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snowjay

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  1. I know now, but at the time I didn't realize that the bloodwork could be 100% normal and they still have something. You are right. I know I didn't miss anything. The e-vet even came to the same conclusion I did regarding the back end weakness and thought it was a tooth causing the first pair of enlarged nodes since there were no other presenting signs of something more sinister. Although as much as that put me at ease slightly in the back of my head I thought it can't be that simple, but we were following up with our regular vet in 2 days. But then I think, even if I insisted they aspirate one of the nodes that day (and from what I've read the mandibular nodes usually aren't the best ones to do), I would of gotten the results back 1 day sooner and it wouldn't of changed a thing. Even others with more experience and have had a lot of hounds have thought similar (arthritis or LS) when I describe the symptoms right up until he completely stopped eating (the day before the prescapular nodes appeared), at that point they knew it was something more - and at that point I did too. I'm so sorry you went through it as well. There is a lot of thinking about happy times, it's hard to go through the day without thinking about him because he was my shadow, but I just now think about what goofy thing he would of been doing at that point. It's good having Pinky as she is pretty silly in her own right, but it's hard to see her wandering around the house looking at her brother. I even caught her on video today roooooing while I was at work. After our appt on Thursday I didn't have a good feeling and started to prepare myself for the worst. After Saturday really didn't have a good feeling and was preparing for bad news at the meeting with the oncologist - I just didn't expect to not even get that far. I think what is particularly hard for me is that Cody was my first. My whole greyhound "life" started with him and we shared a lot of memories. Of course being my first I was very protective of him as well so it's a bit hard knowing that no matter what I did I couldn't protect him from this. Throw rugs on a shiny floor can't solve all your problems.
  2. I'm sorry Judy. Jilly was quite the character and will be missed.
  3. I think you are right on both counts. A 12 year old with weakness in the backend in the middle of winter doesn't make you think "cancer". Especially since once he was up and moving he was fine - it seemed like typical osteo-arthritis symptoms. I never noticed any weight loss on him until around the 28th when I could start to see/feel his hip bones just slightly poking up. My thought was Pinky was getting into his food more than I knew about and upped his kibble a bit and watched her closer, but that obviously didn't matter since he gave up on kibble altogether a few days later and over that week he lost 7-8lbs.
  4. Thank you all for sharing. I've even gone back to photos and videos of him just to make sure I didn't miss seeing anything early, and I know I didn't but it's hard to not wonder as I'm sure you all know.
  5. Here I am 4 days after my Cody was taken from me still thinking how unbelievably fast this all happened. (Click here for orignal thread) From everything I had read before and after is generally upon the first presenting sign, typically enlarged nodes, the average survival time is 4-8 weeks w/o treatment. Even with me acting fast, having the best people look after him and having friends call in favors to get emergency exams still wasn't enough and we barely made it a week. Of course hindsight is 20/20 and I've second guessed myself thinking I missed something - that his arthritis symptoms weren't really arthritis but this thing brewing inside him, but then even the first vet we saw came to the same conclusions as I did. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't I guess we'll never know. All I know is I knew my Cody and he didn't seem sick, other than being a little stiff in the mornings (or after a long nap) since the onset of the colder weather in mid Dec - and I had an appt with our regular vet to see about treatment for that, he was still the same happy fun boy who would paw at me in the kitchen for treats, play with his toys before breakfast/dinner and snuggle up in bed with me. Maybe my thinking he was chewing his food more and not gulping any more was a precursor, but the first time he didn't finish a meal was the same day I found the enlarged mandibular lymph nodes and the vet was called within 10 minutes of that discovery. He didn't completely go off his normal food until 2 days later. From the discovery of the first two nodes another pair would crop up every two days thereafter. I remember my vet saying on Thursday after finding the prescapular nodes enlarged "no way the other vet didn't find these." Then on Saturday his retropharyngeal nodes were enlarged, and on Monday his auxiliary nodes were now noticeable. Whatever it was it seemed to be moving quickly, at least to me. I had a bad feeling after finding the second pair on Thursday and an even worse feeing after the ultrasound on Saturday finding out it was all through is abdomen and had infected the spleen (it had a swiss cheese look) and liver. It was very telling when they didn't ask us to do a chest x-ray and said "go home and spoil him." What is particularly surprising to me is how fast he crashed. We had a good night sleep (I had even put him on he bed with me since he hadn't been jumping up for the past few days - little didn't I know it would be for the last time) and we had a normal morning walk and I was able to get him to eat some food. Within one hour he went from walking around the house as normal to not being able to stand, or even move his back legs it seemed. I laid next to him and pet him keeping him as comfortable as possible until help could arrive so I could get him to the vet. My vet was in shock to see him in the condition that he was and I don't think she had seen something so aggressive (she saw him just 3 days earlier). He was very calm at this point and resting his head on my lap as I pet him and talked to him but you could see it in his eyes that he was done and the fight was over. I'm ok with my decision and take some comfort knowing I was there for him and not having him suffer. The thinking is that the crash on Monday was either a node/tumor invading his spine or it had attacked/been attacking his CNS now rendering the hind end paralyzed. We thought stage IV after the ultrasound but maybe it was really stage V by that point and he had been hiding it well. I just can't believe it happend so so fast. It's as if he never even had a chance. Anyway, I just wanted to vent, but didn't want to put this in soapbox as it could promote a meaningful discussion and possibly help someone else's hound in the future.
