When a pet is sick, many times their nose will need special attention. Be sure it doesn’t get too dry. A dab of olive oil will help to keep it moisturized. The human baby drops, “Little Noses” really helps to alleviate a stuffy nose. Some dogs will tolerate the syringe bulb to remove discharge, but not Sadie! When we learned of these things, it really seemed to help her feel better.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
What To Do When Your Dog Won’t Eat
Treat anorexia like an emergency! Fast action is of utmost importance. You know your dog better than anyone, and if your vet indicates your pet may just be moody, persnickety, waiting for something better, etc. don’t accept it if you feel otherwise!
Inappetance is often a sign of a much larger problem. For Sadie, she had periodic spells where she wouldn’t eat her food, so the first couple of days of her not eating her dog food were not major causes for concern. At least she was eating chicken and we were in consult with our clinic, right? After 10 days of only eating chicken, I was gravely concerned that she wasn’t receiving proper nourishment. Chicken alone could not have all the nutrition she needed.
She was given the antibiotic Baytril “just in case” while we awaited blood work, and after discovering the pill/taste in her chicken 4 days later, went completely anorexic. It is possible that the Baytril affected her stomach in such a way that she suffered from gastritis or reflux, although I cannot know for sure (note: some dogs indeed go anorexic after taking Baytril). I do know that it’s hard on the gut. Three lessons I learned from this: 1) always give a probiotic during a round of antibiotics. They must be taken several hours apart to ensure the antibiotic can do its job, but the probiotic will make sure that the intestinal tract is not stripped of its good flora. 2) it is not always good to put strong drugs in a gut when you are unsure if there is an infection; sometimes waiting one day on results may not hurt, although not always. 3) inappetance may be caused by nausea, so by using medicines with good anti-nausea properties, your pet may feel better {these include, but are not limited to: cerenia (anti-nausea), mirtazapine (appetite stimulant w/ anti-nausea), pepcid (antacid), tums (antacid + calcium)}. Giving these drugs via mini-syringe mixed with dog food (specialty or watered down canned food), baby cereal, baby food (warning: stay away from carrots!), etc. will help at least with the nausea.
Some days I would cook for hours trying to get my girl to eat! It was very frustrating. The best advice I can give in the cooking department is try to tempt your pet with something that smells very good. I will post recipes in the future, but some suggestions are: pork roast, ground turkey, turkey bacon, bacon treats, eggs, peanut butter, and steak. Make sure all of these are properly drained with NO grease remaining! Another issue is Caloric intake; be sure to check with your vet to find out how many Kcals (1 Kcal =1,000 calories) your animal needs, as it depends on their weight (e.g., Sadie needed 210 kcal to maintain her weight, but 300 + to gain). The supplement NutriCal is also a wonderful resource, as is Ensure (if your pet won’t drink it, try mixing it with heated human baby cereal, giving with a syringe). Muscle mass can be quickly lost and add many complications, and trust me, YOU WANT TO PREVENT IT! During bouts of anorexia, your dog’s glucose level will likely be low; giving them a little syrup or NutriCal will help raise that level. I will post more specific blogs about feeding later. As happy as you will be that your pet is eating (if you are able to get them to eat), do not stop searching for the root of the problem! Getting them to eat is only a means to an end, not the end itself. Your dog is not eating for a reason. I felt like we were on a constant roller coaster, and sometimes when she’d eat I wasn’t always sure what to do next. Was she better now? But never did the eating spells cure the issue, so my advice is to keep looking for answers until you find out the real problem, and TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! If they eat in the meantime, that’s wonderful!
Knowing what I now know, I would suggest the following action if it has been a few days since your pet ate normally:
1) take your pet in and demand blood work {Complete Blood Count (CBC) w/ Differentials, Special Chemistry Panels w/ T4 (checking thyroid), Tick Titers, and Adrenal Function (ACTH) tests}. Some may wish to wait on the results from the CBC and Chemistry panel before proceeding with the others, but these additional tests will tell if it’s a tick-related issue or something is wrong with the adrenals, both frequent culprits behind anorexia. If the CBC shows infection, always ask the vet, “An infection where?” This is of utmost importance! I might even ask for blood cultures to determine the strain of bacteria, so as to treat with the most specific antibiotic possible. {Have the blood tested again immediately after dosage is complete; DO NOT ASSUME THAT THEY WORKED! If the WBC is still high, I would advise IV antibiotics NOW. Yes, that will most likely mean having to take your dog in each day for 10 days or so, and the headache of a catheter, but trust me, if you can beat the infection now, you will save your baby many headaches in the future! Now, I must note that the first time Sadie had her blood taken, her WBC was actually normal, but it would have helped greatly to pay attention to ALL abnormalities, however insignificant they seemed at the time.) If the T4 is low, ask if something can be given, such as levothyroxine, as dogs that may not be chronically hypothyroid often struggle with low levels during illness and meds can provide a needed boost.
