Dave hates Sarah McLachlan

We have Verizion Fios HD. Over the last week or so I've learned that the ASPCA is a major advertiser on most of the "cable" HD channels (Food Network, Nat Geo, Green Network). That damn "In the Arms of an Angel" commercial makes me cry. Every.damn.time. It doesn't help that's it's an especially long commercial - I pause the TV, and try going back to live TV, and it's still on. Changing the channel seems to be the key. I guess it's not really hate, because she's doing good things with the commercials, but they're hard to watch when they're in the hourly rotation.

In honor of the sadness of the commercial, here's Dave's rescue story, which some of you may know, some may not.

I rented my first post-college apartment in 2001. After a couple of weeks alone, I decided I wanted a dog. There was a show on Animal Planet that featured a Boston named Daisy, and I became obsessed with these "ugly," yet incredibly cute, dogs. I searched petfinder.org for months prior to the move, hoping that I'd find an apartment that allowed dogs and then find a perfect dog to adopt. I didn't know much about dogs or breed rescue, but, in classic Abbie tradition, I bought a Dogs for Dummies book and an adoption book that gave me some general knowledge. After moving, found an all breed rescue group, Animal Rescue and Referral, that had a Boston. The woman I spoke with said that "Axel" was still with his family, but they had surrendered him and were willing to keep him until a new family was found. She said someone was looking at him that day, but would put me down as a backup. She tried telling me about a couple of other dogs they had, but I had my heart set on a dog whose picture wasn't on the site.

A few days later, she called to tell me that they had several people go to look at Axel, and none of them wanted him. She said that he was hyper, but the family reported he was trained. I called a friend because Mike wasn't available for the drive to Levittown, and off we went. We were greeted by a skinny, jumpy dog that promptly peed at our feet. But he was damn cute. So, off we went, along with his crate. We got him home, and he didn't want to go to the bathroom outside. So up we went, where he again peed.

Mike arrived at home, took one look at him and says "he's big. Bigger than I thought he'd be." To which Dave responded by pooping. The rest of the weekend followed that theme, with the exception of nighttime, where he whined in his crate (he was supposedly crate-trained mind you). We reluctantly allowed him into bed at 3 am on night two, when any doubts we had disappeared. We were in love.

The ARR lady was due to visit in a couple of days to do a home check, but had family issues that prevented her from coming. She finally made it in two weeks, and was overjoyed to see how happy we all were. We asked about changing the name, and she thought it was fine, considering his past. And Dave it was. No reason, really, we just think people names for dogs are funny.

After four months, Dave finally learned that walks (and not the crate) were for going to the bathroom and marginally passed obediance school. Prior to living with the other family, Dave was in a pet store, meaning he likely was from a puppy mill. We love our puppy mill, rescued, not breed standard yet still purebred Boston. And I think the feeling's mutual.

Aaaaaand, in the time it took me to write this post, the damn commercial came on again!!

Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful that Dave was alive and well to spend Christmas with us. He had a full couple of days, including driving down to my mom's late on Christmas Eve, walks with grammom, running around the kitchen while Mike and I prepared Christmas dinner. He got a lot of new toys (that he promptly destroyed), a new jacket and a gift certificate to his favorite store for more treats and toys.

Dave hit another milestone, and next week - 2009 - should be another!! That's 11 and a half months since diagnosis, which is amazing considering how bad it was at diagnosis and the quick recurrance. My brother, who hasn't seen Dave for a while, was really surprised at how well he's doing. Dave is recovering from the excitement today, but is more energetic than I thought he'd be. Good stuff.

still fine

Dave is good. He got through our busy weekend of a late Saturday night and even more cleaning and decorating just fine. He is definitely a creature of habit, but wasn't too fazed by the various goings-on. I'm calling the vet tomorrow to let her know that, oops, I was a little paranoid/jumpy on the impending death phone call, and that, at this point, we're not giving him extra pred.

Could something still happen between now and when they're back in the office? Of course, even though that would be very, very upsetting for us. Hopefully it won't. And hopefully Dave will continue to hit these mini-milestones (getting past weddings, Thanksgiving, a weekend away and Christmas). The lymph nodes are there, but only noticable when giving Dave a good petting. He was on point today, enjoying the sunny but cold weather outside and sniffing around the kitchen during Christmas cookie baking.

busy time

Between work parties and buying presents and decorating, I've had little time to update. Dave is happy, sitting next to me on the couch, head on my knee. A few days ago, I called his oncologist because I was a little concerned. For a few days, I noticed him breathing funny and seeming uncomfortable - just not acting like himself. Mike disagreed with me, although we both thought his lymph nodes were bigger, if still soft. When I talked to her, she said that it was possible that things were going in the direction we don't want them to, and that we could increase his Pred to 12.5 mg twice a day. I got home from work and found him back to normal. The breathing and discomfort weren't there, and he was fine.

I was really relieved... especially since the oncology vets will be out of the office from the 23rd to January 5th. Not that things can't get worse during that period of time, but the longer we put off the inevitable while having a normal, active, happy pup (and not giving him extra meds) is great. I know the Christmas day excitement will take a bit out of him, but I'm hoping for a quick return to form.

It's December

And Dave is still a-okay. He's currently relaxing, legs hanging out, on two snugglebeds, as we were getting the living room ready for the Christmas tree to come in. A snuggle sandwich, garnished with a bit of Dave, is making me laugh!

His weekend was somewhat unusual as Mike and I had to stay overnight for a wedding, so he stayed with Mike's parents. They have more space and stairs, both make him happy. Then, when we were home, we were running around. It seems like he is enjoying his quiet time.

His lymph nodes are still palpable, but small and fairly soft. He's eating and active, and we've noticed no significant changes since getting the second cancer diagnosis in September. I'll probably be contacting his oncologists again, just to touch base prior to Christmas.

so fresh and so clean

Bathtime!

long weekend

But not in a bad way! We travelled down to Longport to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, where Dave got lots of well-wishes and even some prayers. Imagine that! He enjoyed his numerous walks with grammom, including a brief jaunt to the beach. The salt air seems to have a calming effect on him - his respiratory noises were barely noticable. The visits (maybe the car rides) always seem to leave him a bit tired, taking him a couple days to recover. Today he's taking advantage of the slightly warmer temperature... he almost caught a squirrel outside.

a good two months

It certainly has been an interesting couple of months. Initially, my emotions were all over the place: sadness that the cancer was back, anger at how quickly it came back, fear of what was to come, and, a recurring theme over the last ten months, guilt over all of these feelings about a dog. But the thing that this time has given me is the ability to accept all of them as much as I can and enjoy Dave as much as I can. Cliche, I know, but it's the truth.

I'm not living with a sick dog. He's actually better now than he was the last month or so of chemo. The fear mentioned above made me worry if I'd come home and find that he was sick, or that he wouldn't have the energy to be his normal crazy self. That hasn't been true so far.

I don't know what the next few months, or weeks, will bring. I'm excited about the possibility that it could be longer. As educated and wonderful as his doctor's are, they were shocked about how well he was doing. It doesn't seem like they've had a dog who went throught the vaccine trial and then took prednisone do this well. He's now lived longer than his initial prognosis, as well as the secondary prognosis after he came out of remission, which, for us, is a very, very good thing.

almost...

Saturday is Dave's two month mark. Two months from confirming that he's out of remission, and his prognosis at that time. Happily, tonight, he's fine and seems content to be sleeping on Mike's lap on the couch. Thanks to Toni and Andrew, who may be Dave's favorite couple (not related to us, of course), I'm sitting on the couch next to them on the new laptop! Dave was checking it out, too.

800 visitors!

Wow! I know that it's not 800 separate people, and many of them are me writing updates, but thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to come here and check up on Dave. Dave is fine, as happy as can be, and we are, too. Even the snoring at night has improved!! Anyone who knows me knows that if I can get a good night's sleep, I'm happy.

good Monday!