  6. We are doing ok. Pinky spent her first day alone and did just fine. Thanks for asking.
  7. I want to thank everyone who has given their support and kind words, it means a lot. Thank you Nicole. I still have Buck's tribute email you wrote, he and Cody were certainly similar in a lot of ways. No doubt he and Pretty met Cody at the other side of the bridge. Pretty did pass from cancer also (osteo). So 3 from one family gone from this terrible disease. Cody was the exact same age as Pretty, and they both passed in Jan.
  8. Our journey together has come to an end but it’s not a journey I will ever forget. I first met Cody at Shoreline where he was laying in a crate with a broken leg in a cast looking very sad. I took him out to the turnout and he was so happy he hopped around on 3 legs and then looked up at me with his big nose resting on my waist as if he was claiming me. It was hard leaving him at the kennel that day and I didn’t stop thinking about him the whole ride home and that’s when I came up with his name. Since he was new at the kennel we only knew his racing name, Collateraldamage, so I shortened it up to make Cody and I think it fit him well. Finally after some logistics were worked out I was able to take him home a week later as my foster on November 1st, 2003. Our first day was interesting. He enjoyed the new digs, roached right way and also marked a couple of places in the house, one being my brand new Ralph Lauren comforter. Thankfully he was a fast learner and my comforter was spared from future indignity. He would only be with me for one night as he was scheduled for surgery to repair his leg in the city but we would be reunited after a couple of days. He was very smart, he learned the Kong in the crate trick, “Kong time”, within the first week and after that he would wait in the crate and “call” for his Kong when he knew I was getting ready for work. As a aside about the crate, oh he loved that crate. Even after taking it down, but before removing it from the house he would stand or lay on top of it and then if I ever had a crate set up for a foster, you know he had to go in and give it an inspection nap. During his rehab we really bonded with all the bandage changes and physical therapy I would do with him. During that time I also taught him to sit and give me his paw – which he later would learn to use to his advantage. The time came where I needed to make a decision of adopting him or letting him get placed in another home. There was no decision to make, Cody was already home not going anywhere and I officially signed the adoption papers on December 24th 2003. It was the best Christmas present either of us could get. We would be together over 9 years and had many adventures and lived through lots of ups and downs. We went on lots of trips and vacations together, Dewey, RI and even just random weekend drives though the country. We were only apart for 2 nights over our years together. Cody was a really good role model showing other fosters the ropes of being a pet. The greatest up was being able to adopt his mom, Pretty, and reunite them. And unfortunately losing her was one of the great downs, but we still had each other. Cody was my shadow; I couldn’t leave a room for more than a couple of minutes before he came looking for me. Sometimes I’d turn it into a game of hide and seek, watching him methodically search every nook and cranny until he found me. Other times he would chase me around the dining room table and always catch me! One of the silliest things he did was to stick his head in the shower every morning to make sure I was in there. Of course he’d have to test the water temp by licking the shower curtain and inevitably end up with a case of wet head. When my grandmother passed we made the trip to RI and I went with my mother to visit my grandmothers old house leaving Cody with my stepfather. Cody sat in the chair and stared out the window until I returned. He was my canine alarm clock. Sure enough every morning at 5am he’d wake me up by sticking his nose over the top of the bed and poking me with it and kissing my face and hands. If I resisted and tried to hide, he would burrow under the covers to find me, I had to watch out for paws in the eyes! I’d like to think he didn’t want me to be late for work, but we all know it’s because it was time for breakfast. I could usually make it to about 6:45am on the weekends before I succumbed to his demands. Dinner was no exception and the whines would start about 15 minutes before it was time. I use to tell him “not time yet, 5/10/15 more minutes”. It usually didn’t help and he’d lick my hands, which was his signal he wanted something whether it be food, water, potty and most of all attention. What an appetite he had. He was known for swallowing whole hamburgers off people’s plates when they weren’t looking. During a few of his garbage rummages he ate sushi, wasabi, burritos and god only knows what else. Thankfully he had an iron stomach and rarely had an issue with things he ate. And his appetite wasn’t just for edible goods either - he loved paper! Paper towel tubes were a favorite to destroy but he also loved to steal