2) Urinalysis (sterile sample).
3) Depending on the blood work, an abdominal CT Scan is preferred (some may suggest an ultrasound; if so, have the CD sent to a teaching hospital to be read by a veterinary radiologist; they have years more of experience reading tests than a regular vet). A CT scan will be clearer than an ultrasound.
Obviously, the cost of these can add up quick. That’s why I recommend Insurance! It will take a financial load off of you and give you more freedom. What’s more, if the problem goes on for too many days, you will likely end up spending more money in the long run and be met with far more complications. Again, I cannot stress the importance of quick and swift action! Don’t let a week go by before taking urgent action! It could make all the difference!
Inappetance is often a sign of a much larger problem. For Sadie, she had periodic spells where she wouldn’t eat her food, so the first couple of days of her not eating her dog food were not major causes for concern. At least she was eating chicken and we were in consult with our clinic, right? After 10 days of only eating chicken, I was gravely concerned that she wasn’t receiving proper nourishment. Chicken alone could not have all the nutrition she needed.
She was given the antibiotic Baytril “just in case” while we awaited blood work, and after discovering the pill/taste in her chicken 4 days later, went completely anorexic. It is possible that the Baytril affected her stomach in such a way that she suffered from gastritis or reflux, although I cannot know for sure (note: some dogs indeed go anorexic after taking Baytril). I do know that it’s hard on the gut. Three lessons I learned from this: 1) always give a probiotic during a round of antibiotics. They must be taken several hours apart to ensure the antibiotic can do its job, but the probiotic will make sure that the intestinal tract is not stripped of its good flora. 2) it is not always good to put strong drugs in a gut when you are unsure if there is an infection; sometimes waiting one day on results may not hurt, although not always. 3) inappetance may be caused by nausea, so by using medicines with good anti-nausea properties, your pet may feel better {these include, but are not limited to: cerenia (anti-nausea), mirtazapine (appetite stimulant w/ anti-nausea), pepcid (antacid), tums (antacid + calcium)}. Giving these drugs via mini-syringe mixed with dog food (specialty or watered down canned food), baby cereal, baby food (warning: stay away from carrots!), etc. will help at least with the nausea.
Some days I would cook for hours trying to get my girl to eat! It was very frustrating. The best advice I can give in the cooking department is try to tempt your pet with something that smells very good. I will post recipes in the future, but some suggestions are: pork roast, ground turkey, turkey bacon, bacon treats, eggs, peanut butter, and steak. Make sure all of these are properly drained with NO grease remaining! Another issue is Caloric intake; be sure to check with your vet to find out how many Kcals (1 Kcal =1,000 calories) your animal needs, as it depends on their weight (e.g., Sadie needed 210 kcal to maintain her weight, but 300 + to gain). The supplement NutriCal is also a wonderful resource, as is Ensure (if your pet won’t drink it, try mixing it with heated human baby cereal, giving with a syringe). Muscle mass can be quickly lost and add many complications, and trust me, YOU WANT TO PREVENT IT! During bouts of anorexia, your dog’s glucose level will likely be low; giving them a little syrup or NutriCal will help raise that level. I will post more specific blogs about feeding later. As happy as you will be that your pet is eating (if you are able to get them to eat), do not stop searching for the root of the problem! Getting them to eat is only a means to an end, not the end itself. Your dog is not eating for a reason. I felt like we were on a constant roller coaster, and sometimes when she’d eat I wasn’t always sure what to do next. Was she better now? But never did the eating spells cure the issue, so my advice is to keep looking for answers until you find out the real problem, and TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! If they eat in the meantime, that’s wonderful!
