One of my neighbors came by yesterday. She was walking the cutest little beagle you’ve ever seen. She has plenty of animals and didn’t need another one. Her pets wouldn’t even let it in the house. I contacted a lady in the neighborhood that works with drop off pets, Dade County Pet Project. She put an ad in the local lost and found.
Meanwhile, I know someone that adores beagles; so I forwarded him a picture of the dog. He happens to be a type one diabetic; and we got onto the topic of dogs and diabetes.
I did a little bit of research. As it turns out, dogs can smell changes in our blood sugar, saliva, and sweat. They’re called diabetic alert dogs, DAD’s for short. They are specifically trained to help people with insulin insensitivity.
While these dogs are great companions, they come with more responsibilities. Aside from the normal dog food and vet bills, you are signing up for a lifetime responsibility for their exercise and potty business. In addition, these pets can cost you $8000-$20,000. Later, they may even require additional follow-up training.
Some places have grants and only require that you cover the cost of training the dog for your personal scent. Many people decide they want one of these dogs to help them recognize when they’re having a low blood sugar event in their sleep. If you decide to get a DAD, please be aware that they need sleep too. Now a much more economical solution is a continuous glucose monitor, CGM. A CGM, along with a exercise and a healthy diet like this week’s recipe, are more effective solutions.
Ingredients:
10-ounce package of tooth pick carrots
3 tablespoons melted butter, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/16 cup coconut palm sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Put the carrots in a meatloaf baking dish.
Put 2 tablespoons of melted butter in a small mixing bowl and add three-quarter teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger and mix well.
Add the butter mixture to the carrots and toss to coat.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Pull out and mix in 16th of a cup of coconut palm sugar. Enjoy!
I am a pet sitter. I recommend pets in anyone’s life, not just dogs. If you are ready to make a commitment for the life of the animal, working a dog into your life has definite health benefits. For diabetics as well as everyone, animals help relieve anxiety. High anxiety leads to higher blood pressure. Higher blood pressure causes increased blood sugar. Pets can help relieve anxiety and stress. Depending upon the breed of the dog, they can be a catalyst to get you up and moving around and possibly exercising more to relieve stress even more. I know my three pups work me out daily.
Sources: "What Are Diabetic Service Dogs?"
WebMD 05/22/2021
"Pet Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes"
My friend decided to adopt the little beagle. Beagles are hounds. Hounds have strong noses and have a tendency to follow their nose as they pick up interesting scents everywhere. Before you know it, they can be lost. Remember to fix at 4 months old to help reduce the desire for dogs to wander. Another option is to low jack your dog with a chip.
We took the time to acclimate this little puppy to the dog already in the home, a beagle basset hound mix. We watched them for signs of aggression against each other and didn’t see any. We decided to crate the puppy for four hours between him leaving for work and his son’s return home from school. Then I got a text about the lost and found post, the beagle has an owner.
The puppy is returning home to its original owner. While my friend and his son may be a touch disappointed, the Humane Society just rescued over 4000 beagles. Something tells me, it won’t be difficult to find another beagle.
Please let me know if this week's recipe makes it into your recipe book. Our diet can play a significant role in undermining our hard work. I'll keep working on the recipes to prevent this. If you have a favorite dish, please tell me. I'll create a diabetic friendly version, just let me know by leaving a note below. I've learned how to swap blood sugar spiking ingredients for others with a lower glycemic index. It may take a week or two, but I love the challenge. I'll also work on introducing more recipes to help lower the ceramides in the body. Please comment, like, share, and come back next week for more recipes, ideas, and tips. Subscribe to the website, if you would like weekly email reminders to add more recipes to your recipe book.
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