I dropped Dave off at Penn at 7:30 this morning, figuring I'd take a long lunch when he was done. However, about 20 minutes after arriving at work, his doctor called, saying he was ready to come home. Considering his stress level last time, I took an early, long lunch to go get him. We received good news: the cancer hasn't advanced as far as they can tell. His chest x-ray looked fine - all of the concerning spots are gone, confirming the pnuemonia diagnosis and no evidence of cancer. His doctor repeatedly said how great his lymph nodes felt and that they were "amazed" with the non-progression of his lymphoma. The best news: she said they think he'll have a few more months! Nothing is certain, of course, but considering the original out-of-remission prognosis, I'm very, very happy with that!

changed appointment

Midday Friday, one of the oncology nurses called to ask to change our appointment. Our Tuesday AM appointment was convenient - Mike and I are both off for Veteran's Day, and we were planning on heading to Center City to do some walking and window shopping. Tuesday is one of the chemo days in the department, and apparently they have several new patients scheduled as well. I asked if we could go in on Wednesday, as that's Mike's day off this week. No, they don't see patients Wednesday.

I'm dropping him off at 7:30 tomorrow, which I don't like because it means an hour and a half or so extra in his run that stresses him out. From University City, I'll go into work early and will ask my boss for a long lunch to pick him up later in the day, to try to reduce the potential stress time. Hopefully she understands...

Dave's regular breathing is a little heavier than normal today. That fall right in line with his last few appointments, and makes me worry what effect the stress will have tomorrow.

tgif

When I spoke with Dave's onocologist this week, we discussed his medication protocol. Due to the possibility of pneumonia, he'd been taking Clavamox, an antibiotic for the past six weeks. He received his last dose on Wednesday, and his breathing seems better. He's not snoring as much and his congestion sounds improved. This seems a little counterintuitive, but I'm happy with the outcome. The chest x-ray on Tuesday hopefully will shed some light about what's going on.

It's been beauty treatment week for him, too! He hates getting his nails cut, but they needed to be done. Today is bath day, which is another unpopular grooming ritual as far as Dave is concerned. I think some other animals have been in our backyard, which is great for Dave's curious nose, but bad when he decides to roll in the smell.

happy anniversary!

Mike and I have been married for two years, wow... We're happy to celebrate with Dave.

Since we reached the six week mark, I called his doctor today, and we're going to bring him in for a check up next week. We've been noticing a little more wheeziness, but he's active and alert. She was thrilled to hear that he's still doing well, and I'm sure all of the staff will be looking forward to listening to him bark in his run all day. :)

November

Happily, there's nothing new to report on Dave. He's destroying his toys, enjoying the nicer fall weather and had fun dressed up on Halloween. Most of the ten or so trick-or-treaters that came by loved his Busy Bee costume.

Today is six weeks out of remission, and Tuesday is another 'milestone' that he'll get to celebrate with us - our two year anniversary! He's excited.

nine months

Today is exactly nine months from Dave's first chemo treatment. His discharge paperwork said that he'd come out of remission about four months after a full course of chemo, which lasted five months. In reality, it was less than three months, and that didn't include the hope of the vaccine trial. Throughout the entire time, I had in my head "nine months, nine months." Nine months is here, and he's still with us, doing well and not seeming sick at all, and that makes me a happy person.

And, he got to see the Phillies win the World Series! Now that is exciting!

100 posts!!

And why not something fun? Pictures of Dave's toys from Aunt Tina, and of him making quick work of a couple of them.




























That's a rubber cat on the left, with no ears or tail, and a weiner dog in a bun in his mouth.

Dave's still quite fine, and we're quite happy with that right now.

no more rushed posts

Dave was fine all week. More than fine, actually, he was great. He took long walks, chased small animals in our backyard and tore up some new toys. Aunt Tina gave us a large bag of toys last weekend. I took pictures prior to, and during the destruction of some of them, and will get them posted here later this week. I came back from the weekend at grammom's a little congested, so maybe he was having the same issues. Regardless, Dave is wonderful. Mike's parents saw him this week, and are amazed at how well he's doing after the estimate the vet gave us when he came out of remission (2 weeks to 2 months). Today marks five weeks. It's good and bad. I love that he's still our dog and completely himself. However, there are moments when we get upset looking at him; he doesn't know what's coming, but we do, and when we let that creep into our thoughts, it's difficult.

We still have him on the antibiotic for pneumonia, along with his eye meds and prednisone. The spacing out of the pills requires him to get three peanut butter and/or cream cheese dollops a day, which is fine by him.

hmmm

Things don't seem quite right tonight. Dave seemed well all weekend, including in the morning, but this evening he seems slightly uncomfortable. He's breathing a little heavier than usual, and his lymph nodes are more noticable than they have been. They're still soft, but more palpable. He ate, however, which is a good thing. At least for tonight.

more items checked off!

We're at grammom's house, so Dave will get to go to the beach. He also had a visitor last night who he tried to get frisky with - thanks Christen! He seemed to enjoy the extra attention! He's hanging in there with no noticable change.

update

Dave is doing well - he's active, and is eating and playing like nothing is wrong. We're giving him 15 mg of prednisone, and it seems to be keeping the lymph nodes small and symptoms at bay. I spoke with the doctor yesterday (I love that she called on a Sunday, btw), and asked what to expect. She said that generally there is a pretty quick onset of symptoms, and that the lymph node usually get larger as that's happening. I suppose that it's good that we have something to look out for, especially since the days seem pretty normal right now.

bucket list #4

Cooper River Park is one of Dave's favorite parks (pictures taken by a cell phone camera, so they're not that clear).

The park has a large walking trail and several smaller ones. We stuck with a smaller one with some criss-crosses through the grass so Dave could pick up on all of the delicious smells. The first time around the loop, he just sniffed the traces of the geese. Dave was a little unsure of wading in. He won't go in the ocean, but used to love swimming in pools. After taking everything in for about a minute, he happily went in!

He didn't smell very good after his dip in the lake, but that didn't matter! He was happy and we were happy. He's still very much himself.

Dave's bucket list

I decided a few days ago that Dave needed a bucket list (i.e., things to do before he kicks the bucket). We started it before I had this genious idea, but it looks a little like this:

1. lots of treats (he hadn't been getting a lot throughout his treatment)
2. ice cream
3. go to the park and chase geese
4. lots of walks (not much different than usual, but why change status quo)
5. table scraps (he's NEVER been fed table scraps, and we're still only giving him the good stuff, like chicken and veggies vs. crap)
6. stuffed toys to destroy
7. trip to the beach

We've hit every one but the beach trip, and I hope to get him there next weekend for grammom's birthday. Any other suggestions?

October

Thursday night was not a good one - Dave was up for several hours, with vomiting and diarrhea. I contacted the oncology department on Friday, seeing as things tend to get worse on weekends, when our regular vets/nurses are not available. The vet I spoke with recommended we start prednisone. She posited that the stomach issues were symptoms of the lymphoma because he'd been on anti-diarrheal medication since Tuesday. We're continuing with chicken and rice since any small introduction to the kibble makes it worse. I was pretty upset, as he'd been well otherwise; I didn't want to hear that the lymphoma is already symptommatic. However, Friday night, when I got home from work he was fine, and he had an uneventful sleep last night. Today he's been whining to go outside, which is definitely status quo on a beautiful day.

I don't know if Dave will make it to Halloween. After watching "Best in Show" many, many times, I always joke to Mike that Dave needs a busy bee costume. Thanks to Target's great pet section, he got one today! He looks too cute in it, and tolerated it much better than I thought he would. Here's a little video - please note that the chair he jumps on is strictly his chair, and not representative of our home furnishings.

more time

Dave had a chest x-ray this week, which showed improvement in his lungs. We're going to continue the antibiotic for a week, and then start the prednisone. He is still very active, very happy and very much Dave. They want to see him back at Penn in two weeks for another x-ray, and as long as he's still doing well, we'll bring him in. And, from what they're telling us as far as future visits, meds, etc., it sounds like he'll be okay for the next few weeks. Will we? Who knows? But the day-to-day has gotten easier. We get sad when we look at him playing, or jumping up and streching on us, among many other things, but most of the time it stays in the back of our minds.

huh

Well, I'm posting earlier than I thought I would. Dave's still Dave. No signs whatsoever of being sick. I'm doing my best to enjoy this time, but when I look at him running around with his squeaky octopus, or wagging his crooked tail when I come home, I can't help but cry. But most of the time, I'm putting on a good face and trying to be happy that he's okay for now.

