A couple of weeks ago, 12 year old Britni the beagle became very lethargic. Wouldn't eat, barely moved all day - just seemed like she was on her last legs. She would go out to do her business but couldn't handle the stairs or anything. I just figured it was old age and we didn't want to spend a fortune on testing. She didn't seem to be in any pain - just unmotivated, maybe even confused - sometimes she would just wander around aimlessly. I consulted Google and it was possible she had CCD (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction) or a stroke or other things. Then at times she would perk right up and almost seem normal. Those wild swings made me keep thinking and researching. I thought perhaps she was diabetic so our nurse friend procured some test strips and Lucie managed to capture some of Britni's pee and test it. Negative. More research. Perhaps she is hypoglycemic. The "cure" for that is to give the dog honey. So I did and it was like a miracle. She bounced back in a couple of hours and was pretty much her old self. So I started drizzling honey on her food (which she now ate right down) and in a few days, she was charging up and down the stairs again, full of energy, barking and howling and just being annoying like she always is. That doesn't answer the underlying cause which we may eventually get checked out but for about 2 weeks now, the honey is all the fix we need.
But how does that make her a lifesaver? Well, during the diabetes testing, that same nurse friend's husband began complaining of excessive thirst and other issues. So on a whim she did a test on him and found his blood sugar was off the charts high! Off to the doc they went and he is now on meds and a modified diet. I don't know if Britni's episode occurred directly to discover our friend's condition but I will give her credit.