Knowing what I now know, I would suggest the following action if it has been a few days since your pet ate normally:
1) take your pet in and demand blood work {Complete Blood Count (CBC) w/ Differentials, Special Chemistry Panels w/ T4 (checking thyroid), Tick Titers, and Adrenal Function (ACTH) tests}. Some may wish to wait on the results from the CBC and Chemistry panel before proceeding with the others, but these additional tests will tell if it’s a tick-related issue or something is wrong with the adrenals, both frequent culprits behind anorexia. If the CBC shows infection, always ask the vet, “An infection where?” This is of utmost importance! I might even ask for blood cultures to determine the strain of bacteria, so as to treat with the most specific antibiotic possible. {Have the blood tested again immediately after dosage is complete; DO NOT ASSUME THAT THEY WORKED! If the WBC is still high, I would advise IV antibiotics NOW. Yes, that will most likely mean having to take your dog in each day for 10 days or so, and the headache of a catheter, but trust me, if you can beat the infection now, you will save your baby many headaches in the future! Now, I must note that the first time Sadie had her blood taken, her WBC was actually normal, but it would have helped greatly to pay attention to ALL abnormalities, however insignificant they seemed at the time.) If the T4 is low, ask if something can be given, such as levothyroxine, as dogs that may not be chronically hypothyroid often struggle with low levels during illness and meds can provide a needed boost.
2) Urinalysis (sterile sample).
3) Depending on the blood work, an abdominal CT Scan is preferred (some may suggest an ultrasound; if so, have the CD sent to a teaching hospital to be read by a veterinary radiologist; they have years more of experience reading tests than a regular vet). A CT scan will be clearer than an ultrasound.
Obviously, the cost of these can add up quick. That’s why I recommend Insurance! It will take a financial load off of you and give you more freedom. What’s more, if the problem goes on for too many days, you will likely end up spending more money in the long run and be met with far more complications. Again, I cannot stress the importance of quick and swift action! Don’t let a week go by before taking urgent action! It could make all the difference!
New Direction for the Blog
Now that Sadie’s story has been told, the format of the blogs will change. They will now be subject-related tidbits seeking to help pet owners that are perhaps going through similar situations to what I went through. I pray these are a source of comfort and help to you, and I know it’s one of the best ways for me to honor the memory of my precious Sadie.
Saying Goodbye
I had never been so grateful for Sadie. She had been such a blessing to so many lives. While we were the ones who “rescued” her, in so many ways she was the giving one. We could have never asked for more than her. I know in my heart I did everything I could to save her life. I had never tried so hard with anything in all my years. Though she died, I could not feel like I failed, because I know the giver and taker of life’s breath. It was her time. We’d done all we could do. Now it was time to let her go, hard as it may be.
{The next day we would receive the lab reports back. They showed that her bone marrow was failing to produce new Red Blood Cells. This was the cause of death. Sadie’s WBC had actually returned to normal for the first time since Feb. 29, and only the 2nd time since at least Feb. 4. I was so relieved that she had actually beat the infection. But all of this confirmed that Sadie had been battling a leukemic form of lymphoma. There was nothing more we could have done.}
Since her dental surgery in December, I had literally watched my girl ‘round the clock. I had been in “survival mode” for these last months, and my concept of time was on a different scale. We had not gone out to eat, save for holidays, since January. I had attended no social functions since December. I’m not even sure I had gone grocery shopping since January. The only places I went were absolute necessities. She had not been by herself since Feb. 17, and that was for a mere ½ hour. I would not have had it any other way. I know I did everything I could to make my baby’s life more comfortable and attend to her every need. She had always been there for me, and I could do no less for her.
We were so thankful that my sister-in-law and her friend had been there. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise. Our friend called all our students to let them know there’d be no class that evening. Our sister made arrangements to bury Sadie in the family plot at a local pet cemetery. They were so strong for us, though I know how very dearly they loved our girl, too. To say Sadie loved them is a major understatement.
It was not easy to say good-bye, but there’s a place I can go to visit and remember, as often as I need. I’m grateful for hundreds of photos that I can gaze upon, smile, laugh, cry and remember whenever I need to. We kept thanking God for our Sadie, thanking him for blessing us with her precious life. She had been exactly what we needed. She was so “right” for us. So many aspects of her life were miracles: the way she came to be with us, her survival of squamous cell carcinoma in ’04, even the fact that she held on to hope as long as she did throughout this illness. We were so grateful that for the most part, she didn’t realize she was even sick. I can’t fully say how those memories from only a few nights before when she barked and carried on have made my heart smile over the months. There will never be another Sadie. I’m glad we cherished her while we had the chance.