We told the oncologist that we're definitely not doing the rescue protocol, and we're going for a chest x-ray next week to ensure that his lungs look better (hoping it's pneumonia). Once we find out what's going on in his lungs, we'll know what to do about the prednisone. If his lungs look better, and I'm hoping they do, since he isn't having breathing issues, and his coughing has improved, we can start. If they still look bad, they'll do a "wash" where they test whatever's in his lung for pneumonia. If it's negative, he can start the pred. If not, he'll have to try a different antibiotic, because the pred will lower his immune system, and with pneumonia, that's not a good thing.

Mike and I are doing pretty good, considering how important Dave is to us.

we tried

We didn't get good news today. Dave is out of remission. His lymph nodes felt concerning during his physical, and the aspiration showed that the cancer is back. They only did a chest x-ray, and that showed an abnormality as well. The vet said it could be either pneumonia or cancer, and we're treating with antibiotics. She couldn't say for sure, but said that with the breathing episodes starting in August, she would think that the cancer would have spread much more quickly. So we're hoping that the antibiotics work, and Dave will have some relief.

We have the option of doing a rescue protocol, which is 4-6 months of chemo, followed by every other week chemo, but at this point, we're not doing that. We talked about it months ago, and don't think that will change. We'll probably just treat with prednisone, which will delay the inevitable and provide some symptommatic relief. We're going to give it a couple days, and then finalize our decision.

I'm grateful for the last eight months. I'm sad and angry that we didn't even get the initial nine months that were estimated at diagnosis. Dave's still himself, for now, and I'm grateful for that. I don't know how long we'll have with him, but we're going to enjoy every minute.

I don't know how much I'll be updating, or when, but I'm making no promises. Thanks for the support...

another big day

What a weekend! Dave took a little trip to the emergency vet on Sunday morning. And by Sunday morning, I mean 3 am. His breathing issues returned. Because it was the third time and he seemed to be having some discomfort, we decided to take him, hoping that seeing it while it happened would allow the vets to give us insight. One thing that seems to help, however, is Dave getting up and moving around, so by the time we got to Penn, it had improved somewhat. They reported that his pulse-ox was good (98!), and while they did observe that rapid breathing, they couldn't diagnose it. They recommended a chest x-ray, which he's getting today (pre-planned). It could be anything from bronchitis, brachycephalic disease (smooshed face) or that the cancer has spread. I'm concerned, obviously.

Later in the day Sunday, we went to the Oncology Department's client appreciation party. I had mixed feelings on going, as it would be great to talk to other owners in the same situation, but not so great to talk to owners who had lost their pets. They had a slideshow of pictures from treatment days, a nice lunch and meet and greet with staff, most of whom we know. While eating, we spoke to a gentleman whose dog also had lymphoma. "Barney" was in the clinical trial as well, and has been in remission for two years!!! I immediately started crying when he told me that. He was so nice to talk to, adding a little bit hope after the scare I had in relation to the breathing. There were tours of the hospital, but we had to leave before getting to see it.

Today, Dave is being restaged, which includes the aforementioned chest x-ray, lymph node and bone marrow aspiration, bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound.

whiskers

It's official - Dave's whiskers are growing back. He has a couple coming in on his chin, and one on each jowl. They are thin, short and don't resemble his old whiskers, but they're there!! I tried to get a picture, but my point and click doesn't cooperate with me zooming in that close.

Mike and I visited the Headhouse Square Farmer's Market in Philly today. Aside from having a fabulous selection of organic produce, heirloom tomatoes and other delicious offerings, they had a vendor who makes her own dog treats. Our 'home' market, Collingswood, also has one, but she doesn't have low/no grain options. Not only did we bring home salmon and flax seed treats for Dave, but we also met the proprietor's Boston, Gertrude. She was adorable, and probably the calmest BT I've ever met.

Dave's staging is going to be next Monday - fingers crossed for more good news!

weekly update

Dave's had another great week! There aren't any problems to report, and he's had few nice walks in the cooler weather. He's had some visitors in the past week, and spent some time with Mike's dad when the tropical storm rolled through last weekend. It's a pretty good time to be him, I think!

more good news

Dave's checkup today went well. He was done in record time - about 45 minutes! Unfortunately, we didn't wait for him. I think they're sick of the barking when he's in his run. He has a distinctive, high pitched bark, but only uses it when he's in a crate or cage. Since he's spoiled, that's not often.

He goes back in three weeks for another staging, and pending those results, he'll go back for monthly checkups.

He's doing great, but Wednesday night, he had another breathing/vomiting episode (I wrote about it in my August 12th post). It was the exact same thing - he was fine when we went to bed, we woke up to him vomiting and then he had breathing issues. The only connection between the two nights is that we cooked with hot peppers both times. He had no immediate reaction, however, and I would think that if he got a piece of pepper, he'd be drinking a lot, panting and/or licking. The good thing is that both mornings after, it improved, and that now he's A-okay.

almost fall!

I'm so surprised by this weather - who would have thought that it'd be 90 degrees in September after a cool and comfortable August?? I'm looking forward to the cooler weather, football and long walks with Dave.

We have a check up on Friday. Dave will get a physical and bloodwork, and hopefully we'll leave with a positive report. According to the info they gave us in June, he should be scheduled for another staging towards the end of the month. He's still looking good and seemingly feeling good.

600 visitors and more birthday

It's amazing to think I've been blogging Dave's life for seven months. Thanks to everyone for continually coming here to check on Dave's status. I know that some people, including myself at times, can't imagine all of this thought, concern, time and caring about a dog, but I truly appreciate the comments and emails. I think that Dave does, too.

Just like me, Dave enjoys stretching his birthday celebration out as long as possible. While visiting grammom, Aunt Tina brought Dave two presents today! He got a chewy football rope that should last about ten minutes; his favorite kind of toy - destructable. Also, an interlocking ring toy that appears more sturdy. He's wiped out from the weekend, but should have a good time playing with them tomorrow night. Dave loves his aunt Tina!!

great week

It feels like we have a new dog in the house. I was resigned to the fact that Dave was not going to be the same dog that he was pre-chemo. The last week has been amazing - he's back to himself completely! No spitting up, much more energy and he's sleeping in bed with us again every night. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I've been having pangs of guilt all week, though. We ran out of Dave's wet food, and didn't get to the store. We had dry food, so we fed that for two days. We saw a turnaround immediately. He's been getting it for a week now, and none of the symptoms have returned. Even his "allergies," the itching, eye discharge and sneezing are gone. I feel like such a bad owner. But I was following the advice of the holistic vet to feed him wet, "cold" food rather than the dry, "hot" food. It's all grain-free, meat only, but the cold/hot made the difference. I'm glad I know that this is good for him and that he reacts well to it.

birthday time!

We're already counting down the days until birthday number 10! Okay, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves, but Dave has had a fabulous few days.

Some pictures from the Dave birthday extravaganza!

Eating out of the new bowl set. The raised "table" should help Dave with digestion (and hopefully stop him from spitting up when excited):

And yet, through it all, he does it his way :

Dog food makes for a dirty floor. It's clean now, I promise.

"Ice cream" time! It's really more of a sorbet, with fruits and other healthy, no-added-sugar ingredients:

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!!

It's official, Dave made it to age nine!! We're so happy to reach this little milestone.

nine time

Tomorrow is an exciting day! Dave will be nine years old. I remember writing the 'half-birthday' post six months ago, and how nervous I was that tomorrow wouldn't be a reason to celebrate.

Dave has been having some stomach issues, so we might not be able to celebrate with filet and ice cream (doggie approved) as planned. His gift is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so if FedEx cooperates, pics will be up soon.

woo hoo!!!

Dave's visit went well! His weight is up slightly, the bloodwork was good and his lymph nodes are normal! I'm so relieved. We spoke with one of our favorite nurses (Dave's too, I think), and she remarked how great he's doing. Regarding any change in his lymph nodes, she said that it would be a noticable change (her words were "oh sh!t change"), and that it wouldn't be a gradual thing. I don't know why exactly, but that put me at ease. He goes back in three weeks for bloodwork.

final vaccine

Dave goes for his final vaccine tomorrow! I'm flexing my time at work in hopes that I'll be able to speak to the doctors to find out what to look out for and what the future looks like.

