"Last fall, I was walking to work when I ran into my neighbor Sue Powers and her dog Molly," said Kevin Coolidge, owner of From My Shelf Books and Gifts in Wellsboro. Powers told him Molly had diabetes and might make a good children’s book.
“As I walked on, I began thinking Sue might be right. My dad had adult onset diabetes and I had a good friend who died at 40 of diabetes. At the bookstore, I asked Jen Colson what she thought. She has diabetes. "Great idea," she said. Customers who came to the store that day agreed.”
"Four years ago at Christmastime, Molly began urinating constantly so I took her to our veterinarian thinking she had a urinary tract infection," said Powers. Molly’s urine test showed she was diabetic.
“Every morning, I test Molly's urine to determine her glucose level. Based on her blood sugar results, she gets injections of animal insulin two times a day, is on prescription dog food that has less carbohydrates to keep her weight down and her blood sugar in check, and goes for a daily walk. She gets half of a small dog bone as a treat and also likes raw carrots,” said Powers.
“If Molly’s blood sugar dips too low, she has a hypoglycemic episode, just like people do. If she goes limp, I give her honey and that brings her around in a couple of minutes.”
“When we are on a walk, Molly is always excited to see Kevin. One day, out of the blue, I said to him, ‘I have a great idea for a children’s book – Molly, the dog with diabetes.’ ‘I’ll add that to my list,’ he told me.”
Later that same day, Kevin called and told Powers he had brought up the idea of doing a children’s book about a diabetic dog to people who worked at the bookstore as well as customers. “He said each person he talked to was either diabetic, had a family member that was or knew a child with diabetes,” said Powers.
“I felt that writing about what a dog with diabetes goes through would show children they can live a normal life if they take care of themselves,” Powers said. “The two of us began chatting about the parallels between diabetic dogs and people. I told Kevin that Molly goes on vacation with us and has children and dogs that come to play with her. He talked about ideas he had. We both began to get really excited about this book," said Powers.
“That’s where my inspiration came from to do a day in Molly’s life,” Coolidge said. “It’s a feel good book about how happy and healthy Molly is as she lives with diabetes.”
Kevin wrote most of "Molly, the Dog with Diabetes" last November and added finishing touches in January.
The next step was to raise funds to pay an illustrator and a formatter. Coolidge opened an online Kickstarter account. He hit his $1,000 goal on May 12. Those who contributed $10 will get a free autographed copy. “The illustrations will be finished by the end of June and the book formatted and printed by the end of July.
"We are planning a book release party on First Friday, Aug. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the bookstore," Coolidge said. "Sue and Molly will be there." Those who want to pre-order the book can call From My Shelf Books and Gifts at 570-724-5793.
Molly is the center of attention for Kevin Coolidge and owner Sue Powers. The seven-year-old dachshund mix has diabetes and is the star of Coolidge's soon to be released children's book.
Photo by John Eaton
