MrAlexTheDog

i'm still tip-toeing around sadie's bed next to my side of the bed before i go to sleep. i catch myself looking at her uneaten bit of dog cookie in her food bowl. i have to remind myself i don't need to go for a walk in the morning, at noon, and in the evening now. i even look at my camera and don't feel a reason to pick it up. i expect to see this...: ...but i don't. it'll be hard to wait until may when we go get our puppy.

thanks for mentioning sadie's videos. i watched them a few times last night and it brought a smile to my face. she was the goofball of the four greys we've adopted. that was just part of her personality.

i'm sorry about your loss. what a beautiful pup.

she was one in ten million. i'll post a bit more when it doesn't quite hurt so much.

that's a great picture, mary pat.

i'm sorry for your loss, tracey. she will be forever beautiful.

i can't fathom how that happens, and i'm so sorry for your loss.

i'm sorry about lana's passing, victor.

good luck with aston, sydney! i need to meet you guys and aston sometime since you're in los angeles.

as of today it's been three months since katie's death. recently we were informed that an artist friend of ours was commissioned by a group of greyhound friends to do a memorial portrait of her. we didn't really know what to say, but it goes a long way to show the kind of people that bring these remarkable dogs into their homes when their racing days are done. the portrait is based on this picture of katie i took in 2011: the artist has written in her blog a work-in-progress thread about the portrait. we're looking forward to the finished painting as we've been wanting to hang one of her works in our house for a long time. but we're all enjoying seeing the painting develop from start-to-finish, too. and to be honest, i'd be more than happy to have her stop at any point -- her work is that good.

good news indeed, mary pat.

i'm peeking in to see how everyone is doing. i'm happy about the good news that i've read so far, and saddened by the not-so-good news and the additions of those who are now affected by it. know that i think of you all. we've not seriously looked at adopting another grey yet, but we talk a lot about it at times. we'll get another -- of that i am sure (we might even pursue a grey puppy!). in the meantime i find myself browsing through all the pictures of katie that i took from the day we got her in november, 2004, to her final day with us two months ago. i'm really glad that i took them, and only regret that i didn't take more. sadie has handled being an only dog much better than i thought, but she could use a companion.

as it so happens, this is how we found OSA in katie, too: sudden limping, took wrist rads which were negative, then on a whim asked to have shoulder rads taken -- which showed an abnormally dark area in the proximal humerus. she had her amputation done two weeks after the limp first appeared. wishing you the best of luck with lucas.

i'm sorry for your loss. i wish i could've met him.

i think i will always be angry and saddened that we didn't get the chance to even start the CHOP protocol for her. we were ready to start her on it yesterday. she declined over the weekend, but found enough in herself to jump up on our bed after sunrise yesterday morning. i had to carry her off the bed so i could try and force-feed her. i didn't get a picture of her lying in her usual spot on our bed -- across both of my pillows. she was happy and comfortable there. but her ultrasound showed masses in her liver and her intestines thickened, although her spleen was clear. we were hoping to stablize her for a couple of days and start her on elspar but the lymphoma just took her.

katie went to join alex and nikki this afternoon. we didn't even get the chance to treat her. it came on so fast.

yes, it is separate from the osteo, per the pathologist. she is at stage 1 (meaning only one node involved). both of her vets checked all of her other nodes, and they all feel normal. any way you look at it, it's pretty messed up that she has to deal with two cancers. jay, you will do right by tempo.

katie will have a splenic ultrasound to use as a baseline to track progress against the lymphoma (she has no lymph nodes that could've been used as they've been removed) on monday, followed immediately by a consult with her oncologist so we can get started on the CHOP protocol. we'll be switching over to that protocol from the carboplatin used against her OSA. she hasn't been feeling too great since a couple of days since her node removal: lethargic and nauseous -- signs of lymphoma. if there's anything positive to come out of this, at least it was only one lymph node affected. not that we're deluding ourselves into thinking that that's all there is, (no doubt there are cells floating around in her system) but it could be much, much worse.

katie's biopsy report said she has a high-grade lymphoma. whether it's the OSA that metastasized into that one lymph node, or whether we're now dealing with OSA and lymphoma, we don't know. her vet is going to verify that the person who did the cytology knew that katie had OSA already. we don't know enough yet to be speculating about time, but i can't help but think that we had more of it than we do. in the meantime, katie sleeps.

i'm sorry about bebe, judy. but i'm glad you were there to take her in. i wish i could've met her.

katie did just fine with her sx. the node was removed and sent out for biopsy -- we should hear back in 3-5 days.

katie's oncologist recommended having her swollen lymph node excised and biopsied, so she's having surgery on monday to do that.

lymphoid hyperplasia...that's what katie's got. so her nodes are reacting to something, and they themselves are not infected. but no cancer cells found in her lymph node aspirate. woo!

gayle found a swollen lymph node on katie's right side late this afternoon, close to the incision. aspirating it got only blood. her vet couldn't identify any mets in the aspirate for certain, but that, plus chest rads (which were clear), and a CBC are being forwarded to katie's oncologist. we should hear back tomorrow. katie's gained a bit more weight, in the meantime.