giadog

I love his sweet face! Fingers crossed everything turns out clear!

Tell her Wisconsin (and Gia and Po'boy!) miss her! I'm sorry you're still hurting so deeply for Joe. I understand.

We had two, Butkus and Moe Moe, that we took to the vet for euthanasia, and one, Apu, pass at home in his sleep. Honestly, I'm not sure which I prefer. As hard as it was to make the decision for the two, they passed over with us holding them, whispering love in their ears. With Apu, we weren't able to; we didn't know. I hope he realized how much we loved him. After he passed, we took him to the vet and they cremated him. We could have buried him, but we wanted him to be with his brothers.

We actually have some artemisinin at the ready... how do we fit that in with the rest of the drugs?

Well, Gia had her final chemo appointment yesterday, and things are going as well as possible for her. X-rays came back clean, and we're going to start the metronomic protocol in a few weeks. I think we're NOT going to do the palladia protocol, just the other two drugs... does anyone have advice/wisdom to share with me about what to expect next?

I'm very sad to announce that we lost our other old-man Australian Cattle Dog, Apu, yesterday morning. On Tuesday, I came home from work (early, thank goodness) to find that the other dogs had attacked him. I got him to the vet, who checked him out and cleaned him up. She said there were many bites, but none very deep, mostly just superficial. His base vitals were ok, but he was quite shaken, so she put him on some pain and anti-anxiety meds and sent us home. I couldn't figure out why the other dogs had done that, it's not like them at all. I decided to sleep on the couch with him to keep him comfortable and away from the rest. Throughout the night, he started showing some signs of neurological distress--knuckling under, rigid legs, and a clenched jaw. I wasn't sure if it was just a reaction to the pain or meds, but by about 3 a.m. he had calmed down and was sleeping more or less peacefully. My husband woke up at 5:30 to go to work, and all was well at that time. I put my hand on Apu and went back to sleep. When I woke at 7:30, he was gone. My hand was still on him... he must have slipped away so peacefully that he didn't even move. In retrospect, I'm guessing he had some sort of neurological event, either a stroke or seizure of some sort, that set off the dog attack. That's the only thing that makes sense to me, given all the circumstances. In any event, Apu will be greatly missed. The only thing I can say about him, is that he was so goshd##ned special. He was not a good dog, by any means. He was grouchy and ill-behaved, barked like a madman and peed on any and everything, but dang if he didn't somehow find a way to get to you and worm into your heart. Never have I met a dog with more personality, who was so forcefully and unapologetically himself. He made me laugh every day. It's going to be so quiet around our house; I already miss him terribly.

Healthy Pet all the way. Dr. Carla is a lifesaver (literally and figuratively), but all the vets and vet techs AND reception-folk there are awesome. Can't recommend enough.

Sending strong, healthy energy to Toby.

The lump came back clear! Well, clear-ish...they said there were some mast cells in there, but also enough other cells that he can safely classify it as benign. I don't understand the science, but he said it was good news. So we're back on track for her third chemo on Monday!

Yesterday was supposed to be Gia's third chemo appointment, but we found a suspicious new lump in her ribs, so it became a biopsy appointment instead. We should hear back today, but the onc didn't like the way it looked. Sigh. Leave it to my dog to grow NEW cancer while being actively treated for the first and second cancers (both osteo and thyroid).

Oh, what a painful weekend... I'm just reading all the updates now. Johanna, Kyle, and Deb, my heart and thoughts are with you all. I'm so incredibly sorry for everyone.

Jane, I'm so incredibly sorry to hear about Joe. My thoughts are with you.

Good thoughts for Pepper! Hopefully it's just a tweak.

Well, gia's bloodwork came back a bit too low for her to do chemo today. But in better news, she's put on 3 pounds, so our doctor said that was a good sign! We'll try again on Tuesday!

Thanks for the feedback, all. It doesn't SEEM like something I should worry about, but I just thought it was odd!

This is what her skin looks like in the evenings: The black spotting usually isn't there in the mornings!

