Free Health Evaluations for your Pets

Toby, the Rock Health dog! (Photo credit: mariachily)

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth the reminder.  WebMD has a free Pet Health Evaluator available on their website.  You'll get a report and tips after you answer a set of questions.  If you are worried that your dog may be developing diabetes, it might be worth your while to do this periodically between vet checkups.

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Another Reason to Include "Diabetes" on your Dog's Tag

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: (L-R) Spock and Captain Kirk, Mastiffs,  (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The ASPCA just sent me another message that relates to my last post.  According to them, dogs are being stolen at an outrageous rate:  "The American Kennel Club, which has been tracking pet thefts since 2007, reported a 32% increase in dog thefts last year."  Their article, "Dognapping On the Rise—Protect Your Pet," gives some commonsense advice about how to prevent this, mainly having to do with not leaving your dog unattended in public places.  The list ends with an admonition to get your dog microchipped.  However, it occurs to me that thieves are not likely to want a dog that has diabetes, considering that, as far as they know, it could experience a crisis at any moment, possibly while they are trying to sell it.  In fact, since the theft itself could be traumatic for the dog, a blood sugar crash is almost likely to happen.

So, here's another reason to put the word "Diabetes" on the front of the tag (the thieves have no reason to look at the back, do they?).  Let them know that your friend has special needs.  I'm not saying that they'll bring it back, unfortunately, but the next person to encounter it might.

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