Alert about pets in homes of diabetics

[Christine]

Hi Mark,

On Monday, you posted a story warning about pets in a house where a diabetic uses insulin shots and the dangers of an animal licking the hand which might have residue or licking the floor where the contents of a needle might have spilled. I immediately sent the link to a good friend who was unable to see the post and got the message..this does not exist.

I came back to try and find the post and cannot find it. Did I imagine it? Did it turn out not to be true and get removed? I wanted to send it to my vet and especially to my friend whose husband is diabetic and their dog exhibited some of the signs mentioned in the article.

Thanks.

[critters]

This isn't listed at Snopes yet, but I checked around with vets and others, and the general feeling is that it's not true. One respondent replied that if insulin could make it through stomach acid, people wouldn't be taking shots. LOL

[Toni]

At the same time as I forwarded the insulin email to everyone on the board, I also forwarded it to Snopes, Truth or Fiction and a few other sites, and have asked several veterinarians and diabetics as well. I have not heard from Snopes or any of the other sites. The veterianrians were skeptical. One diabetic had the same response about why would people take shots..but then balanced her statement with the notion that the puppies in question only weighed one pound and that it would take very little to set off such a small and young system.
As I have not heard any real confirming evidence I held off on posting the insulin email.
I will investigate further and report as soon as I find out anything more substantial.