Gia's second chemo is this week! We had her blood tested a week and a half ago, and I haven't heard any news from the doctor to change plans, so I assume it's going ahead as scheduled? She's been doing pretty well overall, but I've noticed a couple changes in her personality... She's been spending a bit more time on her own, when normally she's the center of attention. Not total isolation, but randomly throughout the day, I'll realize she's not on the couch with me and that she's chilling out in the bedroom instead. Also, she no longer really has sleep/touch aggression, which is a nice change! I sometimes find her cuddled up with her head on someone else's butt...that would NOT fly before! I'm wondering about a physical thing, though... maybe you all have noticed this in your own? She's white with fawn spots/ticking, and on her shaved areas where you can see the skin, in the morning her skin is mostly nice and pink, but by the end of the day, it looks more mottled with dark spots. It doesn't look like blood or bruising UNDER the skin, it just looks like what you'd see if you shaved a spotted dog. It's very strange!

Kristin, I'm not sure exactly how far into IL you're located, but if cost is the only reason you're not considering Palladia, the University of WI in Madison is doing a clinical trial that offsets the costs of the meds... Just an option!

I am so unbelievably sorry you had to go through that, Emma. My heart hurts for you.

I dropped Gia off for her suture removal and first chemo this morning! She's been doing really well and seems totally adjusted and happy, so I'm hoping there are no issues and the chemo goes as planned!

I'm so sorry Gabe is struggling right now... I'm hoping and wishing that it's a temporary breakthrough. And I'm so, so sorry for everyone who's had to make, and question, and relive the horrible decisions that come with this disease. Gia is still working on adjusting...she's had a couple nights of 'off' sleeping, and I'm not sure exactly if it's pain, or anxiousness, or just boredom that are causing them. Other than that, she seems to be doing ok, just a bit restless still. Her first chemo is on Wednesday, as long as her blood counts agree! It looks like we're going to be moving back into our house this weekend, which I'm THRILLED about, but also a bit worried because there are a lot of stairs to get to the yard. I suppose we could just let her potty on the deck, but I know she's going to want to investigate the backyard after all this time!

Thanks! I'll check in to it. Gia's doing ok at home, figuring out her new situation, but she seems restless a lot of the time. Not necessarily agitated, but like she doesn't want to lay down and relax at all... She just keeps wandering from room to room, and I'm not sure what she wants!!

Sorry for two posts in a row, but I just talked to the doctor, and Gia gets to come home today already!! He said she's an A+ for a greyhound--barely any bleeding or bruising! He said she's already hopping up and wagging her tail for the vet crew. I knew my girl was a trooper!

Question: Does anyone know if you can buy doggie t-shirts made for amps? With only one sleeve-hole? I saw on the bigorange blog there was a link to a company, but when I clicked it, the website was no longer active. I'd LOVE to have one for Gia; it'll make it a whole lot easier on my family at first....

How is Gia doing...the amp was in the morning I'm assuming? She was actually the second surgery of the day, and it took a bit longer than he was expecting, so I didn't hear from him until about 7 pm last night! Talk about a long day waiting! He said the surgery went very well, it was just removing the non-cancerous lump from her neck that took much longer than he predicted. (He still wanted to remove it just because lymph node lumps can often turn precancerous.) There were no problems with the actual amp, though. I heard from him already this morning and he said she's doing great! There's barely ANY brusing, so he's hopeful she won't be a big bleeder (although we obviously won't know for sure until tomorrow or so), and she's already been up walking around! He said she doesn't seem to be in too much discomfort, but she hasn't eaten yet, so he asked us to bring something she likes when we visit around noon. He said if they can wean her off drip meds today, if she doesn't appear to be bleeding by later tomorrow, we might be able to bring her home tomorrow evening! Which of course makes me both happy AND nervous, but 'happy + saving buttloads of cash' beats out a little bit of nerves anyday! Also, we heard back from OSU that we'll be candidates for the free chemo, so hopefully that can start as soon as she's done healing! In other news, YAY Pinky!!! Glad your counts are up! And good news on no more staples, Symbra! AMberj, from one newbie to another, welcome, but I'm sorry you're here!