) is a dog that can get down in the dumps really easy. Literally even if you look at him the wrong way!

He sort of wagged his tail and he has one of those bucket things on his head which he loathes. He's very unresponsive to the vet staff (in spirit..he's not all jolly and happy like some dogs) but they did assure us that he has apparently put on a bit of weight and that they are doing his best. We could only see him for 5 minutes as there was a big emergency meaning we couldn't really have a good half hour with him, but that's understandable.

They're doing a scan tomorrow (or over the weekend) which worries us, I just hope it all comes back okay, as if there's not enough issues already

Pleased you managed to see him, its not surprising that he is sad. I think all dogs are when away from home.
I am hoping for the best for him and you.

We've had some really good news today, I was elated with joy!

The ketons have gone! As of today they have completely gone and I for one was in shock as we really thought if they were going to go, it would take a few more days at least. They say he may be able to come home tomorrow or Monday.

Funny story: He's only a small dog and funnily enough the only dog currently in the 24 hour veterinary so they've been letting him out of his cage and walking around in the room out the back (there are other animals in there but all in cages). Anyway this morning a goose was admitted (broken or damaged wing I think) and apparently Ted saw the goose out the front and made a beeline for it Now I do not condone this behavior of course but the thought of our tiny Ted chasing a goose after what we thought was a dog at deaths door yesterday, pretty remarkable to me.

I could kiss that goose for giving Ted a spring in his step The vet said it was new for them to see him so lively because since he's been in he really has been down.

I'm so thankful that he's okay and getting to come home soon. Obviously we now have a diabetic dog which will be a new thing for us entirely but we're determined to make this work and give him all we can. My pets are priceless to me tbh

I think you may be right. I'm not disrespecting her at all because what I think vets do is brilliant, truly a different lane altogether. But yesterday morning she was blinding out with ultimatums and none of them very good at all.

I felt with Ted she wasn't giving him enough time. In 72 hours the dreaded ketons that were in his urine have finally gone. That's not bad timing at all, but as of yesterday (which would've been around 48 hours) she was basically saying "look this clearly isn't working, next step is..". Well, to be blunt, she was wrong and thank God she was because if we were the type of owners to listen to every word, we could've been like "okay discharge him and we'll have to make plans for his future".

I think something was telling me to go with my heart yesterday in terms of the news we were receiving. Very strange case now I think about it but at the end of the day I am so glad he's here and doing really well and that's the main thing

I am so pleased its good news and that you will have your little one home soon.
I believe that diabetes is considered a manageable disorder-and many diabetic dogs can lead happy, healthy lives.

So all the best for you.

Hey Derek. I've been where you are. My Zach went from charging around to being unable to walk or even lift his head in a few weeks!

But try and stay strong and be patient. The vets will get him sorted. But don't be fobbed off, either, make sure you stay FULLY informed and know what's going on. That IS your right

I'll be thinking of you and Teddy!