Dave woke up today with tons of energy - running around the house, jumping on and off of the furniture and being crazy. He's pooped now, after a long day of walks, sniffing outside and a little bit of ice cream. Nom nom nom. He loves his doggy ice cream!

vet call

I had to call the vet today. Dave was breathing funny last night. I wouldn't consider it labored, but definitely a little heavier than usual. He also threw up a few times last night. I'm hoping that it's due to the windows being open and his allergies. However, when I talked to the vet, she asked me to keep an eye on his lymph nodes and call if I notice any change. I'm nervous... They still feel the same to me. I don't quite know exactly what I'm looking for, but, if it's what I think I'm (barely) feeling, they seem okay.

suitcase

This is a cell phone picture from about a week ago. We were a little lazy in putting our suitcase away after our last visit to my mom. Dave decided it made a lovely new snuggle bed.

storms and not much else

I suppose it's a good thing that there isn't a lot changing here on Dave's blog. He's still doing well - a little less itchy, still more tired than he used to be, but otherwise he's good! He's growing his hair back and still has a great appetite!

We've been getting him out for walks when we can to try to help give him a burst of energy, but the weather has been crazy lately. We've had some pretty bad storms this week, and he's acquired a fear of thunder. He demonstrates the fear by curling up on my lap, which I don't mind at all!

The third and final round of the vaccine is scheduled for next Monday. I know partially what to expect from what they've told us in the past, but I'm excited/nervous/scared for what's going to happen in the upcoming months.

the limp

Here's a video I shot yesterday of Dave's limping. We cleaned and wrapped his foot last night, so, of course, he promptly took off the bandage. Dave loves sticks of all sort, which you'll see in the video. Happily for him, Sunday's wind and hail storm blew down several large limbs and smaller sticks.

Also, I realize that our yard looks terrible on the video. We take pride in the small property we own, so this year we went organic in our lawn and garden maintenance due to Dave. Everything we've read says that the grass needs time to adjust to not having the chemicals to make it a vibrant green color. Anyway, ignore the patchy grass and enjoy a dog frolicking with his stick.

vaccine round 2

Dave went for his second vaccine today. His bloodwork and physical exam were good, so he received the vaccine. His weight is up to just over 28 pounds, which we suspected when his ribs and spine began to appear a lot less noticable. As long as we don't have problems between now and then, he'll get his third and final vaccine on August 18th.

He saw the opthalmologist, who said that his eye pressure was normal. They suspect that some of the rubbing and discharge is related to his allergies. We had the option of having him see the dermatologist, but we declined. The vet that saw him today checked for mites or infection that could be causing the itching and redness, and concurred that he has seasonal allergies. She gave us a strict Benadryl dosing regimen - 25 mg, up to four times a day. We're going to start him on it tomorrow, three times a day to see how he reacts.

It's always something... I want him to have relief and not scratch and lick, but I also want to have an alert (or relatively so) dog. If the Benadryl doesn't help, we'll go with the derm consult. He has a raw spot on his back paw from licking and biting it, which apparently is tender when he walks. We're treating it with neosporin and covering it when he's outside. It makes him hop around, which gives us a little amusement.

The vet said several times how well he's doing, which was nice to hear. Hopefully that will continue!

another decent week

Dave definitely seemed to feel better this week. The itching, spitting up and general malaise all decreased, but he's still snoring quite loudly at night. I have to start posting more pictures to eliminate the walls of text I keep writing.

Monday is his second vaccine, so he'll have a complete check up with CBC then. Mike still thinks I'm crazy in regards to feeling the lymph nodes, but they appear smaller now. Maybe Dave just had a summer bug?

decent week

Things are pretty much status quo... Dave's still patchy - he's losing hair around his "armpits" and on his head. He's itching a little bit less, however. Maybe it will start to grow back a bit? He had a couple of instances of excited-type spit up, and had one day where he looked like he didn't feel good. I'm pretty happy with him overall at this point, and am hoping that next Monday's appointment for the vaccine goes well.

I've taken to feeling the lymph nodes in Dave's neck, which Mike hates. Do I feel a difference? Some days I feel like I do, others I don't, so it's probably just in my head. Mike feels that if Dave does come out of remission, catching it early vs. late may not make a difference in our plans.

500 visitors

Thanks again to everyone for coming to check up on Dave!

He's still itching, but it seems to be getting somewhat better. I hope he can get some relief soon. Mike and I have joked in the past year or so that Dave is our little old man, and it's becoming more and more apparent - I think the chemo really aged him. His energy level is still lower than I'd like to see, and he still has no whiskers and is losing patches of hair from itching. He will turn nine next month... I know that's old in 'dog years,' but prior to this all happening, he didn't seem old.

itchy

Dave's been very itchy the last few weeks, but it's gotten pretty bad since the weekend. The nurse we talked to this week said that the chemo/lower immune system response could cause allergies he previously had to be worse, so I guess that's whats happening. There's definitely no swelling of the face (nor anything else we should be looking out for) from the vaccine. He's itching so much that he's losing little patches of hair, which is new. He used to itch himself raw - I don't know what I'd prefer. We gave him benadryl this morning, and it already seems to be working.

vaccine round 1

Dave received his vaccine today. It was a relatively short visit, he went in at noon and was done by 2:30. He had a normal physical exam and normal bloodwork, but lost a little more weight, about a quarter of a pound. Then he got two shots - one on the right hip/butt area that was the vaccine, and one on the left that was a control. The vet said that there aren't too many side effects, since it's created using his blood and lymph node, but we'll be on the look out for a puffy face, itching and swelling of the injection sites. They really do prepare it that morning - they called to make sure we were coming, and said that the researcher walks it to them as soon as it's ready. Amazing...

We go back on July 28th for round 2.

vaccine

Dave gets his first vaccine on Monday. The process sounds pretty interesting. He'll go in around noon, and they'll do some bloodwork. Assuming it's normal, he'll get the vaccine. Apparently, it won't be finished and ready until that day; the vet went as far to say that he needed an afternoon appointment so it will be as fresh as possible. Being a social worker, the preparation of vaccines is not something I'm familiar with, so I'm a bit amazed with all of this.

Although I have it in the links section, here is the link to Penn's trial page. They initially explained that they hope to be able to use this a treatment for animals and people one day. This article, from November, goes into a bit more detail. The day I took Dave to the vet for his initial diagnosis, there was a story on ABC's World News Tonight about the dog in the article. Like Dave, she was diagnosed with the most advanced stage of lymphoma.

Dave still looks skinny to me, so I'll be curious to find out his weight. We've increased his food, hoping to put a few pounds back on him. He lost three pounds during the course of chemo; it may not be a lot, but it was 10% of his weight, and he definitely looks too thin.

no return possum

The possum hasn't found his way back, at least as far as I know. From what I've read on the oh-so-reliable internet, possums usually aren't rabid, and I don't think Dave had any contact with him. I hope to keep it that way.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping up on the blog! There was a jump in visitors today, which is always a nice thing...

happy july!

Dave's energy level has definitely picked up over the last two days. Hooray for that!

We had an adventure today. It was Mike's day off, so while I was doing my normal morning routine, about 7:30 am, he comes in and tells me there's a baby possum in our recycling can. Ew. I'm not a possum fan - I saw one crossing the road once, with it's little babies hanging on, six pairs of eyes staring at me, and I'm scarred for life. The stupid thing is curled up, on top of our bottles and cans, sleeping. So we called animal control for our county, and the number was disconnected. Next, I tried the police non-emergency number, and was told that they would call animal control.

Mike waited and waited, to no avail. Somehow, he found an alternate number and called them around eleven. This was the conversation:
Animal Control: "we don't come out for that."
Mike: "so, what should I do? Is there someone who does?"
AC: "tip the can over and let it out."
Mike: "I have a dog, it might have rabies, and I don't want it running around my yard."
AC: "wait until night. They're nocturnal."
Mike: "no thanks."

Seriously??? That's the best they can do? Mike walked the recycling can down to the park and let it go there. Hopefully it won't find it's way back...

