LadyBailey

Carrier Update January 4 Carrier had his Carboplatin treatment on Jan 2 and everything went well. He was mildly nauseous a few hours afterwards, but overall was completely fine. He also had an adjustment earlier that day, which he needed as a few days before that we went on a walk and he ran pretty much the whole way. It's amazing how he can do it. I was actually stopping because I was cramping and Tim reminded me that Carrier, who only had three legs was able to run longer than me... I reminded him that I only had two legs We had a quiet New Years Eve - just me and Tim with the dogs and that was just what we wanted. The dogs slept in front of the fire and we enjoyed some nice wine. It's hard not to think if we are going to have Carrier with us next year at this time... so we are making sure to make the best of every day we have now. I am so grateful that I am able to be with him during this time. I have posted some new pics of him here. Carrier's Progress Pics We say that if he wasn't missing his leg and we knew that he had cancer, one would never guess that he was sick.

There pics were taken over the holidays. Dec 31 was two months since his amputation. He is running all the time and manages to over take the others when they too are running - slow pokes . Here is a close up of the incision - which has healed really nicely. Here he is play bowing for his bone. I have yet to get a photo of him playing with Lambie, but he has done that many times. Here he is on our New Years Eve walk. We had a fresh dump of snow. He ran the whole way - 40 minutes and when we turned to go back to the car, he wanted to keep going...I on the other hand was ready for a nap! Here is a shot of the trails at Pinehurst. It's great because the trails are so wide. He loves it there. He's the last dog in this shot, but not because he's slow - he was taking a pee

That is great to hear. Snowman, you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.... well, actually I think you of every time I see a snowflake... and living in Canada, you are thought of often . I have never met you, but you are truly dear in my heart. Stay strong sweet boy.

I would get him to the vet and possibly in to see a certified chiropractor. Carrier had a pinched nerve in his neck between the C6 and C7 and it was relived with a proper adjustment. Good luck.

Carrier Update Dec 29 Hi All, I don't know really where to start... we have good news and bad news, so I guess I will cut to the chase. Carrier was scheduled for his 4th treatment of chemo with the drug Doxorubicin and Suramin. He was taken back for his exam and we were informed that his blood work was perfect, but the vet student noticed an heart murmur in the apex of his heart. Carrier had a Grade I murmur when we began his treatment, which wasn't a concern because this is considered normal in greyhounds. We knew that there was a risk of heart toxicity with the use of this drug, but this is the case with all chemo drugs. An echocardiogram was performed and it was confirmed that the murmur is now a Grade II-III/IV. Because of this, it was decided to switch to another chemo drug - which is the normal protocol when a heart murmur progresses. The new drug is called Carboplatin Because of his heart murmur, he is now on drugs that he has to take for life. The good news is that we caught it the murmur early and it won't impact his normal activity. Now the bad news. The echo picked up on a mass in his heart which is believed to be a tumor. Because of the location we can't confirm what it is exactly and because he has never had an echo before, we have no idea how long it's been there. It's not impairing flow and not invading any chambers - so his heart is working normally, with the exception of the murmur. This was really difficult news to receive especially since he is doing so well otherwise. The recommendation was to take a chest xray and do an abdominal ultrasound to see if the cancer had spread to his lungs or stomach. If it had, it was more than likely that the mass in his heart was also a metastasis of the cancer. It was so hard waiting for the news and we tried to amuse ourselves with coffee and lunch, but it was so hard. Thankfully, his lungs and abdomen were clear - which is a huge relief. OSU believes that the mass is more than likely a chemodectoma, based on the location and the absence of cancer in his lungs and tummy. This type of cancer doesn't respond to chemo drugs, but they are very slow growing tumors and they figure that the mass has been there for months to even a year. To determine if the mass is either a chemodectoma or metastasis of the osterosarcoma, we are going to do another echo after his 2nd or 3rd treatment of carboplatin. We were sent home with drugs for his heart and also a vial of carboplatin for our local vet to administer. We have to check Carrier's blood work - specifically his kidney values, before he gets the chemo because the heart drugs can effect his kidney function. We are back in Ohio on Jan 23 for a recheck and another treatment of chemo. Aside from this news, we can say that he is doing really, really well. His appetite is back and so is his personality. He continues to play with his toys and loves his long walks. Before Christmas, we went for an hour and half walk and he ran the whole way. In fact, when he got to the hotel, he almost caught a rabbit! He is fast! It's was really hard hearing about the mass in his heart, but at the same time, we are comforted to know that the osteo hasn't spread to his chest and abdomen and he is acting totally normal. Had we not done the echo to check the murmur, we wouldn't have learned about the mass... so knowing that it wasn't causing any other clinic signs is somewhat good news ... well, that's what we are telling ourselves for now. We are so fortunate that we are able to take Carrier to OSU for the best possible treatment and we were very happy to let the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program know that a $250 donation was made on our behalf from our friends and family this holiday season. Hug your hounds. eva and carrier

Good to hear. I think about him often. hugs to you snowman and you.