pieces of paper out of your hand while you walked through the house – he did well at filtering out the junk mail. One time he even put his stamp of approval, i.e. teeth marks, on an a greyhound art project Christine’s niece made. The craziest thing he ate, or rather licked was a tub of Mushers Secret. Yes you heard that right; he somehow got the cap off and licked the tub clean. For the next week his farts smelled nice, although he did leave a waxy substance behind on the sofa. Walking on the beach was one of our favorite activities, but the first time he heard and saw waves he wasn’t sure what to make of them. His ears were up and he was very inquisitive and when they touched his toes I swear he ran about 100 MPH BACKWARDS! We all had a good laugh and they never bothered him again. Cody would do zoomies in the sand and dig hug holes when he wanted to relax. I don’t think there is a square inch of Dewey and Rehoboth beaches we didn’t explore. When I would be preparing breakfast and dinner he would usually grab a few toys and bring them over to where he waits. It’s as if they were coming to dinner as well, I used to call it his dinner party. There was never a shortage of toys in the house, and while he had a few “regulars” his favorite was always the ducky. It’s actually been about 4 duckys over the years (sssssh!) but that was his go-to toy and one where I could say “go get your ducky” and he’d run over to it touch and grab it– and occasionally even bring it to me! Getting him to let it go was another thing. And now lets not forget his aversion to shiny floors. He slipped and fell on the floors in my home within the first few months we were together and from that moment on all shiny floors were evil and to be avoided. It made going to certain places hard but we worked around it. Hey, we all have our quirks and that was his. I wouldn’t have traded him for the world. From the day I adopted Pinky she was his shadow. He followed me and she followed him, it was like our mini little train. They would have some spirited play sessions and he taught her about sleeping on the bed and couch, which she has mastered. We both lost our buddy today. Cody was my rock that was always there and would comfort me when I was feeling down. He always liked to be touching me whether on the couch or in bed but it was uncanny how he knew I was sad or upset and would really snuggle up against me while I pet the scruff of his neck. I’m certainly going to miss that but Pinky and I will have our own special snuggles now. Oh, back to his name. It would be a year or two after he came home that I would find out what his kennel name was thanks to my friend Nancy. She had spoken to his old kennel owner and inquired about my boy for me and she found out he was called HOOT! It was actually quite ironic because anyone that had been close to him always use to say what a hoot he was. Over the years he developed a lot of nicknames, from things like Cody-man to doodle-monkey to just name a couple. I could go on with a million stories about the Cody-dude. I learned so much from him and him from me. To say Cody will be missed doesn’t even come close to describing the hole in my heart right now. His waiting at the door for me when I came home, rubbing his head on my legs as he greeted me, rubbing his ears, grabbing and rubbing his big “monkey-nose”, his licking everything in sight, giving me his big “rump roast” in bed, flipping the throw pillows with his nose to make room on the couch, his bendy nose when he whined, jumping up out of a sleep when he heard the click-clack of the tv set turning off knowing it was time for the nightly walk, sprinting to the bedroom for his bedtime cookies, his wiggly butt when I scratched his spot and just his general goofiness; it’s all going to be missed. Cody-doodles, you were always such a good boy, the best anyone could have. You were my buddy, my monkey… I miss you “bunky”. Run free Cody, daddy will always love you and you will always be in my heart. Cody (aka Collateraldamage) 11/19/2000 – 1/7/2013
  9. Cody is gone. We woke up as normal this morning (I even picked him up to put in the bed with me last night since he hasn't been able to jump in himself in a week) to him licking my face and hands. We went for our usual walk and I was able to get a few slices of roast beef in him. I called my vet at 9am to talk about the ultrasound and next steps for tomorrow, he was resting quietly at the time. Within an hour he crashed and fast. All of a sudden he was no longer to get up, peed himself a bit, had pale gums and was panting on and off. You could see it in his eyes that he was done. Thankfully my good friend CJ rushed over to help me with him. After comforting him as best as possible, I called the vet back and brought him right in. Whatever he had was very agressive and with him not eating and now not standing or walking treatment wasn't even an option and there was no way I could put my buddy though any heroic efforts only to have him suffer more so I helped him cross the bridge. I'll write a nice remembrance later but to say I'm totally crushed and devastated would be the understatement of the year.