Longport time

Dave loves visiting his grammom! He finds her couch and windows far superior to the ones at home. I think he enjoys the salt air and different smells, too. I got a little burnt today, so we're having quiet time now.

His energy level has surprised me the past few days - he's not quite back to himself. I'm hoping that after we put a little weight back on him and a little more non-chemo time, we'll see a change. He's not lethargic, but seems to have fewer bursts of energy. He'll be nine in August, so maybe he's just turning into an old man.

I made his vaccination appointment for Monday, July 7th, at 12. There's some initial testing they need do to first (just bloodwork, I think?) and then he'll get the vaccine. I'm thinking of taking the day off, since it coincides so well with the 4th of July falling on a Friday.

celebration time

I know we might be getting ahead of ourselves, but we had to celebrate the good news, regardless of what may come in the future. We decided to have the ice cream on the patio, which turned out to be an excellent idea, as we were left with a sticky dog.

REMISSION!!!!

It's official! Dave's bone marrow was clean, and he is in remission.

He seems quite pleased with himself. I think he's getting ice cream tonight to celebrate...

waiting

We have to wait until tomorrow, but we're waiting with the hope that it will be good news. Dave was there for eight hours, and they reported that he was a very good boy. His eye is looking good, and he will continue to see the opthalmologist, but doesn't need to go back for two months.

His ultrasound, blood work and xray were fine - no cancer! His lymph nodes are so small, they were unable to aspirate any of them. We're waiting on the results of his bone marrow aspiration. The head of oncology saw Dave today, and said that it would be very unusual for such good results elsewhere to have bad results of the bone marrow. Regardless, I'll be holding my breath until I speak with her tomorrow.

Assuming that the bone marrow is clear, Dave will be in complete remission and he'll officially begin the trial by getting his first vaccine on July 7th. He'll get it again on the 28th and August 18th. He'll be seen for a physical exam monthly and get a full restaging every three months. If he does well for a bit of time, they'll extend his exam time to every two months. A little sign of hope came this morning in the form of another dog in the waiting room. The nurse told Mike that he was there for his two year "anniversary" check up. I can only hope...

BIG day tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big appointment - restaging! Dave's scheduled for a 9:30 appointment, where he'll get bloodwork, a chest xray, abdominal ultrasound and a bone marrow aspirate. As long as he's in complete remission, he'll get his vaccine within two weeks, and then again at three week intervals. The paperwork we received initially says that they'll then see him monthly for a physical exam.

Wish us luck!

new toy

The remainder of Dave's week was pretty good. There were a couple of mishaps in bed, with him throwing up last night, but he seemed to feel fine. He's been off of the chicken and rice for a few days, and is back to his 'mixed bag' of food. He seems happy, as he really likes pumpkin, and with Jersey fresh blueberries making their first appearance at our local farmer's market, he's found a new yummy treat. We saw the holistic vet for his yearly checkup, and she was quite pleased with him - both traditionally and holistically, she thought he looked good.

Dave got a new toy today when we went to get his food! I've seen the Planet Dog toys in our pet store, but they were a little pricey for a simple toy that hasn't been tested with Dave's powerful mouth. He destroys almost every toy he's ever had. Planet Dog is a company that makes green dog toys - non-toxic and recyclable. Dave loves his artichoke! While it doesn't squeak, he's been playing with it most of the day and hasn't been able to rip it apart!

soaking up the rays

According to the holistic vet, Dave is a heat-seaking dog. Rarely is this more evident than when he is doing one of his favorite things - sleeping outside.

(objects in this picture appear thinner than in real life. really, mom, he's not this skinny - it's the angle)

walkin'

Here are some pictures from our walk on Sunday. I'm trying to capture Dave at his best.

still a bit out of it

I don't know if it's the chemo or all of the meds or a combination of both, but Dave has remained tired this week. Lots of rest and lots of snoring. We did get him outside for a few walks, which perks him up at the time, but takes a lot out of him after. He enjoyed the nice weather outside yesterday, while we did some weeding and planting.

We tried giving him regular food, hoping that the meds would be enough to fight the GI issues, but he hit the trifecta Friday - #1 in the house, diarrhea and vomit outside, all within about ten minutes. I called for a refill of one of the nausea medications, Zofran, and the vet called it into our local pharmacy. I went to get it, and it was $500!! There were 20 pills, but still. At Penn, for whatever reason, it was $9.50 for 5 pills. I like the $1.90 a pill price much better than the $25/pill. Needless to say, I didn't get it at our pharmacy, and we're picking it up from Penn little later today.

Dave is scheduled for his yearly check up Thursday night, and he'll get bloodwork to ensure his white cell count is good. If it's not, he'll have to continue the Baytril a little longer. Obviously, we're hoping that it's within normal limits, and that he'll be feeling better shortly.

tired pup

Dave had a good day today! Lots of running around with his toys, a bath and then rolling in something smelly immediately after - what could be any better??

This shot is of him after chemo yesterday. We've been getting our cold weather clothes ready to put in the attic, and they were all folded neatly on our guest bed. Dave took issue with that, and fluffed them all to his liking for a nice comfortable bed on a bed.

the end

Perhaps that's a misleading title. This won't be my last blog post, but Dave had his last treatment today, which leaves me fairly emotional. He had a really good two weeks, with no GI issues and just a little bit of lethargy. Mike was off last week, so it could have been a side effect to having him around instead of away at work.

The news from the visit is that Dave lost more weight, and he's down to 27 pounds. The doctor wasn't overly concerned, telling me that he's just worrying about bathing suit season. He said that the heat and the chemo are probably to blame, and said that Dave's weight should start to go up now that he's done. His physical exam was otherwise normal.

Dave was discharged with the same instructions as last time; due to the length, I won't repeat it here. Next week, we'll take him for bloodwork - the nice part is that it coincides with his yearly check up. On the 24th, we'll bring him in for restaging. It's a lengthy appointment, but I'll most likely take the day off so I can hear all of the information for myself. Assuming he's in clinical remission, and there's no signs of cancer anywhere, he'll be able to get his vaccine. They're not sure exactly when that will be. The explanation we received today was that they notify the researcher now that he's completed chemo. They'll finish up the vaccine to get it ready for him. Most likely, the first vaccine will be a week or two after staging. We had more good news, too: they are definitely going to cover the cost of the restaging. When Dave was picked up today, he tried to get to another dog, but didn't go out with a bang, thank goodness. The nurse remarked that he's so energetic when he's in his run or they're walking him, but he slept through almost every treatment. She said they almost took a picture to show people how unaffected the dogs are by chemo.

I'm really happy that the four and a half months are behind us, but now I feel like it's a waiting game. They gave us information about a program the social worker there is running, and we probably will attend. I have so many emotions regarding this, from the happiness, to the worry, to guilt that I'm feeling this way about a dog. Upon reflection, this time has been exactly what I wanted - many more good days than bad ones, and very little change in Dave being Dave. I hope we're able to have a lot more good days in the months (years?) ahead...

400 visitors!

Thanks again to everyone who is reading!

Dave had an okay past few days. He was very medicated, so we didn't see any of the GI issues, but there was a little increased lethargy. Today, though, he's pretty good, running, playing and jumping around. Other than that, there's not much more to report! I'll be making his last chemo appointment tomorrow...

good day!

Dave's doing well today - no GI issues, active and playful - very much himself. I'm expecting to see some difference over the next few days, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Tomorrow marks exactly four months since starting treatment, so the fact that he's still acting like himself is a very good thing.

Dave enjoyed a little treat yesterday after chemo. He was playing in the yard while we were grilling, and suddenly, in slow motion, I saw him go after something in the grass. I yelled at him and ran over, but it was too late - he caught a mole (vole?) and scarfed it down. I wonder if the holistic vet would approve. After all, it is a free range, grass fed animal... I love my little predator.

hope

I cried a little today. Dave has one more chemo treatment left, in two weeks. It's such a bittersweet feeling. I'm so happy that he's had many more good days than bad ones, that he's been himself through most of this, that he still gives us kisses and hops into bed like everything is the same as it was six months ago. But there is a nagging in the back of my head, counting down... On January 30th, we were told that he had nine months with treatment. As of today, that gives us five more months.

