I’ve remarked, many times, that I always enjoy it when an issue of Whole Dog Journal contains just the article that I need, or that a close friend or relative needs, to deal with a beloved dog’s urgent health or training issue.
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This month, as I was putting the finishing touches on the issue you are reading right now, I happened to see a childhood friend announce (on Facebook) that she was at her veterinarian’s office on an emergency with one of her three Rat Terriers. I wrote to ask what was wrong, and she said that Miley (one of the three) had diabetes, and that his glucose level dropped too low; they needed veterinary help to get him stabilized.
I knew that Maggie was a WDJ subscriber at some point, but I didn’t want to take it for granted that her subscription was current; I asked her if she wanted me to send her a long article that we had just published in the May issue about diabetes. She replied, “No, thank you. I already have it. It was very helpful, especially last night . . . .” Later that night, though, she must have been reading the May article again, because she wrote me back and asked whether there was any way she could get an advance copy of the June article on diets for diabetic dogs – the one that appears in this issue.
Don’t get any ideas! It’s not something I can normally do! But in this instance, I could release the information a tad early, and I felt good knowing that the information in the article was sound, and detailed enough to provide concrete advice to a longtime friend who was doing everything in her power to help her sick little dog.
Here’s the thing about our long, in-depth articles: They do more than provide a starting place for a dog owner’s research; they thoroughly equip a motivated, more-than-usually dedicated owner with all the information he or she needs to deal with a crisis, and prevent one in the future.
That said, of course we wouldn’t want all of our articles to be quite so pithy. And yet, there are two long articles in this issue. So I’m declaring this the “summer reading issue” – the one you can take with you to occupy and distract you on that cross-continent flight, cross-oceanic cruise, or cross-state drive!
In the next issue, we’ll get back to our usual mix of several shorter articles and one long article; the long one is about hypothyroid in dogs – an increasingly common condition that often goes undiagnosed. In the meantime, if you need a short shot of canine information, or a quick dog-related diversion, check WDJ’s Facebook page. We’re having a lot of fun, and providing links to lots of good past articles there. Happy reading!