Carrier Update Dec 16 Carrier is still not eating as well as we would like, but nevertheless is getting something in his tummy. On Wednesday he didn't want anything even though I made, bought and offered him everything under the sun. Then on Thursday he decided that white plain bread was his favourite - so he had quite a few slices of that throughout the day. On Friday morning he actually ate 1 cup of Canidae. We offered it to him just to see if he would take it and he did. He also ate it for dinner ... which is a real surprise since he has been turning his nose up to lamb for a long time now. And now.. drum roll please... He PLAYED WITH LAMBIE last night and chewed his bone and HE LED A ROO!!!! it was so wonderful to see. We are in the middle of a snow storm right now so he is not pleased with not having a walk in a couple of days, but boy you should see him move in over a foot of fresh snow! His bowel movements are totally normal too, which is also great because last chemo he had diarrhea. He is sleeping better during the night - as are we. He is doing well, so that's all we could really ask for this holiday.

Bailey wasn't sick from it but she did have a nasty side effect at the injection site. We noticed it starting about a week after her first shot. She never did get the second shot. I posted photos on Greytalk. Her is the link Imizol Side Effect

That's too bad about your experience at OSU LittleGreys. I do still have full confidence in OSU even though the vet student was not that great. I have never had a problem with the front desk. I hope things sort themselves out for you because OSU does have a great program for greyhounds. BTW, Dr Hosoya is pretty good too.

Hi All, Carrier had his 3rd chemo treatment yesterday. His appetite is still not good, but at the end of the day we manage to fill his tummy with a variety of food. We drove down to Ohio on Monday, leaving at 10am ... thinking I would avoid bad weather... not. I have never heard of such a thing - freezing fog!!! I can't win with the weather when it's time to go there. On the way back it rained the whole time and by the time we got to Brant County is was wet snow. Mama mia! I was driving like my mother with my chest touching the steering wheel making sure that I could see the bloody lines on the road as I passed the transport trucks. We got home at 11:15 and I was welcomed with my fav meal - beans on toast -(thanks Tim!) So back to Carrier... he had his blood work done in the morning and all was good to do the chemo. He also had an xray done on the back right leg because we were concerned that he was having some pain back there. To refresh your memory, a bone scan back in October showed "something" and a CT Scan at OSU also noted something, but the vets didn't think it was bone cancer - hence why we choose to amputate. Anyway, the xray was CLEAR!!!! Dr Couto said that that area even looks better now than it did last time - which is a huge relief. OSU feels that what we think is "pain" might be anxiety or phantom pain, because a physical exam found nothing either. He is on anti-anxiety drug (clomicalm) and we are also trying a DAP. Back on track... Unfortunately, the vet student on our case...was slow... in the head. As I was giving the update on Carrier from the last two weeks, he was just sitting there staring at me, not writing anything down... I like, hello... "are you going to write any of this down?" Anyway, he took Carrier to the back and I waited to hear if his blood work was fine and then left - to go Christmas shopping. I love Target! I came back at 2:30 and let the front desk know that I was here. 45 minutes later, the guy calls me on my cell phone. I tell him I am in the waiting room... for a long time already. Ugh! Then the biggest mistake he made really flipped me out. He bought Carrier out and I noticed that Carrier was standing with his back end really low and his eyes looked messed up. He wasn't his happy go lucky self and was crying but I thought it was the stress and he was tired and hungry... so I quickly got the meds and off I went to put him in the car. He did a can of rabbit. I did say that he looked kinda off to the vet student. He was really shaky getting into the car, so I returned to the front desk and asked to speak with the vet - not the vet student, because Carrier seemed really off and looked like he had been sedated. Dr Hosoya came out and said that he was sedated - well... no one told me! So knowing that and why he was acting so strange I decided to make the trip home, because having him in the hotel in that state is really stressful for him. Anyway, the vet student was totally clueless. There are more stupid things that he did - didn't give me enough Clomicalm to take us to the next visit, so I told him that I would just get some from my vet at home, as I wanted to get Carrier into the car. Later he calls me on my cell and tells me to just start giving it to him in three days, so that way I don't have to get more. WHAT? Why on earth would I wait to start giving him a drug three days later than I should, when it will hopefully help him? I am going to let Dr Hosoya and Couto know though. Yeah, I am bitch. So back to Carrier.... He did well during the chemo, the xray was normal (THANK GOD!!!) and he is still really cute. Some progress that we have made in the physical department is: 1. jumping out of the car - no ramp needed. Getting in ... not so much. I tried that yesterday and he was laying on his tummy with his back legs hanging out of the car - sorry, buddy. 2. running and walking without any problem ... on ICE! 3. went for an hour walk with the other hounds... and ran most of the way and loved it. 4. managed not to get trampled in the car with the other hounds during said walk. 5. managed to taste test every premium dog food available in Canada. 6. managed to teach me how to make rice and boil an egg. he's so motivational for me and my culinary learning. That's all! eva