Hopefully he's in the five to ten percent of dogs that stay in remission. Or his remission time is much longer than they thought. Or we don't have to deal with what we (realistically, logically) know that we will. We're holding out hope.

Dave's visit was good, with no notable incidents to report. Mike said that there were no dirty looks from other owners, either. Dave had a pretty full appointment today: his regularly scheduled bloodwork and chemo, in addition to a follow up echocardiogram and opthalmology check. His echocardiogram was good - there is no evidence that the Adriamycin (a.k.a. doxorubicin) has damaged his heart. His eye pressures were good. His bloodwork was good, which was a relief to us. We were concerned with the GI issues that he was fighting something. Upon physical exam, his lymph nodes were normal and he felt good. The black spot on his belly is going to be monitored, but the vet felt it was a normal pigment change.

His meds:
Adriamycin, administered @ Penn
Baytril antibiotic, 136 mg, 1x/day, starting Friday 5.30
Flagyl (anti-diarrhea), 250 mg, 2x/day, starting Thursday 5.29 for 5 days, then as needed
Reglan (anti-nausea), 10 mg, 1/2 tab 3x/day, starting Thursday 5.29 for 5 days, then as needed
Zofran (anti-nausea), 8 mg, 1/2 tab 1x/day, starting Thursday...
Eye meds:
Cosopt (down to 2x/day)
Xalatan (2x/day)
methazolamide (2x/day)

I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of these meds. The poor guy is going to be getting five pills and two eye drops for five of the next fourteen days. I think we may need to buy stock in peanut butter and cream cheese!!

After the next treatment in two weeks (June 10), he'll go for a complete restaging on June 24th. Assuming that his bone marrow, x-rays and ultrasound show that he's completely in remission, he'll start the vaccine trial.

who knew?

Dave's stomach issues are still lingering. The only change is that they're now at the other end. We introduced regular food on Wednesday, after the vomiting was done, and the diarrhea started. He didn't seem to be himself on Thursday, so I called the vet, who advised us to go back to chicken and rice and prescribed a anti-diarrheal medication for him. Since starting the medication, he's perked up and been more Dave-like.

This made me laugh. Who knew that you could call dog meds into a regular pharmacy?

The other issue we have now is something that looks like a sore on his belly. We first noticed it last night, and had given him a bath the previous day, so he had to have just done it. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. I'm a little concerned that it could be a weird skin reaction because it doesn't look quite like a scab or open cut. Being a worst-case-scenario person, I thought for a minute that it could be some sort of skin cancer, but I'm hoping not, obviously. There's always something, I guess. The positive side is, as I said above, he was much more himself yesterday and this morning (so far).

busy weekend!

It was a crazy weekend, with lots of running around, a 30th birthday party and a wedding. Dave says happy birthday Jay and congratulations Eva!!

Dave had a decent weekend. There were a couple more spit ups. That's the best description for them. TMI alert - not for the squeamish: when Dave is really not feeling well, he doesn't try to lick up the mess.

We had one incident Saturday afternoon, and then again Sunday morning. We decided to go against our holistic recommendations and try some boiled chicken and rice, which we started yesterday. Nothing so far today, so we're on the right track. I didn't get a chance to call either vet today, but I'll be reaching out to them tomorrow if work is a little slower. He definitely has his energy back, which makes me happy.

already a not so good week

I think the stronger chemo's cumulative effects are really starting to show. Dave vomited twice today, again the 'excitment' vomit, when he gets a little worked up and spits up. He seems a little more lethargic than usual. I think we have to expect this for the next month or so. He started on his Baytril, the new antibiotic, along with the stronger nausea meds. I hope he starts perking up a little tomorrow and Sunday. If not, the doctors will get a call next week!

okay...

So... Dave's reports weren't perfect yesterday. He bit a dog while they were outside using the bathroom area. The vet said that the person who took him out was warned that he is not dog friendly, but allowed him to get close to another dog, and he snapped at him. Apparently, Dave caught the dog's lip/jowl and broke skin. The vet said it was completely their responsibility for allowing him to get that close. I apologized profusely, and she continuously reassured me that this kind of thing will happen, especially as many of the dogs are in a heightened state - nervous, scared, agitated - when they are there. Still, I feel horrible. The other dog was fine, and playing right after it happened, but I can't imagine being that owner and getting that information. I asked if we would be kicked out or Dave needed to be muzzled (how exactly that would happen with the smooshed Boston snout I don't know), but she said that they would ensure that he is not able to get to another dog. She laughed when I asked about being kicked out, saying that it takes a lot more than that to have to leave.

I was very upset yesterday, and blame myself for not doing more for him in the past. He's been to training, puppy playtimes and met dogs in neutral spots one-on-one, and still hates other dogs, aside from a basset hound he met seven years ago and our friend's boxer, Moochie. The ironic part is that I had just remarked to Mike how much better Dave seemed while in the waiting room around the other dogs. He's been acting much calmer.

What I didn't mention in my brief update yesterday was the further detail the vet went into regarding his lymph nodes. She said that there are some dogs whose lymph nodes never feel normal and soft, but Dave's do, hence the "beautiful" lymph nodes comment. It was the bright spot in the discharge news yesterday.

The picture in this post is from Grammom's house last year. He unmade her bed to get comfortable. I think he looks remorseful. The new profile pic of him is from five or six years ago, when Mike's parents still had their pool. Dave LOVES swimming!

good reports!

Dave's appointment went pretty well today. After navigating through the traffic on move out day at Penn, he got in and out quickly. Physically, he's great - weight, eye, bloodwork, etc. The chief of oncology saw him today, and remarked that his lymph nodes were "beautiful." She said that he is doing really well overall. She changed his antibiotic to Baytril and gave him a stronger nausea med, Zofran, which he's had before. I'm hoping the antibiotic change won't have as much of an effect on him.

mother's day weekend

Dave is looking forward to spending Sunday with Grammom! As far as his status, it's pretty good. He didn't snore as much the past two nights, and has been playful. Today is a rainy day, so he'll be perfectly content to sleep all day.

I talked to the vet yesterday to update her. She's happy that he's maintaining his weight, and I told her that the main difference since doing the food changes has been his activity level the day of chemo. We were concerned about the amount of each food to give him, but since his weight's maintaining, no changes need to be made. We give a half can of wet food in the morning and evening, and add about a third to half of a cup of pumpkin and/or sweet potato, spinach or kale and occasionally a hard boiled egg. Many of the herbs in our garden survived the warm winter, so they're coming back in full force already. Dave loves mint, and loves to help himself. Sometimes we'll find him relaxing in the garden, eating directly from the plant, so I wanted to make sure that it was okay to give him. The vet said that he's self medicating, since he's a hot dog and it's a cool food. This made me laugh a bit, but hey, whatever works!

I added the above picture for Grammom (yes, we have a lot of closeups of Dave sleeping. He's not a sit long for a picture kind of guy). She was concerned that he looked skinny in the last picture, which is not the case. He's still just under 31 pounds and was being enveloped by his snuggle bed.

still hanging in there...

Dave is still doing well. Other than the unusually loud nighttime snoring and more licking than normal, he's great. We've completely weaned him off of kibble, so he's been thoroughly enjoying the wet food/pumpkin/sweet potato/spinach mix. He loves hard boiled egg time, too. Mmmmm.

From some of his pictures, you may think that Dave isn't feeling well, or that he's lethargic. No, my friends, that is pure laziness. He was lazy prior to cancer, and is lazy now.

cinco de mayo!

Dave would like to wish everyone "feliz cinco de mayo!" After getting his nausea meds yesterday, he perked up and ate. He was still not completely himself, but was much better. He spent a lot of time outside and played with his octopus. Today he seems okay, too, although he did get eight hours of rest time.

not a great day

Dave's been great all week, but we started his antibiotic yesterday, and he's not a happy camper. This isn't the first time we've seen this reaction. He's more lethargic, and is definitely having tummy issues. He wouldn't eat this morning, and was reluctant to take his peanut butter pills. He keeps licking his lips and seems to be salivating a lot. One bad day out of the week isn't too bad, hopefully we'll see some improvement as the day goes on.

three months

And 300 visitors! Thanks everybody! Dave told me he wants to wish Aunt Tina a special belated birthday! Happy 29th, for the fifth time!!!