Since her dental surgery in December, I had literally watched my girl ‘round the clock. I had been in “survival mode” for these last months, and my concept of time was on a different scale. We had not gone out to eat, save for holidays, since January. I had attended no social functions since December. I’m not even sure I had gone grocery shopping since January. The only places I went were absolute necessities. She had not been by herself since Feb. 17, and that was for a mere ½ hour. I would not have had it any other way. I know I did everything I could to make my baby’s life more comfortable and attend to her every need. She had always been there for me, and I could do no less for her.
We were so thankful that my sister-in-law and her friend had been there. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise. Our friend called all our students to let them know there’d be no class that evening. Our sister made arrangements to bury Sadie in the family plot at a local pet cemetery. They were so strong for us, though I know how very dearly they loved our girl, too. To say Sadie loved them is a major understatement.
It was not easy to say good-bye, but there’s a place I can go to visit and remember, as often as I need. I’m grateful for hundreds of photos that I can gaze upon, smile, laugh, cry and remember whenever I need to. We kept thanking God for our Sadie, thanking him for blessing us with her precious life. She had been exactly what we needed. She was so “right” for us. So many aspects of her life were miracles: the way she came to be with us, her survival of squamous cell carcinoma in ’04, even the fact that she held on to hope as long as she did throughout this illness. We were so grateful that for the most part, she didn’t realize she was even sick. I can’t fully say how those memories from only a few nights before when she barked and carried on have made my heart smile over the months. There will never be another Sadie. I’m glad we cherished her while we had the chance.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
One Last Look
We arrived back home and though we were scheduled to teach a class that evening, made the decision that I would stay with Sadie while my husband left for 2 hours to teach it by himself. She was acting weak, though not out of the norm after a major medical procedure. We were both heartbroken about the news the vet had shared. Was this really it? How could that be? Sadie was beating the infection! I would know the blood results tomorrow and I knew in my heart the infection was gone and her WBC was normal. Her RBC was obviously another issue. We were warned that if this indeed was a leukemic form of lymphoma and not merely an abscess, then there wasn’t much we could do about her RBCs. The possibility existed that it could be both, but with Sadie’s reaction to the transfusion, leukemia alone was the more likely culprit. We had tried so hard, come so far. I just couldn’t believe that it was to end like this. I was prone to wonder if giving the blood transfusion was the right thing to do, but in my heart I know that if she had passed away that day and we hadn’t given it to her when we could have, it would have been difficult for me to handle.
Of course, looking back with all of the knowledge I now have, there are things I would have done differently. I would have taken her back to the teaching hospital for all the extensive blood work, or at least requested the same tests taken at the local clinic, sending the samples to be evaluated there at the hospital. I would have taken her for a CT scan (although by the time we got her lymphoma diagnosis, there wasn’t really any point in doing so). I would have ordered Cisapride for her motility earlier. I would have used little syringes to administer meds. I would have made sure her antibiotics were given through an IV. I would have insisted something be done for her albumin/total protein levels. I could give an endless list of “would-haves”, but the truth remains that I always did what I believed what was best for Sadie with the information I had at the time. So many things I would have done, had I only known. I can lay my head down at night knowing I did everything within my power to save my Sadie. That’s one of the main factors in posting this blog: to help those dealing with a beloved pet’s illness be more informed and hopefully alleviate some stress and help the pet to have comfort.
My husband wanted us to sit with Sadie out on our favorite bench in the front yard. We had so much to do that day, but nothing else really mattered but Sadie. He held her facing me, and we just sat there together, the last time the three of us would be on the same bench together. I wasn’t ready for her to go. I still believed she was going to pull through. We went inside and got situated for the afternoon. My sister-in-law and her friend came by. My husband cleaned Sadie’s nose. I tried to show her toys to her. I set up my computer right next to her so I could make notes for the evening’s class. Sadie began to spit up. My husband came over to help and held her, while I put down a towel on her bed. She looked at me with the most precious look. And then, it was over. Just like that. My heart sunk as I told my husband I didn’t think she was breathing. I could not believe it. My life would never be the same.
