time goes on...

If you've found my blog, I congratulate you! It's been three years since diagnosis, and a year and a half since Dave left us. We've had a rough time, but don't regret a minute of our journey. The time, commitment and money we put into Dave's treatment was absolutely worth it! We miss him every day. We wouldn't change the time we had for anything... If you have a cancer dog, or have any questions about our fight, please leave a message in the comments.

thanks to all

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, commenting and checking in. Mike and I appreciate all of the support we've gotten since last January, especially all the support in the last week.

We got around to the sad business today of cleaning up some of Dave's things - his ripped up chair, his snuggle beds and his toys. We're going to be contacting a few local shelters and rescues to see what we can donate, along with the case and a half of dog food that we literally just bought.

I found a few pictures of Dave on my camera that were taken last Thursday, four days before. He's playing with his octopus, looking spritely and mischievous. It's amazing what a difference four days can make.

Here's the story:
I was away from Friday night through Sunday morning, and came home to a happy dog that was a little more tired than usual. However, it didn't stop him from cuddling on the couch with us that night. In the morning, Dave got up with Mike reluctantly, but ate his breakfast and pills without any problems. We went to work, Mike got home first and Dave seemed fine. His head popped up in the window when Mike pulled up, and he greeted him at the door. Mike took him outside, where he was fine. They came back in, Dave got his meds, and after a few minutes, Dave wanted to go back out. When he did, he began vomiting and pacing. He would sit for a few minutes, then stand, then shake and had limited control of his back legs. I got home shortly thereafter, and we decided to take him to the vet. We said goodbye on the floor of "his" room, where I got my three kisses. The vet was Dave's "regular" vet - Rothman Animal Hospital - we didn't want to drive to Penn to limit Dave's potential pain.

At Rothman, the vet and the staff were wonderful. They allowed us the time we needed, and the vet assured us that we seemed to be making the right decision. When the time came, it was quick and peaceful. This has been a hard week, but knowing the circumstances surrounding the decision, I'm completely confident that we did the right thing at the right time. No wavering on our part, and no unneccessary pain and suffering for Dave. I love him, and have spent all week starting to talk to him, waiting to hear his footsteps when I'm in the kitchen and looking for him to come around the corner when I get home. I miss my buddy, my boofer, my friendly bear, my stinks. What a good life we had. A short eight years, but what good ones we had!

Nothing is ever wholly lost. That which is excellent remains forever a part of this universe. ~ RWE

sadness

Today was the day... Mike got home from work to find Dave not feeling well. When I got home shortly after, we decided it was time. I'm pretty confident that he didn't suffer, and that his last days weren't painful. We gave him a good life with lots of love, and already miss him more than I can imagine.

Since the last post, Dave had good days, and while he seemed a little more tired, he was eating normally and active - playing with his toys and being himself. Even today, he greeted Mike at the door, and gave me a couple of licks while we were saying goodbye.

again

So... Dave's not feeling well again. He's still being picky with his food, but was happy with canned food with some soaked dry food added in. But then he started throwing up. Mike was off on Thursday, and Dave threw up a few times during the day. He did this around this time last year when he was on chemo and eating canned food, so I we didn't know if it's the canned food or something else.

Then Thursday night into Friday, he got sick a few more times. He's been eating plain chicken, which doesn't make him sick, but it also doesn't give him much nutritionally. He threw up again last night before bed. Once we went to bed, he was acting strangely - he kept getting out of bed and looking at us. Not the in pain type of staring that we saw prior to starting chemo, but it's concerning. He seems a bit stiffer in general.

The good things are that his lymph nodes are small and soft, he still has a good appetite and is alert when we come in the door, get out of bed, etc. He loves following us. He's still jumping up on his chair and happily perusing outside.

I have a call into the oncology vets, but don't know if anyone's on call over the weekend. I called the emergency department, and they told me what I had figured, is that they would probably tell me just to bring him in. Since visits and the exposure to other animals stresses him out, I'm trying to avoid that until it's necessary. I don't feel that getting the food questions answered and a physical exam are worth the stress on him at this point. That could change if his demeanor changes.

garden

Here's a little bit of our garden project, thanks to Dave. Sorry if the formatting of the pictures is off, but blogger can get tricky. The before:

organic seeds in organic soil

repotted since they're bigger

seven months

Dave is still doing well. I love having nothing exciting to report. He's been very active with the nicer weather, and is a happy little dog. He had a couple of days where he didn't want to eat his kibble, but it may have had more to do with the hard kibble than the appetite. We initially soaked kibble in broth and mixed it with wet, and then went to grinding up the kibble with some wet. Now we're transitioning back to kibble. But his appetite for treats and the wet food remained excellent.

Today marks a few important Dave milestones. He's been out of remission for seven months, and has outlasted his prognosis at that time - five more months than the two they gave us. Go Dave! It's also a year and three months since being diagnosed originally, pushing him higher above the average.

excitement

We had an "incident" in the neighborhood today. Our next door neighbor barricaded himself in the house (details here). Mike and I had to run out after the initial drama of an ambulance coming, and came home to a closed off street, SWAT team, Bomb Squad and a ton of police officers. Wow...

Dave was in the house the entire time, the officers wouldn't let us get him. I suppose the safety of people is more than a dog, but I worried for the few hours while I watched SWAT members taking cover all around my house and car. The good news is that we are good, our house is fine and the officers did a great job and stayed safe. But my heart is still pounding.

Dave is fine, he's made a complete turnaround from a few days ago. He may seem a little confused in this picture, but he's good to go.