Dr. Gary Greensweig?s patient has diabetes, which requires insulin shots twice a day. She is on a strict diet to manage the chronic disease. The patient had cataracts, the result of the diabetes. Because of that surgery, the patient requires daily eye drops.
Dr. Greensweig, the chief medical director of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, is uniquely qualified to monitor this patient?s health needs so she can continue with daily walks and patrolling of the backyard for squirrels.
Dr. Greensweig?s ?patient? is Sushi, an eight-year old Tibetan terrier, the family pet of Greensweig and artist-wife, Barbara, of Santa Rosa.
Sushi developed diabetes at age six. She was hospitalized in full diabetic shock. She recovered and immediately was placed on insulin. ?Dogs, who get insulin, get cataracts. We would walk her and hear a clunk, and she would run into a brick wall or something. Once she developed the cataracts, it was within six months that she couldn?t see,? says Gary.
By the time she was taken in for surgery, Sushi was 95-percent blind. ?We picked her up in the afternoon after the surgery and she could see again. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life,? says Barbara. ?She would sit outside and just look at the backyard,? he says.
?As an artist, I work at home alone a lot. She follows me wherever we go. She is such a great dog,? says Barbara, who has participated in Art Trails for years, and is known for intricately detailed acrylic paintings.
The Greensweig?s suspect the dog?s health problems are the result of poor breeding, but that doesn?t make any difference now. ?She is such a medical disaster, this dog. But we love her,? says Barbara.
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