Dave's visit today went well. His white blood count was slightly decreased, but it was fine to receive his chemo. His eye is fine, his weight is maintaining, and he is still in clinical remission! He has to start an antibiotic (again) to prevent infection from the chemo, adriamycin. He is off next week, so we don't have to take him for bloodwork unless we see signs that he's not feeling good - loss of appetite or lethargy. He's a bundle of energy right now, but he'll probably slow down tonight. Hopefully?

His meds:

Adriamycin administered @ Penn

Eye meds: cosopt, xalatan and methazolamide

TMS antibiotic, 480 mg, 1/2 tab every 12 hours, starting Saturday 5.3

Zofran for nausea, 8 mg, 1/2 tab once a day for 4-5 days

One of the things I hadn't mentioned here is his increased snoring at night, scratching and licking during the day. I suspected, and his doctor confirmed, that it's due to seasonal allergies. We can give him benadryl as needed.

draft day

Today is one of Mike's favorite days of the year: NFL draft day. Dave enjoys it, too, because it usually entails lazy men sitting on the couch for a number of hours, with chances of delicious morsels of food being dropped. Some may say their time is too precious to sit and watch a rather monotonous seven hours of football coverage, but not Mike and Dave. They love it!

Dave has had a great week, but we seemed to tire him out a bit. We've been walking, playing out back and enjoying the 80+ degree weather for part of the week. I think he'll be happy when we're back at work Monday.

uneventful visit

Today's visit matched well with Dave's week - uneventful! His lymph nodes are normal and the bloodwork and eye are still looking good. He got his treatment, and we were out of there in record time... under three hours! His main vet was back, and again remarked how well he's doing. I had to ask if it's indicative of longer remission times, and she gave me what I thought would be the answer: they have no way of knowing. I'm trying to manage my hope, but when he's doing so well, it's difficult.

Next week is his last week of the induction cycles. Nine weeks to go of the cycle, and then nine weeks of the vaccine. After the end of the induction cycle, he starts consolidation (week 16, on May 13th), where he'll get doses of doxorubicin every other week. It's the 'strongest' chemo that he's had, but he has fewer side effects than the Elspar. With a little anti-nausea medicine, he tolerates it fairly well.

vacation!

Mike and I are off this week. We had been talking about going on a trip before Dave's diagnosis, possibly to Sonoma or New Orleans. Now we're happy just going to West Philly! Dave will be a very happy boy, for the first half of the week, at least. Then he'll probably get a bit sick of us being around all of the time. We went for a nice long walk this morning, and I could tell that he's out of shape. We need to build up his endurance for those hot summer days!

awww :(

I just took a look at my old posts. In several of the pictures, it's very apparent that Dave had more whiskers over the past few months than he does now. Poor guy!

so far, so good

It's only been two nights since chemo, but Dave is doing well. No GI issues, the eye is looking good, and the gimp hasn't come back! As referenced in Tuesday's post, he was a 'berry' good boy. I took this as we were leaving with my cell phone. The yellow collar around his neck is not a collar, it's actually his ID. Just like humans getting a bracelet in the hospital, Dave gets a collar with his name, address, phone number and patient ID number. Another interesting fact is that the brick and stone building in the background isn't part of the animal hospital, it's actually one of the fraternity houses!

The vet that we've spoken to for the last two weeks is a resident, and she's great! She consulted with the director of the clinical trial, and they decided that Dave can have the diet additions. Mike isn't too happy about the wet food, both because of the expense and general PITA of feeding wet food: the smell, the stains it leaves on dogs' mouths and the bad breath that can result. Dave enjoys it, and we've been supplementing with spinach, swiss chard, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and other goodies. He loves the hard boiled eggs! We can't give any of the supplements because they want to be sure that any results that we see as far as longer remission times are due to the vaccine rather than anything else. We decided to err on the side of traditional medicine in that case, so Dave will be enjoying us cooking for him while still receiving the vaccine.

somebody was "berry" good!

After seven hours (a new record, I think), Dave is home and doing well.

All good news today! He is still in remission, and his lymph nodes, bloodwork and rest of his parts are all normal. The vet had no real insight on the leg issues last week, other than the possibility of an allergic reaction. It's completely gone, so they had no way to see what he was doing. There were some concerns with his eye because of the cloudiness and redness, but when his eye pressure was tested, it's still normal!

His meds for week 12 overall (week two of the third cycle):
vincristine injection @ Penn
cytoxan 25 mg 1x/day starting tomorrow, until Saturday 4.19
eye meds: cosopt drops, xalatan drops and methylzolamide pills (they spell it differently each time)

better day

Today was much better. On Friday night, Mike found a small wound on Dave's paw. I don't know if we missed it before, or if it was new, but he cleaned it and put Neosporin on it, and now Dave is back to walking normally. Thank goodness! We worked in the yard a bit and he had no problem running and sitting in the grass.

Grammom visited yesterday, and brought canned pumpkin and fresh sweet potatoes. We gave Dave a small snack of pumpkin and spinach yesterday, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

We're getting ready for Tuesday's visit. We're hoping for normal bloodwork, good eye pressure and a complication-free dose of vincristine. Dave has not had problems from the vincristine/cytoxan combination in the past, so we'd like to continue with that trend! I think we'll be giving him a bit of preventative nausea meds after, just in case.

pictures

To eliminate the wall of text down there, some Dave pictures:

not feeling well Wednesday

and...

Dave's business end! I may try to capture his paw issues on a little movie for Penn.

holistic?

It feels like I haven't posted in ages. This isn't a very "up" week for me.

Dave hasn't vomited or had diarrhea since Wednesday, and has transitioned back to his kibble. However, he now takes it a little warm broth. He is almost back to himself, but the hind paw problems haven't gone away. It's a sensitivity in his paws. He's using a normal range of motion, and not hesitating to run, jump and exert himself. But, as soon as he gets on the grass, he's lifting his paws up and trying to avoid contact for too long. Yesterday, Dave seems to have injured himself a bit on his left back paw. He has a cut, so we're doing our best to keep it clean, while keeping him happy by going outside.

We saw the holistic vet Thursday night. She was very nice, though Mike was a little surprised with how the appointment went. She is extensively trained in Eastern medicine, so she spoke a lot about energies, pulses, and some other concepts that are, well, completely foreign to us. Because of Dave's trial, he can't take any supplemental immune boosters. The vaccine is supposed to take care of that. We're taking a list of everything that she wants us to do, which is mostly diet changes, on Tuesday so they can look it over. She would like us to switch him to a high quality wet food; it's the same brand that he's on, Innova EVO, but the red meat formula, which he will gobble up, I'm sure. She said that dry food a "hot" food because of the way it's made: compressed, no moisture. Apparently cancer is a hot disease, and it's better for Dave to have the "cold" wet food. Dave's pulses (not pulse!) were excellent; she said that his were really strong for a dog with lymphoma on chemo.

I'll be honest, the unfamiliarity I have with this makes me a little hesistant to buy into the theories... However, in simple terms, it's diet changes. She also wants us to add dark, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, hard boiled eggs and blueberries to the food. Dave LOVES sweet potatoes, so that won't be a problem. She suggested adding kelp and turmeric as well. It's almost like cooking for him, but that would require organic grass-fed beef or venison, and it would be quite pricey. She gave us a higher quality fish oil, and recommended three supplements that are made up of herbs. She doesn't sell the supplements, they're available at Wegmans and Whole Foods, so she has no vested interest there (several people asked about that). We're going to be asking about all of this. I can't imagine that the foods would be a problem, but the supplements may be. She also wants us to give him at least 20-30 minutes of exercise a day, as people with cancer who are active generally do well and handle their treatments well. I need to do more reading on all of this, but I figure that it really can't hurt to change his diet to meat, fruits and vegetables.

worried

I hate this.