  10. Thanks, I'll look up the article. I don't know if they determined it from the aspirate that was sent in.
  11. That has been a thought, although he seems to have an appetite (heck I caught him licking his empty bowl yesterday), he just stops eating certain foods as if he's associating them with his discomfort. This morning he refused his roast beef laden tramadol, so I had to pill him the whole thing and he swallowed it. So I tried giving him some sliced turkey, he refused, I shoved it in his mouth, he chewed and swallowed. Then I offered him another piece and he took it and do so for several more before I had to cram one in his mouth to get him to start taking them again. Weird, but it worked and he got about 4 pieces of deli meat in him. I'll keep trying that method little by little over the day to see if I can get some substantial quantities in him. I've got some baby food, chicken livers and turkey meatballs to try as well. I can honestly say I've never had so much different food in my fridge and really none of it is for me.
  12. No pred yet. My vet mentioned it, but knowing it may affect some treatment protocols we didn't start. I'll talk to her tomorrow morning again to re-eval and get a game plan. The oncologist I have an appt with works with Dr. Couto so I'm confident the team I have amassed will do the best for my monkey, I just don't think any miracles are going to happen.
  13. Thanks to a close friend calling in a favor we were able to get an ultra-sound done tonight. It is widespread through is abdominal lymph nodes and looks like it has also affected the spleen. We'll see our regular vet on Monday and have a consult with an oncologist on Tuesday - we'll take it from there.
  14. Still waiting for the test results, but now he's off the chicken, raw and tripe. Going to go to the store and pick up some more stuff that was suggested, but I don't think things are looking good for my bunky.
  15. He is liking the chicken and roast beef I picked up. I have to hand feed him but he's eating it. I put one spoonful of IAMS canned food in his bowl added some water and mixed it up, he ate that, so then I added a few more spoonfuls of food and water and then he wouldn't eat it. He is being finicky!
  16. Thanks, that's what I'm hoping for to. The e-vet only did a 4dx snap on the 1st so if the results come back "clean" I'll ask my vet to send blood to protatek for a complete panel. I should have results back in a couple of days.
  17. Thanks, I just came back from the store with some IAMS and Nutro food. I also picked up some slided roast beef and rotisserie chicken. He ate a few pieces of roast beef that I broke up and a couple of small pieces of chicken. So he's hungry, I just gotta find what he'll eat. Tramadol is probably kicked in by now as well (gave it to him at noon). Hope your Buddy is well soon as well. I'll have to find your thread to catch up.
  18. Update... Cody still not eating much, chesse that he was eating before he now turns his nose up at, he did crunch on some Charlie bears and licked a bit of peanut butter but didnt have much else, he's down another pound from the 1st. We saw our regular vet today, she found two more lymph nodes swollen and aspirated a couple of them. We aren't continuing the Rimadyl right now (I didn't give it to him last night or this morning) but are on some Tramadol to hopefully ease any mouth pain, assuming thats what is causing his lack of eating. I need to find some good stuff that he can just swallow. ...and we wait for the test results back.
  19. I got him to eat dinner tonight. I don't think he liked the venison canned food this morning, because he turned his nose up at it again tonight. But he did eat a little kibble and a half can of some chicken w/ veggies food, plus some cheese and white bread I gave him in the middle of the afternoon. Still not his usual appetite though.
  20. This isn't long term, just 3-4 days. AFAIK, tramadol would just mask pain but not reduce any inflammation since it's an opioid not an NSAID. I'm going to see how he feels and eats tonight before I give him another dose. We see our regular vet tomorrow morning.
  21. I asked the nurse today if I should give him some pepcid and she said to hold off on that for now.
  22. It's Cody's turn to be sick... Over the past week or so he's been showing some signs of arthritis with a slowness to stand and reluctance to jump on my bed, but once he is up he walks around ok, so I made an appt to see our vet this Thursday. When I came home from work Monday I noticed what looks to be his lymph nodes swollen on his neck, called the vet to see if she could see him sooner and couldn't (was headed into emerg surgery and are closed NYD and today). She didn't seem all that concerned as he was still eating and in generally good spirits. Well yesterday morning things were going ok until he decided to throw up around 10am. Lots of water and maybe a handfull of kibble from breakfast. Ok, not waiting until Thurs so off to the e-vet we go. They ran blood work and everything showed normal and no sign of any TBDs either. They discovered one tooth that is questionable and might account for his swollen glands and are thinking the hind end weakness isn't related. The doc didn't want to go crazy with tests & x-rays just yet until we follow up with our regular vet on Thursday. So we were sent home with some rimadyl for his pain and clindamycin for infection. He's resting comfortably and doesn't seem to be in any distress. We did have a little vomit at 4:30am, a little water and one piece of kibble and he really didn't want to eat much of his breakfast. I suspect it's the rimadyl upsetting his stomach and called the e-vet and they weren't too concerned since he's not constantly vomiting and is resting ok. He's been on it several times before but don't remember if it caused him a slight upset back then. So anyway it hasn't been a fun start to the new year - just want my Cody to be better so any good thoughts for him you could spare.
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