RedFawnMom

Yes, I remember following Dude's updates while Lucy was also recovering from surgery. I remember how Dude refused to be kept off the stairs. :-) And how happily he greeted his massage therapist. He was such a character, and the way you described him always reminded me of Lucy. I wish they had had the chance to meet. (((Hugs)))

I am just popping in to give a Lucy update. I was talking with Kyle about Charlie, who was our inspiration and had 21 great months post amp, and realized that Lucy may be one of the longest surviving osteo pups on GT now, at 22 months post amp, which is astonishing to me because she was only 4 when diagnosed. She's still doing great and is the happiest tripod you'd ever meet! There are no signs of recurrence and we are grateful for every day. My heart breaks every time I read about a new diagnose or bridge angel and I truly wish Lucy's outcome was the norm. I get too teary if I spend too much time on the H&M board so I'm not here much, but feel free to PM me if anyone is contemplating amp and needs someone to talk to. There's a lot of heartbreak with osteo, but there is hope, too. Hugs to everyone.

I'm sorry Ben is not himself. I don't have any experience with Palladia, but I'll keep him in my thoughts. Lucy was not herself on Metacam, and I remember how confusing and worrisome that was. ((hugs)) Tristan looks great!!! I was positive Lucy's digging days were over after she lost the leg, but no such luck. ;-)

Hi! How is everyone doing? I haven't read back through the thread to catch up yet but did see good news about Twiggy - yay! :-) I feel bad about disappearing - life has been busy and I haven't been on GT in ages, but I should make time to stop in. I don't t hink I would have made it through Lucy's diagnosis and surgery without your support. So, I heard a Lucy update was requested? Here it is....SHE'S DOING GREAT!!! :-) In July, we went for our bi-annual checkup with the oncologist and celebrated 18 cancer-free months! :-D The oncologist said that there are no signs of recurrence at all and that she's blown away by how great she's doing. She also said that if everything is clear at her next appointment, which will be the 2-year mark since her amp, she'll be considered cured! I don't know how we got so lucky and beat the odds, but I am grateful for it every day. She's such a happy, sweet, special girl. Her enthusiasm for life makes everyone around her smile. We did have a rough week earlier this summer when she had a bout of pancreatitis, but she recovered and is back to her normal self now. In typical Lucy fashion, even at 3 a.m., after vomiting for an hour and being dehydrated and poked and prodded at the E-vet, she pawed at the vet when she went to stand up after starting her IV, and convinced her to stay on the floor and rub her belly. Somehow, whenever we go to any vet's office, everyone ends up sitting on the floor. :-) Here's a video I took a few months ago when our friend's two greys were staying with us. I call it "No one wants to play with Lucy". :-) http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/JessLC1/87C2B73C-5AF9-4508-A207-44681F9D024E-1056-00000152E3136074.mp4 And here are some photos: Watching me cut up Boston Market chicken in the car on the way home from her oncologist checkup She's just recently started making this face when you find juuuuuust the right spot to scratch After getting the good news at the oncologist's office

It's going to be a horrendous year for them. It's only March and we are already finding deer ticks on Lucy, and we don't hike or anything (we are in northern CT). We've had good luck with the Preventic collar in previous years, so we just put a new one on her. They last for 3 months before losing effectiveness, and it's been 5 months since we replaced hers (we don't usually have to worry about ticks in the winter).

We've used them for a couple of years now and like them. I wonder if there is a distribution issue, though, because I had a hard time finding them in stock online and my vet stopped carrying it. For those of you thinking about combining Preventic with Frontline (and those with cats) -- look into Certifect. It's a topical, and is basically Frontline + Amitraz (the active ingredient in Preventic). I spoke with a local vet about it and he said it's safe for households with dogs and cats (though you shouldn't ever apply it to a cat). I haven't tried it yet, but we might switch.

Just dropping in to check on everyone and say hi. Jen, Zuri's X-rays will be fine. Between the time when we got Lucy's diagnosis and when she had her surgery, she started licking one of her good legs, persistently, and I was POSITIVE she had it in another leg. She didn't (I asked the surgeon to x-ray it before starting surgery). You just go into hyper-alert mode, but I think getting the X-ray is the right decision, because if you're anything like me, you'd never be able to stop worrying about it otherwise. I love that photo of Faye Oops with her bird! She has such a sweet, gentle face. I'm so glad she let you know she wasn't ready for the bridge quite yet. And the get well card...oh my gosh. Kristin, Lucy also had a sore that was sort of rubbed raw. It actually was a lot more bothersome to her than the incision, for a while, because it would get "stuck" to her blankets. The vet actually told me I could put just a tiny bit of powder on it - a specific brand/kind (can't remember which one) - just to help dry it up a bit so that it wasn't constantly getting re-opened. Worked like a charm! I'm glad to hear Pinky is doing well otherwise! I'm so sorry to hear about Sam. I'm glad that the gabapentin seems to be helping him get some rest. It was very helpful for Lucy. Yay for Gabe! I posted in the other thread about Hurley but am happy to see more updates here. Regarding the falling, they all adapt at different rates. He'll get the hang of it. The key for us is lots of runners. Lucy will NOT walk on a tile or wood floor that does not have a runner on it. Period. So, we have them everywhere. It sounds like he's doing great otherwise. I keep pretty close tabs on Berkeley outside of GT so I already knew he was doing great. Kyle, how is our super star Charlie?? Hope I'm not leaving anyone out. Hugs to all. I'll also share a quick Lucy update: We saw the oncologist on Friday for her 9-month checkup and chest X-ray and it was totally CLEAR! Absolutely no signs of recurrence. The vet said she couldn't be happier. AND...you won't believe this, but my husband took her to the car while I went to pay and he told me she jumped into the back of my SUV totally on her own!!!!! She hasn't done that ever in my new car (I got it in June). The back of it is higher than my old car, and she only jumped into my old car once or twice as a tripod. My husband said she was just super excited when they were walking toward the car and she didn't even hesitate, just was like, "I've got this" and hopped right in. She probably won't do it again for me, that brat. Here are a couple of recent pictures of my sweet girl. Snuggling with her Iggie buddy, who stayed with us for a weekend:

He looks great!!! Those first couple of weeks are really hard, and you might have set backs, but just wait until you see him do tripod zoomies for the first time - if you have any lingering doubt about your decision, it will vanish in that instant. Lucy is 9 months post amp and totally healthy, and the happiest dog you'd ever meet. Hope to see many more positive updates in the coming months!! Hugs to you and Thalion! Please let us know how it went.

I am so incredibly sorry, Chris. I don't even know what to say. I just signed on for the first time in a couple of weeks and am stunned. I am truly heartbroken to know he's gone. I loved hearing about his sassy antics and his massages and about what a great job he was doing as a tripod ambassadog. Seeing his progress gave me hope. I am so sorry you had only nine months post osteo with him, but am grateful that they were nine good, happy months. Dude reminds me so much of my Lucy - even before they were both fighting osteo, he always reminded me of her. Three legs, many personalities, and the biggest heart you'll ever find. He will be greatly missed by many. Thank you for sharing him with us.

I just caught up on posts and am so surprised and saddened to see how many new pups have joined the club since I last checked in. I hope everyone is at least able to take some comfort from the support offered here. You all are in my thoughts. To share some good news: We will be celebrating 8 months post amp this Saturday. Lucy is healthy and doing great! She's still her silly, loveable self. I am so grateful for these past 8 months and looking forward to many more to come. She's also making rapid progress with her couch privelages. I posted these in Cute and Funny already - hope no one minds me posting them again here:

Lucy says she will cross all three of her paws for Berk tomorrow. His Xrays will be fine, just you wait! I know I saw a post once, months ago, about someone's tripod spitting up a little after meals - I think it's just from the bouncing motion. If I ate half of my day's worth of food in one meal and then hopped around on one foot for a while, I think I would throw up a little, too. But ask Dr. Wood about it - maybe the chemo is just making him feel a little off. Or, it could be the ATB's, I think you said he'd been on them a couple of times for UTI and low WBC. I don't think it's anything to worry about, though.

Hi Everyone, I am just catching up and checking in to see how everyone is doing. I also have good news to share - Lucy had a checkup with the oncologist and a chest X-ray two weeks ago and all was CLEAR! She's happy and healthy and doing great and we're enjoying every day with her. The big news this week, though, is the couch. We adopted Lucy almost 3 years ago, and she's never had any interest in getting on the couch. I really didn't want her on the furniture, anyway, because of dog hair, etc, so this worked out well. My husband and I have both been unusually busy with work lately, and Lucy was just acting a little more needy than usual - following me around the house, constantly staring at me. I've been working on my laptop from the couch in the evenings and on a whim decided to pick her up and put her next to me. She looked a bit panicked at first, but then wiggled around until she got herself in the perfect spot, then draped her head over my lap and eventually drooled ALL over me and my laptop. I swear, I think it was the happiest moment of her life. It only took one occurrence before it became a routine. As soon as I sit down on the couch in the evening now, she jumps up from her bed and runs over and waits to be invited up. She needed help getting up until tonight. Tonight, she jumped up all on her own after I invited her. I know it sounds silly, but it's our new thing and somehow it feels like a big change. I feel a bit guilty for denying her for so long. How is everyone else doing? To the new names I see in this thread, I'm sorry to see you here, but am glad that you'll have the same support that has been a huge help to me and others who are navigating an osteo diagnosis.

I am so happy to hear that Charlie's X-rays were clear. Glad to hear the UTI cleared up, too. They are no fun. Lucy goes for her next chest X-ray next Friday and I am a nervous wreck already.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I know how scary it is to not have an answer. Lucy was diagnosed with osteo in late January, but before we had the FNA done, one of the radiologists suspected her abnormal X-rays were showing an infection in the bone, not cancer. Unfortunately, he was wrong. It sounds like you're on top of this, whatever it is, which is great. Just don't let anyone tell you to "wait and see" - we got that advice from a couple of vets. Luckily, I am not a wait and see type of person. OSU will give you good advice.

Julia, I am so sorry.