juicya
Nov 15th, 2012
Nov 15th, 2012
Day 10: Stitches out and new adventures
Our little derpy is now resting after another car ride and busy morning at the vet. ( she received some ice cream as a treat for being so good and she happily shared it with her brother). the best part is that when she has space to move, she really gets moving with her three little legs! we’ve been keeping her in a fairly small space and i was so glad to see her agile hopping.
At the vet, both doctors ( surgeon and oncologist) thought she looked great and her incision healed well. Stitches came out without a concern and I dont think she even noticed it was happening. Her onco told me that she was also surprised that it was osteo as it looked nothing like it and had none of the typical characteristics. The bone itself did not have any signs of the cancer, it was the mass that was connected to it– this is why we were originally told it would be hemangiosarcoma if it was malignant. She also said that its a way better prognosis that hemang ( 1-2 years versus 6- 8 months mean survival rate) so its quite good that this is the result. The vet listened to her chest and said all her vitals looked good
We are supposed to slowly wean her off all the meds– which is good. Since i have reduced her tramadol, the panting and anxiety has decreased a lot. She seems herself ( and just as lazy).
With respect to the next steps, we put the request for the chemo in to Ohio State University, which has a program for free 4 carboplatin doses for retired racing greyhounds. Usually they get the meds in from them very quickly ( like 2 or 3 days) so we may be able to take her in to start as early as next week.
With respect to other therapy, I am looking into swimming lessons for Marlie– which may not go over so well. as greyhounds typically do not like water. We are also starting her on omega-3 supplements.
Derpy? What’s a derpy?
Marlie you’re really doing great, I’m so hoppy for you. And you get to go to OSU for treatment too? Wow, what a lucky pup, it don’t get any better than OSU! Hope you get to meet Dr. Couto, he’s our hero at Tripawds. Tell him we said hello if you meet the good Doctor.
Keep on keepin’ on lil’ derpy!
Great news! I am so happy to see a blog post from you. After your last post I was worried that you might be too upset or concerned to keep us posted right now.
It sounds like you’ve got a great plan and WOW! is that great that she can be part of a program and get chemo for free. Just outstanding! So one good deed, taking on a retiree, in turns receives another good deed!
Can you possibly find a clinic that does doggy water therapy instead of taking her to a pool? Hunter used a contained under water treadmill to get his balance back. I think that type of therapy would be better and more structured for a dog who may not like to swim. It was about $100 for 4 sessions.
You may also want to talk with a holistic vet or look on the forums for information for your supplement plan. K-9 Immunity and K-9 Transfer factor gets used a lot for dogs here. If you want to talk supplements with me, since Hunter is also beating osteosarcomo, just drop me a note. I’m here for you anytime!
Take care and continue being strong for little Miss Marlie. You’re doing great!!
Wyatt: haha! Derp is one of the 80000 nicknames i have for Marlie because of her hillbilly teeth.
We arent going to Ohio ( would be a long roadtrip) but we have been in consultation with them because they have experience with greyhounds. They have been absolutely amazing during this whole experience ( as has Tripawds!)
LabsRUs: I have found a water therapy place– I think that does sound a lot more her speed than tossing her in a pool!
Ill look into those supplements– it looks like they have all the ‘goodies’ in them that i was told to look for. Hopefully there isnt a problem with shipping it to Canada, though!