Profiles

Hi!

My name is Anita, and I have the honour and privilege of having Mika in my life to help me with the every day help of coping with my Diabetes. 

Mika is chasing the cat........

I have been Type 1 Diabetic since the age of 7 months old.  Back then, my Mum and Dad used to boil glass and stainless steel syringes to give me my daily insulin requirements.  I apparently learnt to go to the potty on demand quite quickly too!!!

Oh how times have changed!!  Prior to going onto an insulin pump 5 years ago, I was on 12 injections a day.  I was also informed I had a severe case of needle phobia!!  Fancy that for a Diabetic!!

But hey, I now have better control of my brittle diabetes, and with Mika’s assistance, I have been able to have tighter control of my condition. 

Mika is chasing the cat.......

I have had Mika for just over 8 months now, and with her alerting me with both highs and lows, I have the confidence in knowing I will wake up normally in the morning, not trying to bring myself out of a coma, as had been the case.  Although I am 36 years old now, I still used to sms my parents first thing in the morning to let them know I was awake.

Not any more!!!

Mika is chasing the cat.....

My girl Mika is amazing.  From the first day she was here, she got to know the cat (still chases her around and lets her know she is the queen of the household – what chance have I got with that one?)  That week, I learnt the first stages of how Mika was to alert me.  We have found that my feet, legs, and skirt or pants I am wearing are a great chew toy for when she wanted my attentions.  We have since progressed to going into my handbag and removing and tearing up tissues – basically, misbehaving so I have to stop what I am doing, tell her off, then get into the mindset of maybe she is alerting me.  9 times out of 10, she is being a Paws for Diabetics dog, the other 1 time, she is still a pup!!!

She has also leant that if I am not recognising she is alerting me, she will go to a few trusted others and get their attention.  One day, she kept running between myself and my Mum at a shop.  Couldn’t figure it out?  Then, the tug on the pants.  Well, that just woke me up very fast, but I have also learnt a valuable lesson from that.  Another way of alerting.

The cat is chasing the dog.......

Mika is a great social girl.  Because she is so cute (ugh!) everyone I meet wants to stop and play with her.  This is good in one sense, as I have the ability then to talk to people and inform them of her job, and I am sorry, but you can’t pat and play.  Amazing how quick word can spread!!  I have had people stop me in the middle of Perth and state their friend had spoken to me somewhere else, and think that this is an amazing concept for help for us. 

But, I never have a chance of loosing site of the fact that Mika is still a dog.  Like when she digs a hole in the back yard to protect her bone, then digs it up.  She hunts around the office at work to look for a place to ‘hide’ her chew toy.  (we found the best place is in her bedding, underneath a toy, see, no-one can find it there!!)  She curls up on the couch and snores when she falls completely asleep, only waking every so often to check on me.  She guards the house when some stranger comes to the door.  She chases the cat.......we will get to that one later!!!

It has been hard work for both of us to get to understand and read each other, but I feel we have been doing very well.  I need Mika to learn to ignore other dogs around where we walk, but training is continuous, so we will get over it, eventually!!

I thank PFD for giving us the opportunity to have this life together, and for giving me security with the knowledge Mika is here to aid me, and those around me, as they also have the confidence to know I am in safe paws.

The cat is asleep, so is Mika......

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