DANVILLE —

Mitzy is on a strict schedule: 8 a.m., eat, shot, treat; 8 p.m., eat, shot, treat, sleep.

That sounds like a nice life, except for the insulin shots twice a day. Still, the little terrier doesn’t mind.

“She is wonderful getting her shots,” Kathy Darding of Danville said. “She just comes over to me after she eats, sits there and lets me poke her, then eats her treat.”

Besides diabetes, 7-year-old Mitzy has cataracts and is blind.

However, she’s lucky to have two owners: Darding’s mother, Betty Meismer, is the original owner and then Darding, who took in the dog after it developed diabetes last fall.

“I miss her,” said Meismer, who lives at Liberty Estates. But she does visit the dog at her daughter’s home and sometimes Mitzy spends the day with her.

In 2004, Darding was looking for a dog to keep her mother company after the death of her husband (Darding’s father) the previous year. She wanted a rescue dog, and she wanted a small female lap dog.

Darding saw an ad for a schnauzer mix, and contacted the woman, who was serving as a foster mother, in Paxton. When the two met in Gibson City, the woman had brought along three dogs for Darding to look at.

The schnauzer was too hyper, but the Cairn terrier-Chihuahua mix came up and rested her head on Darding’s lap. She weighed 15 pounds, had short hair, and had just had a litter of puppies,

At that time, Meismer was living in Benson, and she and the dog clicked right away. She had someone to talk to, and she got out and exercised with the pup.

Four years later, Meismer moved to Danville and chose Liberty Estates because it allows dogs, if the new tenant already has one. Mitzy thrived at her new home, and everyone loved her.

Last November, Meismer noticed that Mitzy was drinking a lot of water, going outside a lot, and losing weight. A trip to the vet confirmed she had diabetes.

At 87, Meismer knew she couldn’t give the two daily insulin injections.

Darding had just retired, and was happy to take Mitzy. She had wanted a dog for a long time, as the family’s bearded collie had died in 2002.

Darding learned how to give the injections, and Mitzy got into a routine.

After Christmas, Darding noticed Mitzy could no longer find her “chewy” when she threw it on the floor. As it turned out, she had developed cataracts, another effect of the diabetes, and was blind.

Removing the cataracts is quite expensive, and it doesn’t always work, Darding said, and so that wasn’t an option.

Mitzy knows her way around the house and the yard. If she’s walking and something is in her way, Darding will say “watch out” and she will change course. Darding wonders if Mitzy might have a bit of vision left, as she does so well.

Mitzy loves to take car rides, and she has a big vocabulary. She also knows she gets a “chewy” when Darding’s husband, Darrell, comes home. Mitzy likes it when the grown children, Kari of Michigan and Andy of Chicago, come home, too.

Darding is happy she found the terrier-mix six years ago. And even with the medical issues, she doesn’t regret taking her in. In fact, having a dog on a strict schedule gets her out of bed in the mornings.

“Kathy takes wonderful care of her,” Meismer said. “She gets lots of special attention.”

Darding used to be a school teacher in Hoopeston and also had worked 10 years at the Vermilion County Museum.

Mitzy is lucky to have found two households that dote on her, but just as importantly, the two women are lucky to have her in their lives.

The Pets column runs every other Sunday. If you would like to have your pet featured, contact Mary Wicoff at 477-5161, send an e-mail to mwicoff@dancomnews.com or write to Commercial-News, 17 W. North, Danville, IL 61832.