We had to say goodbye ( or ‘see you soon’) to our little Marlie last night.
She had remained her happy self until a few weeks ago when the cancer spread to her lungs. Two days ago we noticed a mass on her front leg and cheek. Last night she could not get up, her front leg having swollen three times bigger than before, and she cried in pain when I tried to pick her up to go outside. We waited for her dad, my hubby, to come home and decided together that she had enough, she was in pain, and it was time to release her from the discomfort.
We only got to share two years with her, after she had been returned from two homes from no fault of her own in November 2010. She was a sweetheart and we’ll miss her lazy self around the house waiting for a pet or a cookie. xoxo little derp face. We will miss you.
This has been a tough week. Last Tuesday we met with our oncologist to discuss our next steps– hubby and I decided to forego trying other methods of chemo or cancer meds and instead focus on keeping our baby happy during her last weeks. Of course, armed with a list of questions and info I have from reading the Tripawds site, I asked about a cough suppressant and a pain killer. She was put on hydrocodone syrup and a steroid based painkiller that comes in a liquid form. Marlie is eating even less than before and it seems the only way I can get her to take her meds is via yogurt. I can tell she isn’t feeling any pain on the meds, but I also know they upset her tummy and make her not want to eat. She is losing weight at an alarming rate.
I’d like to say we have a good prognosis– but we don’t. I asked our vet where the mets were located ( after reading that where they are in the lungs can determine life expectancy) and was hit with the news that she has over 60 to 100 mets spread throughout her lungs. Even worse, we have noticed a lump on her front shoulder and another one on her jaw in the last few days. Its moving fast and angry.
Luckily work hasn’t been too busy this last week so I have been able to spend some extra time with my little princess. She still loves a good ear rub and her ears prick up when you talk to her. Getting up has been tough for her, but she still sits up when I get h0me or when she hears the doorbell. This morning I was able to get her outside for when the neighbourhood daycare class came by– she loooves saying hi to them all and she was wagging her tail ( maybe the first time in days) as they all petted her and said hello. I wish I could have grabbed my camera, but i was worried that she might fall over and wanted to support her. (Luckily the weather has been nice so I don’t look too crazy going outside in my housecoat and slippers!)
I know her days are getting numbered and me and hubby are keeping track of her ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’. I don’t think she’s going to be with us in the physical form for much longer..but we are taking it day by day.
In case the next time I post on here I forget, thank you to all the posters, commenters, and fellow tripawd owners we have connected with through this page. It has been good for me and Marlie to have stories to read when we are going through some of the many ups and downs we have encountered. Tripawds is a great community and I have learned more from you all then what it is like to have a three legged dog. I think once a day I say to myself “Be More Dog” and smile– truly words to live by.
Got the bad news today….instead of our fourth and last chemo, Marlie got the diagnosis that she has lung mets. Need some time to let it sink in.
…have occurred in the last week. So far so good and hopping happily along. Can’t believe it has only been two months. Seems like ages ago that she was limping on four legs.
As with her last chemo, Marlie has stayed in pretty good spirits. Her appetite is good ( ate her dog food with her usual gusto) and still will almost jump out of her skin when she hears the K9 Immunity bag opening. Days 2 and 3 have her pretty lethargic and we can tell shes a little less energetic and its a bit harder for her to get up the steps.
We’re going to go back to physio likely next week…maybe even venturing onto the water treadmill!
Happy 2013, tripawd friends.
We’ve had a nice break together resting, opening presents, eating and resting. Tomorrow is second chemo… hoping for good results and clean lungs.
So our first chemo has come and gone. There was pooping, there was puking, and a lot of being a sleepy little greyhound, but otherwise we have so far come out of it unscathed.
Again, the onco says she looks good, all vitals appear strong and no nasty sounds from the lungs.
After reading so much about nausea and that pups not eating for days after chemo, I was surprised to see that she ate a full dinner when we first got home. The next morning she was a little less interested in kibble, so I fed her brown rice and chicken breast. She was reluctant, but she ate it. For dinner yesterday she was starving and ate 1/2 kibble and half chicken/ rice. And she was VERY interested in carrots and broccoli when i was making dinner so she had some of those as well.
Can’t believe its only been a month since we started on the hoppy team!
We especially like our new coffee mug! Marlie was sure that there was more ice cream inside.
…we had too low a white blood cell count to start. As per every step in this new adventure me and the derpster are going through, I had a mild freak out when they told me….and then I came on Tripawds, read some posts and then calmed down. We are going to give it a week and see if it goes up. Our onco also thinks that shes may just have low WBC to begin with ( she was at 4000 before surgery) and this also may be another “weird greyhound” thing.
I am going to keep feeding her the K9 Immunity Plus, give her as much ice cream as she wants, and wait “patiently” until its better.
On the good side, all else looks well, both the onco and the surgeon are happy with her vitals and her use of the back leg. ( see? exercise is good!) Also, lungs sound strong and clear.
We also received our Tripawds gear today. Hooray! I also bought the Tshirt which i will proudly wear during our physio appointments.
This pic cracks me up. My dog has no shame. ( I call this her ‘girls gone wild’ pose)
We started physio this weekend and Marlie is not a fan of exercising. She actually groans when I put her on my bosu ball for her strength training– and my personal trainer thought I was bad! I am trying to do 2 or 3 sessions a day lasting only about 10 minutes each because she tires very easily and I can tell that it is tough for her. She really does like her “cookie stretches” though! ( likely because of the “cookie” part and not the “stretching”)
We are taking our K9 Immunity Plus and Omega 3 oil daily ( still waiting for the arte. and the butyrex to arrive!). Chemo starts this thursday.
Sorry that I havent been posting… no news is good news I guess! Also, I am trying to catch up on my work which has been piling up since Marlie’s surgery on the 5th.
My original plan was to post today that I was worried that Marlie was low (er) energy than usual and was not interesting in playing or getting up to be petted over the last few days. She still was getting up when she had to go outside and when it was dinner time, but otherwise she was pretty much laying on a bed doing nothing. I was worried that she was on drug withdrawal ( she’s off all the pain meds now) in pain, or that her cancer had spread.
Well, today, I left for work a bit later than I have been for the last week…and it seems like whatever was going on over the last three days either is over ( or wasnt there to begin with…and I just wasnt around her at the right times). She was hopping all over the house this morning, hopped to the window when the mailman came to the door, and ( i think the first time since surgery) was playing with her toys and wagging her tail! Phew! I almost cried when she was wagging her tail! Of course, as soon as I picked up my camera to take a video of her playing, she stopped.
Currently we are waiting for the chemo to come in to our vet’s office from Ohio State so she can start it. My hope is that we can start this Friday… I am worried about leaving it too long. Following consulting our vet, a hollistic specialist, and from reading the Dog Cancer Survival Guide, I have decided on a mixed method for treatment: I purchased K9 Immunity Plus, Omega 3 supplements, artemisinim, and Bee Pollen to work with the Carboplatin chemo. Im also going to try natural sources to beat the chemo side effects before I get more meds. Marlie doesnt really care which method we take, as long as she gets ice cream or peanut butter!
Hoppy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US– we dont get turkey this weekend up here, although I may splurge on some turkey necks for the pups.