Of course, looking back with all of the knowledge I now have, there are things I would have done differently. I would have taken her back to the teaching hospital for all the extensive blood work, or at least requested the same tests taken at the local clinic, sending the samples to be evaluated there at the hospital. I would have taken her for a CT scan (although by the time we got her lymphoma diagnosis, there wasn’t really any point in doing so). I would have ordered Cisapride for her motility earlier. I would have used little syringes to administer meds. I would have made sure her antibiotics were given through an IV. I would have insisted something be done for her albumin/total protein levels. I could give an endless list of “would-haves”, but the truth remains that I always did what I believed what was best for Sadie with the information I had at the time. So many things I would have done, had I only known. I can lay my head down at night knowing I did everything within my power to save my Sadie. That’s one of the main factors in posting this blog: to help those dealing with a beloved pet’s illness be more informed and hopefully alleviate some stress and help the pet to have comfort.
My husband wanted us to sit with Sadie out on our favorite bench in the front yard. We had so much to do that day, but nothing else really mattered but Sadie. He held her facing me, and we just sat there together, the last time the three of us would be on the same bench together. I wasn’t ready for her to go. I still believed she was going to pull through. We went inside and got situated for the afternoon. My sister-in-law and her friend came by. My husband cleaned Sadie’s nose. I tried to show her toys to her. I set up my computer right next to her so I could make notes for the evening’s class. Sadie began to spit up. My husband came over to help and held her, while I put down a towel on her bed. She looked at me with the most precious look. And then, it was over. Just like that. My heart sunk as I told my husband I didn’t think she was breathing. I could not believe it. My life would never be the same.
Trying to Save Sadie
I had great hope to be rid of the infection, yet apprehension knowing Sadie’s usual reaction to antibiotics, much less through an IV. The first day was an absolute nightmare. Sadie’s veins blew on the first catheter. And on the 2nd. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was primarily due to low albumin. The search to find an alternate vein was most difficult. As I was about to leave, the vet informed me that she would not be back for a week. This was my worst fear in changing vets. My goodness, we were at our most critical crisis point and now we had to meet a new vet who knew nothing of Sadie at all! What followed was a most difficult week. The next day, Sadie’s vein blew again, only this time while the drug was being administered. She snapped her teeth and showed she still had a fight left! I know it must have hurt terribly, and it pained me beyond words. Being that I had no relationship with this other vet, I could tell she was pacifying me. The next day, she told me that she thought I was wasting my time. I AM NOT A QUITTER! Nor was Sadie. This infuriated me! If she had only seen how Sadie had been improving before the IVs. I would never let Sadie live in pain. I didn’t think it was cruel of me to try to save this baby’s life. It was only with the drastic measures that she would regress. It was a horrible week. We sensed Sadie was tired. Goodness, anyone whose red blood cell count was as low as hers would have been weak, too. As usual, Sadie did not react well to antibiotics. But this time it was much worse because of the catheter. Walking on her own was nigh impossible, and we feared she would fall if we let her alone. It had become difficult for her to stand up by herself, which saddened me immensely. She was very lethargic, and was so affected she didn’t act like she knew loved ones. I kept thinking, “It will all be worth it if we can just beat this infection.”
Yet, in the midst of it all, Sadie did make improvements. On April 19, my husband’s sister and her friend came to see her. We had asked if there was anyway they could come over and help us with Sadie’s walking. They loved on her and spoke tenderly to her. Unexpectedly, Sadie got up and went to our friend, giving her that knowing look. You see, this friend and Sadie had a special bond and she always had something tasty for Sadie. Sadie’s behavior was so sweet. It had been about a month since Sadie had drunk any water on her own. I didn’t like that, but the risk of her vomiting had been so great. I really wanted her to drink again. My sister-in-law tried to get her to drink some water before she left, but she refused. She and her friend were leaving, and my husband went outside to say good-bye. I was putting the water bowl away and thought, “let’s try one more time.” And she took it! She licked up the water! I ran to the door and yelled, “She’s drinking water again!” They rushed back in and it was a joyous moment. I could tell she was happy that they had come by.
