Gilmoor Vets Limited
Pet of the Month 2010
June
Jazmine
Jazmine is a fit, healthy 6year old West Highland White Terrier.
Jazmine's owner came to see us at our Spennymoor branch in February. She had noticed that Jazmine was eating and drinking more, but losing weight and urinating a lot more.
At examination, glucose was found in Jazmine's urine suggesting that Diabetes may be a problem so a blood test was taken. These tests confirmed that Jazmine had Diabetes mellitus. This is a condition that requires daily injections with insulin and a special diet, it cannot be cured but can be controlled for the rest of her life.
Jazmine before diagnosis
Jazmine's owner attended our Diabetes nursing clinic at Durham, where she was taught how to inject Jazmine with the insulin she needed, and trained to monitor her condition at home.
Thanks to the owners quick identification of a problem and her visit to the surgery Jazmine's diabetes was diagnosed and stabilised before she became seriously unwell. With her new routine Jazmine was soon back to her old self, and testing confirms that her diabetes is under excellent control.
Jazmine after diagnosis, with controlling medication
Every month Jazmine needs special food, insulin, injection needles, test kits as well as requiring regular health checks and blood tests. Jazmine has been insured since she was a puppy. Her insurer will now help to cover these costs for the rest of her life.
What is next for Jazmine?
West Highland White terriers are one breed that appears to have a higher risk of diabetes, and females a higher risk than males. At her next blood test Jazmine may become part of a genetic monitoring program run by the Royal Veterinary College London, which aims to find the genetic risk of Diabetes and to hopefully reduce the disease in "at risk" breeds.
