Diabetic Dog

I have had 1-4 dogs my whole adult life. It all started when I was 20 years old and I inherited a wonderful dog. He came with my room in college. His owner had moved out of a cooperative house that I moved into, and left his dog behind. Somewhere in the middle of the year the past owner came by to thank me for taking him on, but by then I was more grateful to him than angry that he had abandoned such a wonderful guy.
I had never had a dog growing up, and would probably not have gotten one my sophomore year of college if it hadn't literally dropped in my lap. I loved that dog so much, and it was an era where you could bring your dog to class or to your friends' house, so I spent more time with him than I have with any pet since. Once I had him, I was hooked. Since then I have always leaned towards a rescued animal rather than actually picking out a breed and such. My second dog was abandoned at a party at my house. And so on it went.
I am not sure how many dog years of experience I have (years I have had each dog added up altogether--for instance, my current dogs are 17, 10, and 9 years old, so that would be 36 years of dog experience), but I would guess it is over a 100 years. I have not had to make a decision about chronic health care to date. My second dog had a bone infection that would not clear with antibiotics and had to have a toe amputated--which neither he nor anyone else noticed was gone after about three weeks--he had very big feet, and the amputation made that foot look more appropriate, if anything. When my now 17 year old dog developed an abnormally slow heart beat, we refused the cardiac work-up and elected to give him an aspirin when we thought of it, and he is 5 years out from that, living a reasonably comfortable life as a very geriatric dog.
All that changed this month. My 10 year old dog developed weight loss and excessive urination, and my at-home diagnosis of diabetes was upheld by the vet, so he started on insulin a week ago. Voila, his weight is stable, he sleeps through the night, and while he never seemed sick, the twice daily shots are easy for both of us.
Along with my first ongoing dog illness I discovered a whole other world at the pharmacy--I could go to my local drug store and get insulin and syringes. Over-the-counter like. They created a medication profile for him, even calling out his name when his insulin was ready for pick up. They did inform me that it would be a charge--I know, he doesn't have health insurance, of course there will be a charge! I am still firmly in the camp of no heroic measures for a pet, but this seems manageable (thank goodness) and the dog remains 9as always) un-phased.