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Oh Arlene, I am so sorry to hear about Tillie. Tillie put up one long brave battle with the cancer and I know every day you had with her made it all worth the battle. My heart breaks for you . Trust in your heart that you did the right thing and let her go before her quality of life took a down hill tumble.
When I read that she was not eating then she did eat I was wondering as often before a person or animal dies they seem to rally one last time which of course gives us false hope. I know how tough watching the seizures must have been but yes you did the right thing and that final act of love was letting her go. Bless you. Just know that you did all you could for Tille and hold tight to those good memories of her.Am sending you some big (((((((HUGS))))))) . Jan
I've been catching up on the posts on this forum and am so sorry that predictably there are more dogs, fighting the good fight, some which have not lasted the few months since I've been out of internet coverage on the road. I feel for anyone that has to go through this with their pet. It's difficult at best. For those still battling nasal cancer, I found that the support of others traveling the same path to be invaluable and the information from diverse sources helpful when our local vets were at a loss on how to deal with this disease many miles from advanced veterinary care or possibly for others when finances will not permit cutting edge treatment. It is what it is and we all do our best to help our beloved pets.
Ginger has been gone since September. We miss her very much but we also are glad to have known her and find that when we remember her, we laugh and smile reminded of her antics and her funny ways more than we grieve for her, though we still have our sad moments. Hugs to you all and your lovely pets. You are in my thoughts.
Arlene, I am so sorry to hear about Tillie. She has been an inspiration for us since joining this board, and you have been an amazing resource to us as well. She'll be in my thoughts, and, as Jan has said, you did so much for her in her fight against this disease.
Arlene,you have my heartfelt condolences.I have not been on here reading these messages in quite some time. I seemed to cry every time I did. Time has truly helped.It has been just about 8 mths since Boomer passed and we finally remember him with sheer joy and laughter(well ok I still shed a tear every now and then).We rescued a labrador from a shelter one mth ago and when he was going to be neutered they called me and said he had heartworm. they were going to euthanize him that afternoon as that is their policy but we decided to give him a chance and paid for the treatment. Now after heartworm ,tapeworm,fleas and kennel cough he is a healthy 15mth old puppy! What an angel he is.So sweet and loving. sometimes I think Boomer somehow guided me to that shelter!!!The only thing that is weird is that everytime he sneezes I just cringe! I know you all know what I mean. Well I sure hope the best for you all.Cathy is Pepper a new dog for you? I don't recall you mentioning Pepper.Thanks again to Jan and all of you that helped me through such a tough time. I just wanted to keep ya posted on our new love Bodhi, Take care, Boomer's mom forever!
Boomer's mom , I am so happy to hear about your new pup, Bodhi. It sounds like you were in the right place at the right time to save this wonderful pup. Maybe Boomer is his gaurdian angel and made sure he ended up in a family that would love him and take good care of him in sickness and in health. It sounds like he has hard a rough start to his life and hopefully that is in the past now and he has many many healthy happy years ahead of him. Glad you have reached the point where memories of Boomer bring more smiles then tears as I really think dogs would rather have us happy then sad. Best of luck to you and Bodhi . Jan
Arlene, I am so sorry for your loss. I haven't posted much on this board yet, but I've read every single post and feel for all of the people and pups I have read about. It sounds like she had a great life with you. She was a lucky pup.
I returned to Bellevue from Washington State University in Pullman last night. What a whirlwind couple of days, but I could not imagine having a more positive experience.
My original plan was to pursue palliative radiation with metronomic therapy. That changed.
We drove over on Sunday night for Abbie's 10:00AM Monday appointment. We signed in and were greeted by a veterinary student within five minutes. The student examined Abbie, asked lots of questions and then said she was going to consult with the professor of onocology and then they would both come to talk to me.
Dr./Professor Jeff Bryan entered the room within minutes. He introduced himself to me, shook my hand and then immediately sat on the floor with Abbie. He talked to her and said that he had a younger "girl" like her at home and that Abbie had much less gray hair.