The only drugs that Carrier is on at the moment is a new drug called Cerenia for his nausea. In the past we have had him on the Metoclopramide for nausea and Metronidazole for diarrhea. Dr Couto wanted to try him on the Cerenia to replace the Metoclopramide because Carrier still wasn't eating, so he thought maybe changing the anti-nausea drug would help. Carrier had his first Cerenia this morning. He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday at 4pm.... which was can of Nature's Variety Instinct Canned Rabbit Food. He didn't want his breakfast yesterday before I had to drop him off. They offered him some food while he was there - but didn't want any. He has been on Pepcid and also Pepto for the diarrhea - I found that worked better for him than the Metronidazole. He has a fairly normal poop this morning, but doesn't want anything that we have in the house. Thanks for the other suggestion on food. I will check them out. Off to the store.

It's weird, sometimes he will eat kibble and then not - same for the soft food. I haven't tried the carafate - but will ask dr couto about it today. As for the boiled meat... I haven't tried that yet either. He does like the raw rabbit, but there are times when he turns his nose to it and other times where he is literally gulping it down.

Thanks Rhonda. I actually tried to call Winslow's mom last week, but i think she was out of town. will try again when I get back home. Carrier was great after his first treatment, but now with the second treatment, it's been almost two weeks of this. I am off to buy some rabbit canned food at a store here in columbus. I want to be armed for the ride home

I am posting this in H&M because Carrier's appetite problems are due in part to his chemo treatment. The last treatment made him go off his food (Canidae). We have bought variety of food in various formats - here is everything that we have in the house right now. Canidae Lamb kibble and soft food - he won't eat lamb at all anymore Nature's Variety Chicken Kibble - will ate this on occasion Nature's Variety Rabbit & NV Venison Raw Medallions - will ate this on occasion - probably likes the rabbit the most Sigma 7 Trout and Rabbit Kibble - will eat this on occasion Oven Baked Chicken Kibble - will eat this on occasion Merrick soft food - duck and beef tripe, - didn't want any of this. Senior Medley - which is chicken - was okay with this for a while, but not anymore Evo kibble (red meat) - doesn't really like this. I have fed him rice - but now he doesn't want any. I have fed him sardines, which he likes, but he can't eat a thousand of these. I have given him eggs - liked them the first time, now he doesn't. I know his appetite is changing and I am willing to accommodate him, but I feel like giving him different types of foods is contributing to his runny poop - which he had yesterday and this morning. But I know he is hungry, so I keep trying to give him something. Should I just stick to one or two types and only offer it to him in the morning and evening and leave it at that? I figure if he's hungry enough he will eat it, but I am a little sensitive to the fact that he does have cancer, so I want to do everything I can for him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - for Carrier's appetite, my sanity and wallet. He eats treats no problem, so I know he isn't completely off his food thanks,

Sending good thoughts to Darcy - sounds like she's doing well

Any news?

Just catching up on this now... glad to hear that she is doing well. Our Carrier had the same surgery on Oct 31 and was walking no problem as soon as his head wasn't messed up with so much medication. Send good thoughts for a smooth recovery and she can soon be home.

Love it!!! His face at the end.. is like, "Hey, where are you going?"