The next day was rough. Her veins were so weak and after we returned home from the vet, Sadie didn’t want me to touch her. She snapped at me, growled at me, and I could tell she was hurting. She cried, as something had happened with her veins. I got a hold of the emergency vet, and he asked me to wrap her legs with warm wash cloths. It worked. She calmed down, but I felt so bad that she’d had that happen. We had all begun to wonder if the medicine was poisoning her. The next day, we had her blood taken to monitor her progress. Her WBC was 27.4, still high, though drastically improved. The antibiotics were working! On the down side, her Hematocrit had dropped a little, to 19.2, and her RBCs drastically decreased to 2.74. Something should have been done about those numbers. Still, we were encouraged that her WBC was going down.
She the cutest thing that night. My husband and I had driven separately that day, and I had briefly dropped Sadie off with his parents while we taught a class. (I may not have said this before, but I took care of Sadie ‘round the clock. If I had to get up at 2 or 3am to make sure she was fed enough calories in a day, I did it. Time was no hindrance. Taking care of her was my #1 priority for 3 months.) On our way home, we stopped to gas up the cars. A friend came to the car and tried to talk to me through the window. When Sadie saw him, she started barking at him, and she actually scared him! Oh, my, was she ever proud! She had not gone on like that for a very long time, and I was moved to tears. I yelled to my husband, “She’s barking, she’s barking!” On the way home, I praised her to no end. And she did the sweetest thing; she mimicked my tone. I didn’t know what to think. I would say something to her, and she would “speak” back to me with the same tone and length. I had seen dogs do this on TV, but she had never done that before. It was the sweetest thing in the world. She was so proud of herself for scaring our friend, and I was proud of her, too! That was on April 21, and she still had a little spunk. She certainly had the will to live.
My husband went in with me the next day to the vet. We had a frank discussion with her. I do believe she just didn’t understand Sadie’s history and recent improvements, and her comments were an effort to be merciful. From that moment, we understood each other, and she kept her opinions to herself. We were still very concerned that Sadie’s mental state was not up to par. Sadie’s vet was set to return the next day, and we discussed our concerns then again. Sadie had been groaning after we fed her and this concerned us greatly. What was causing the discomfort? During that visit, we discussed how to treat her anemia. Sadie was given hetastarch that day to help with her leaky vessels. The vet discussed how blood transfusions were done in canines, and I thought perhaps this might be an option once we were finished with her antibiotics. I didn’t want her to go through too much stress. We had a really rough night. Before retiring for the evening, my husband looked at me knowingly and stated how very tired Sadie looked. She had been through so much. We both knew we would never let her live in a state of suffering. Sadie woke up in the night and had an accident. Something was different, and we both sensed a very awkward feeling. Early the next morning, my sister-in-law called to say she thought the Gentocen was poisoning Sadie and thought we needed to discontinue it for that day, do another blood test, and perhaps her WBC would have come down. I agreed, and we even asked her and her friend to come with us to the clinic. I remember telling my husband, “I’m okay with letting her rest from the IV today, but I don’t want to do anything drastic.” He agreed. When we arrived, Sadie’s regular vet had left, but my sister-in-law was able to reach her and she returned. We all talked about Sadie’s behavior. Then the vet started pushing to do a blood transfusion right then to combat the severe anemia. That wasn’t what I was planning on, but the vet said she needed it “today.” Would it hurt her? I was told, “no.” I felt so desperate, but all professional opinions encouraged us to try it. I stayed with her throughout the entire process. The vet was kind enough to bring her own dog in, put him “under” to obtain his blood and then give it to my Sadie. They had a terrible time finding a good vein. It was the other doctor who was called upon to find the vein, at last. It was in her upper thigh, not exactly where her vet had wanted. I remember seeing her make the sign of the cross and I realized how serious this was. They brought Sadie into the client’s room while the 4 of us loved ones were around. Sadie should have perked up immediately. Her little paws were moving a bit, but she wasn’t visibly improving. The vet came in, and noticed Sadie had bruised immensely on her stomach, but reassured us that the blood was going through the vein. She then, with tears in her eyes said, “I’m not liking what I’m seeing. She doesn’t look good. We tried, but this isn’t helping her. She should have perked up by now. She may pass today or tomorrow. I’m so sorry.” What? I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Everyone told me this wouldn’t hurt her, her WBC is coming down, and you’re telling me that I only have a few hours?” But I was reassured it wasn’t the blood transfusion that would take her, it was the low RBC count. It was a somber ride back home as I held my baby for one last car ride together.