Dave had a good night, with no vomiting or diarrhea. However, we noticed that he's having issues walking. He used to do this little kick out thing because he had a nail that would fall out all the time, and it was sensitive. Now he's alternating doing it with both legs, especially when he is outside. He spent a lot of the night before going to sleep and this morning licking his paws. I examined them, and didn't see any signs of trauma. He chose to jump into bed and onto a chair, so it seems like more of a sensitivity issue rather than his legs not working. I'm going to leave a message for the vet this morning. I'm wondering if it is an allergic reaction that's finally coming out, as the paperwork says to look for paw swelling. I don't think that his paws are swollen, since they look about the same as the front ones, and none of them look overly puffy or inflamed.

Oh, and we did give him the benadryl last night as a precaution. I'm trying to balance my reaction. I feel like I've always overreact about his medical problems in the past, but now I'm concerned because I feel like I'm underreacting. Bleh.

**UPDATE**
The vet called me back already (8 am), which makes me feel a little better. She said that she doesn't know what the leg problem could be, as it would be unusual for a patella or hip problem to just appear with no prior signs. She advised to continue the benadryl, also. She said that we could bring him in to Penn, but that taking him tonight to his scheduled appointment would be fine as well. She said that because he's eating and the vomiting has stopped, and he's relatively bright and alert, that she's not overly concerned. She reiterated that reactions to Elspar are very unusual, but that's not to say it's not possible. This is his last dose of Elspar for the cycle, so there aren't future risks. She said that hopefully by the end of the day and tomorrow, that we'll see these symptoms going away. Hopefully...

interesting

Dave's having GI issues again. I read the posts from March 4th, his last dose of Elspar, and it's almost word for word with what happened: he got us up in the middle of the night with diarrhea, and vomited and pooped while we were at work. It makes me feel a bit reassured, I suppose. He ate his chicken and rice this morning and tonight without hesitation.

I called the vet anyway today due to his low white blood count. It was the same oncologist who saw him yesterday, and she was surprised about the reaction. She did say, as it stated in his paperwork, that his blood count was only slightly low, and advised that we give him 25 mg of benadryl in case it's an allergic reaction. Since we're becoming experts at this, we decided to hold off on the benadryl and give him nausea medicine first. The benadryl will make him drowsy, and I'd like to see his "true" activity level rather than a medically induced one. I know I should be following her advice, but being that we've been through this with the Elspar before, I feel like we're making the right decision.

Dave has his new holistic vet appointment tomorrow night... maybe she'll have some advice that will assist us.

mixed feelings

It's week 11! This is the beginning of Dave's third and final 'cycle.' After this, he'll get chemo every other week for a total of seven weeks, taking us to June 24th. Then the vaccines will start for another nine weeks. I felt like the past five weeks flew by, which is where the mixed feelings come in. He's done well thus far, but we have a ways to go, and we don't know when (if, ideally) the cancer will come back.

According to Mike: he was in a rambunctious little mood today, trying to get to an English sheepdog in the waiting room. He also was very interested in a cat in a carrier who was meowing to let him know to keep his distance.

I received a call from a new doctor only an hour or so after Dave had been dropped off letting me know that his white blood count was low. Usually the lowered count is seen after they initially start chemo, but it can be a side effect throughout the treatment. It's potentially dangerous, but the vets were not overly concerned. His neutrophil count was "slightly low," according to his paperwork, and coming off of the stronger chemo could have contributed to it. This could be an explanation for the picky eating, and we'll be watching him for other symptoms that are indicative of illness - GI issues, lethargy, etc. Maybe I'll have to learn how to take his temperature??

The problem with the low blood count was that they usually won't give chemo so as not to make them sicker. Even though it was week one of the cycle and he has gotten Elspar, Dave was due for a different drug, methotrexate. After the vets consulted with the clinical trial director, they decided to give him Elspar again. This is allowable for the trial, and shouldn't affect his WBC negatively. The big concern I had was how the change would affect him long term, and I was assured that this was an acceptable substitution. Sure enough, when I checked his trial paperwork, it's right there in black and white. I was sad to read that they've closed new admissions to the trial. It makes me so grateful that we have this opportunity...

Dave's eye pressure was good again, and the opthalmologist was happy with how well it's turned around. His weight is stable, and he's otherwise healthy - the lymph nodes "feel great" according to the doctor. No sticker this week, as he didn't take home any meds, but his discharge paperwork does state that "Dave was a very good boy today and we loved seeing him." I love it!!

some changes

Since last week, things have stayed good. Dave is being picky with eating, sometimes eating his kibble, sometimes waiting until we add a little chicken broth. In the last two weeks, that's the only issue that has come up. Not too bad. No GI issues, the eye is looking great and his energy level is very high. He's been snoring more lately, but I have no idea if that's in any way related.

We're in the process of making a change in his regular vet. When we first adopted Dave, we got recommendation from a lot of owners and thought we were choosing his vet carefully. I was a bit of a hypochondriac, taking him for the vet for almost anything perceived wrong. In the first two years, he was probably there eight times. I don't think I've EVER seen the same vet twice. It's not that it's a big practice, but the turnover in vets, front desk staff and techs is ridiculous. We found two nice doctors there, but when we tried to request them for another appointment, they were no longer with the practice.

Another issue I had was their treatment of Dave's eye. His eyes were always very red and I made a point of asking about them every time I took him in. About two years ago, one of the vets said that it could develop into glaucoma, but that we had nothing to worry about at that time. I asked about an opthalmologist, and was told it wasn't necessary. At follow up appointments, I asked, and was repeatedly told it was allergies and an opthalmologist didn't need to be consulted. I felt that my vet's advice was accurate and that I didn't want to be the overprotective owner. I feel very guilty about this now, seeing as it's one part of this whole thing that could have been prevented.

We go to a wonderful, locally owned pet store for Dave's food. The link is on the side. Several of the workers there really helped a few years ago when we went there explaining we wanted to help him age gracefully. We got him on a very high quality food (Innova EVO poultry mix), with no grains and whole vegetables. It's the closest we could get to a raw diet. We also switched out our sugary, carb-y treats for more healthy ones, which Dave didn't mind at all. The staff there recommended a holistic vet last year, and we never bothered to switch him, for whatever reason, and were thinking about switching before his vaccinations prior to his diagnosis.

Even though it may seem counterintuitive to switch vets when, given his initial prognosis, he may only be with us for another six months to a year, we felt it was the best thing we could do for him. He has an appointment this upcoming week, and the tech I spoke with said that many owners in our situation do the same thing. As an added bonus, the vet is a mile from our house, as opposed to the 15 or 20 his old vet was. I wish I had known about this earlier!

Finally, after this loooong post, I celebrated turning 30 this week! Dave enjoyed opening presents, as he always does, and we enjoyed decorating him afterwards.

goodness

Dave is having a good week. We're not seeing the same reactions we did five weeks ago. He was hesitant to eat, but we added some chicken and rice to his kibble, and he was no longer hesitant!!

Dave is enjoying the sun at grammom's right now. The picture is a not-so-goood one from my cell phone, but you get the idea.

week nine

Dave had a good check up today. He is still in remission, had an otherwise unremarkable physical exam and his eye pressure was normal again! Due to the nausea he experienced last time, they gave him a stronger anti-nausea medicine. In case his white blood cells are lowered from the chemo, he also got an antibiotic; both meds are prohylactics. His paperwork says he does not need bloodwork next week, but the vet told me on the phone that he does. Since he would have to go on my birthday, I'm hoping we can add a no vet week to my pile of presents (hint, hint, mom).

His meds this week:
Doxorubicin/adriamycin administered @ Penn
TMS (antibiotic) 480 mg 1/2 tablet every 12 hours; starting on Saturday 3.29.08
Zofran (anti-nausea) 8 mg 1/4 tablet once a day starting tonight

Eye meds are staying the same:
Cosopt 3x/day
Xalatan 2x/day
Methozolamide 25 mg 2x/day

As if we didn't know, Dave was a super star once again. Thanks to everybody who has been reading!

two months...

I can't believe that it's been over two months since Dave's diagnosis. Time goes by so quickly...

Dave had a good week again. It's so nice to have nothing to post sometimes! This week he'll get the strongest dose of chemo, doxorubicin. He'll get an echocardiogram to monitor his heart, and then, hopefully, we'll have two weeks off before bringing him back to begin his third induction cycle.