Carrier Update Dec 10 Carrier has had his ups and downs since that last treatment. As mentioned earlier, he started having runny poops, followed by diarrhea. This cleared up after about 5-6 days with meds. But then he started to seem really painful and was whimpering when standing and laying down. As he would go to sit down, he would cry... it was so heartbreaking. I got him into the chiropractor as soon as I could - he had instant relief and came home and slept for 3 hours straight without pain. This was last Wednesday. On Thursday, we went for a walk and he decided he wanted to climb a fairly large hill... I let him and couldn't believe how well he did. Then on Saturday, we took all the hounds out for a walk and he ran and walked the entire way... which ended up being a hour. He is so strong and loves his walks. He is even jumping out of the car without the ramp now! He is still particular with his food - we have so much dog food in the house, it's insane. One day he will eat something and later that day he won't - so we are constantly changing it up for him and making sure he is getting what he wants. We are in Ohio right now as he has his 3rd chemo tomorrow. We are also going to xray the back right leg to make sure everything is okay there - the bone scan was showing something funny, but OSU didn't think it was osteo. So we are going to check tomorrow to see if it has changed any. Please say a prayer for Carrier to have a good session tomorrow and hopefully be back to his old appetite again. Other than not eating that great - he is doing really well... and yes, is still super cute.

I am so sorry... this is just too common here these days... it sucks. Hugs to you and Beecher

This is so sad. Hugs to you and Fred and the pups. Run free sweet girl, you were certainly loved so very much.

Carrier Update Dec 5 Carrier was doing really well until Friday night and then things became difficult. On Friday we went for a walk and he was so happy - loving and rubbing his head all over us and he even tried playing. Within a few hours, we could see that he wasn't feeling that great. And when he went out he had big D. He had his second chemo on Tuesday Nov 27 - so it was expected if he was going to feel crappy, that it was going to start that weekend. Since Friday night he has had runny, runny poops and a very picky appetite. We have so much dog food and alternatives in the house right now, we could easily open a pet store. Rice seems to be the only thing that he is really interested... until we brought home Nature's Variety Raw Rabbit Medallions. OMG - he loves these things and his tummy seems to be handling it well. He has eaten whatever we can get down him over the last days and we are finally starting to see an improvement in his stool and him. Today is the first day where he wasn't just stand and laying down crying. He must have felt like real crap these last days. I have been in touch with OSU, so they are aware of his reaction this time to the chemo. We will see if he is stable on Tuesday and make the call if we are going to change the chemo protocol - ie. an new drug or less of this one. He did go for a short walk yesterday and I took him again today. He was pretty excited, so it's good to know his spirits are high when he knows he going somewhere fun. The worst part is by the time he is feeling better from this round of chemo, he will be going back for the next. I am so tired as I haven't slept well for the last 5 days... he has been up and crying during the night, but last night he was better, so we all slept for a longer period of time. Anyway, overall I would say he is good. If last Friday was any indication of how he is progressing, then we are happy, because the real Carrier was starting show himself again.

Sending many prayers

Carrier Update Nov 28 Chemo #2 Carrier did really well during his chemo #2 session. All looks and sounds good. He was done at 3:30, so we left Ohio right away to come home. It was so sweet when he walked out to the waiting room... he comes through the doors all wild and tail wagging looking for me. By the time he spots me the whole waiting room has a smile on their face. He's so sweet. He slept most of the way home and ate his dinner without problem at one of the rest stops. We got in a 10pm and hit the sack. This morning he ate without problem too. The vet did put him on gabapentin as we suspect he is having phantom pains. So we will see over the next few days if that helps. His incision isn't oozing anymore either. So all is good with sweet Carrier

Carrier Update Nov 26 Well, so far, so good. Carrier is slowly coming back to the dog he was and it's wonderful to see. He is eating amazing and running around like crazy. He is fast on three legs mama mia! He loves his walks and I can tell that he is enjoying living again without major pain. We are still trying to figure out if he is having some minor pain that is causing him some discomfort, but I can't tell if it's pain or him just being a pain in my butt he did see the vet last week as I noticed that his incision ws oosing a little bit, so we had that checked out and were told to clean it with saline and spray it will some dermi spray stuff - can't remember the name. It looks good now and he seems to be more comfortable. It's really strange in the night time still - around 2pm he will get so anxious for about a half hour and then just go back to sleep. He was on metacam last week to see if he did have pain that was causing this - but it didn't seem to stop. i had to take him off it last night, as the doctors told me he had to be clean of metacam for the chemo.. and so far he seems fine without it. He has his 2nd chemo tomorrow morning, so I will be sure to tell them about everything tomorrow. he is doing great and we are so proud of him. be sure to check out how cute he is in his progress pics