Yet, in the midst of it all, Sadie did make improvements. On April 19, my husband’s sister and her friend came to see her. We had asked if there was anyway they could come over and help us with Sadie’s walking. They loved on her and spoke tenderly to her. Unexpectedly, Sadie got up and went to our friend, giving her that knowing look. You see, this friend and Sadie had a special bond and she always had something tasty for Sadie. Sadie’s behavior was so sweet. It had been about a month since Sadie had drunk any water on her own. I didn’t like that, but the risk of her vomiting had been so great. I really wanted her to drink again. My sister-in-law tried to get her to drink some water before she left, but she refused. She and her friend were leaving, and my husband went outside to say good-bye. I was putting the water bowl away and thought, “let’s try one more time.” And she took it! She licked up the water! I ran to the door and yelled, “She’s drinking water again!” They rushed back in and it was a joyous moment. I could tell she was happy that they had come by.
The next day was rough. Her veins were so weak and after we returned home from the vet, Sadie didn’t want me to touch her. She snapped at me, growled at me, and I could tell she was hurting. She cried, as something had happened with her veins. I got a hold of the emergency vet, and he asked me to wrap her legs with warm wash cloths. It worked. She calmed down, but I felt so bad that she’d had that happen. We had all begun to wonder if the medicine was poisoning her. The next day, we had her blood taken to monitor her progress. Her WBC was 27.4, still high, though drastically improved. The antibiotics were working! On the down side, her Hematocrit had dropped a little, to 19.2, and her RBCs drastically decreased to 2.74. Something should have been done about those numbers. Still, we were encouraged that her WBC was going down.
She the cutest thing that night. My husband and I had driven separately that day, and I had briefly dropped Sadie off with his parents while we taught a class. (I may not have said this before, but I took care of Sadie ‘round the clock. If I had to get up at 2 or 3am to make sure she was fed enough calories in a day, I did it. Time was no hindrance. Taking care of her was my #1 priority for 3 months.) On our way home, we stopped to gas up the cars. A friend came to the car and tried to talk to me through the window. When Sadie saw him, she started barking at him, and she actually scared him! Oh, my, was she ever proud! She had not gone on like that for a very long time, and I was moved to tears. I yelled to my husband, “She’s barking, she’s barking!” On the way home, I praised her to no end. And she did the sweetest thing; she mimicked my tone. I didn’t know what to think. I would say something to her, and she would “speak” back to me with the same tone and length. I had seen dogs do this on TV, but she had never done that before. It was the sweetest thing in the world. She was so proud of herself for scaring our friend, and I was proud of her, too! That was on April 21, and she still had a little spunk. She certainly had the will to live.
My husband went in with me the next day to the vet. We had a frank discussion with her. I do believe she just didn’t understand Sadie’s history and recent improvements, and her comments were an effort to be merciful. From that moment, we understood each other, and she kept her opinions to herself. We were still very concerned that Sadie’s mental state was not up to par. Sadie’s vet was set to return the next day, and we discussed our concerns then again. Sadie had been groaning after we fed her and this concerned us greatly. What was causing the discomfort? During that visit, we discussed how to treat her anemia. Sadie was given hetastarch that day to help with her leaky vessels. The vet discussed how blood transfusions were done in canines, and I thought perhaps this might be an option once we were finished with her antibiotics. I didn’t want her to go through too much stress. We had a really rough night. Before retiring for the evening, my husband looked at me knowingly and stated how very tired Sadie looked. She had been through so much. We both knew we would never let her live in a state of suffering. Sadie woke up in the night and had an accident. Something was different, and we both sensed a very awkward feeling. Early the next morning, my sister-in-law called to say she thought the Gentocen was poisoning Sadie and thought we needed to discontinue it for that day, do another blood test, and perhaps her WBC would have come down. I agreed, and we even asked her and her friend to come with us to the clinic. I remember telling my husband, “I’m okay with letting her rest from the IV today, but I don’t want to do anything drastic.” He agreed. When we arrived, Sadie’s regular vet had left, but my sister-in-law was able to reach her and she returned. We all talked about