I asked him numerous questions and he was patient and understanding answering all of them with great detail. I asked him about Metronomic therapy and he said he was writing a paper on it right now and that he invented his own protocol for it.
He wanted to do a few tests on Abbie before we decided what path to take. He sedated her and took chest x-rays and skull imaging....the purpose being to see if the cancer had spread and if it was worth seeking treatment.
Luckily the cancer had not spread and it hadn't entered her brain. He said he expected the tumor to be much worse and that Abbie was in amazing shape for a fourteen year old dog (which is true).
He explained the palliative radiation and the definitive (curative) radiation in great detail and he explained that Abbie has the best kind of tumor to be treated definitively. He also added, that from her test results, most likely the only thing keeping her from becoming a 16 year old dog was this nasal tumor.
I wasn't convinced. I told him that I couldn't imaging putting a 14 year old dog through a full course of radiation. Point blank I asked him what he would do if Abbie was his fourteen year old dog. He said, "If my 14 year old dog was as in as good of shape as Abbie I would do the definitive otherwise I wouldn't".
I told him my other concern, that I wasn't in the position to take three weeks off work and stay in Pullman. He said that they could keep her at the hospital at an afforable rate and that they have large dog runs and the vet students "spoil them rotten". Again, I wasn't comfortable keeping Abbie in a cage of any size.
He had another solution: There is a woman who lives nearby the hospital in a house on three acres. She has converted the basement of her house into a condo specifically for people who's pets are being treated at WSU. She calls this Lucas House in honor of her dog that passed away. She also occasionally watches the pets in her own home and brings them to their daily treatments for the same price that WSU charges for boarding. I told him that I was skeptical I could be convinced to leave my dog with a stranger for three weeks, but that I would give her a call.
Gosh this is getting long....I'll try to wrap it up. The woman who owns Lucas House (Carmel Travis) is amazing. I met her on Monday and felt like I had known her all my life. I called my husband and he agreed that we should go with the definitive radiation.
Yesterday I brought Abbie to her first radiation treatment and she seemed completely normal afterwards. I know that will change in a few weeks, but I'm hoping it will be worth it. After the treatment I dropped her off with Carmel. As I was leaving Carmel said, "don't worry, I'll love her for you". I'll be coming back soon to stay at Lucas House and visit my Abbie.
Going to WSU was the best decision I could have made. It was like being in a fairy tale world where everyone loves my dog *almost* as much as I do. Hopefully we'll have a happy ending.
Abbies mom I am glad that you are comfortable with the treatment you have decided on for Abbie as that is the most important thing that you feel comfortable with it. I know it must be very hard to leave her in the care of another but at least it is some one you feel comfortable with. It has been my experience that when I meet other people that are really into dogs that I feel right at home and comfortable with them. When my friend and I drove the 5 rescued homozygous merle aussies to Aussielads in Arizona, My friend was very nervous as we were spending the night at Lorraine and Daves house where we delivered the pups. I only knew her from the internet and conversations we had and that made my friend very nervous .Well right away I liked both of them and Lorraine and I sat up and talked like old friends for half the night I too felt like I had known her my whole life there is just something about dog lovers
I will keep my fingers crossed and make the dogs keep their paws crossed for Abbie. Some old dogs just are not old! Take care and keep us posted on how she is doing. Jan
PS you said" He also added, that from her test results, most likely the only thing keeping her from becoming a 16 year old dog was this nasal tumor. " well what about 18? there are a couple 18 yr old dogs that you would never guess are that old( same family) and they are about 40-50 lb dogs that come to the dog park so come on Abbie! My Jazz is 14 and in great shape too so I tell her she has to beat these two girls!
What a great story, Licia! That's how I felt about Angell Memorial in Boston. Every time I went was a positive experience.
Can you get some more information about the metronomic treatment your doctor mentioned? We'll be starting metronomic chemo soon, and I'd love to hear more.
love the story from abbie's mom. please keep us posted. and thank you all for your kind words about tillie.
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