Sadie’s behavior. Then the vet started pushing to do a blood transfusion right then to combat the severe anemia. That wasn’t what I was planning on, but the vet said she needed it “today.” Would it hurt her? I was told, “no.” I felt so desperate, but all professional opinions encouraged us to try it. I stayed with her throughout the entire process. The vet was kind enough to bring her own dog in, put him “under” to obtain his blood and then give it to my Sadie. They had a terrible time finding a good vein. It was the other doctor who was called upon to find the vein, at last. It was in her upper thigh, not exactly where her vet had wanted. I remember seeing her make the sign of the cross and I realized how serious this was. They brought Sadie into the client’s room while the 4 of us loved ones were around. Sadie should have perked up immediately. Her little paws were moving a bit, but she wasn’t visibly improving. The vet came in, and noticed Sadie had bruised immensely on her stomach, but reassured us that the blood was going through the vein. She then, with tears in her eyes said, “I’m not liking what I’m seeing. She doesn’t look good. We tried, but this isn’t helping her. She should have perked up by now. She may pass today or tomorrow. I’m so sorry.” What? I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Everyone told me this wouldn’t hurt her, her WBC is coming down, and you’re telling me that I only have a few hours?” But I was reassured it wasn’t the blood transfusion that would take her, it was the low RBC count. It was a somber ride back home as I held my baby for one last car ride together.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Many Improvements, Yet Bad Reports
After our return from “the cabin,” our loved ones were truly amazed at Sadie’s improvement. I’ll never forget her walking on her own into my in-laws’ home and them laughing for joy. We were all so happy.
On Tues. April 8, even her vet noticed the improvement. Now, I’m not saying Sadie was bounding up and down stairs and running around the house. But what I am saying is that we had come a long way in the last 2 weeks! She was barking again. She was paying attention to life again. It was obvious that she felt better. And I was glad! We had her blood drawn to see if her infection had subsided. At lunchtime, I left her with my in-laws while we celebrated my father’s birthday. It was a very good day. Later that night, I had to leave for 2 hours and when I got home, she wasn’t doing as well, and she seemed very tired. I blamed myself for leaving her, although it wasn’t really my fault. What was wrong? I thought things were getting better. Oh, the merry-go-round continued…..
For whatever reason, I did not hear back from Sadie’s vet the next day, even though the results were sent to the clinic. This did not sit well with me. When I did hear back on Thursday, I learned that Sadie’s WBC had not gone down, but rather sky-high, up to 53! Other abnormalities: Hemoglobin 5.6 (low), Hematocrit 19.6 (low), RBC 2.74 (low), MCHC 28.6 (low), Platelets 480 (high), Neutrophils 47,170 (high), Lymphocytes 4770 (high), Monocytes 1060 (high), slight Polychromasia, slight Anisocytosis, HRBC 1, Toxic Neutrophils +1, Reticulocytes 4.7 (high), Absolute Reticulocytes 128,780 (high), and Corrected Reticulocytes 1.9. The vet was now leaning to the notion that either Sadie had an abscess, or her lymphoma was leukemic. The vet did say that it was a very good thing that Sadie was making new Red Blood Cells, and she was encouraged by that. She asked another pathologist to look at her blood work. While we waited, I was to bring Sadie in the next morning for an ultrasound to check for an abscess. Thankfully, her organs looked great. There were not the usual organ enlargements typically seen with lymphoma. But then again, nothing was ever typical when it came to Sadie. The vet was going to wait on the pathologist before we changed any meds, but for now we were coming to terms with the leukemic form of t-cell lymphoma.
We noticed a trend: in those times where Sadie seemed to drastically improve, we would get bad test results! Go figure. The silver lining was that Sadie didn’t know about those bad reports, and that was a comfort.
It was a long weekend as we awaited news. I received a call on Monday, though the report stated that it had come in shortly before the clinic had closed on Saturday. What a difference the weekend would have made! These issues point to my first inhibitions about switching clinics. I was not seeing that Sadie was a priority. Although knowledgeable, did they think Sadie was too far gone and put her needs on the backburner? We felt increasingly alone. The pathologist’s report stated, “Poorly progressive regenerative anemia and inflammatory leukocytosis along with chronic hypoalbuminia suggest exudation or intestinal loss because of intestinal abscess.” Abscess? Is this not what I had suggested way back when she first got sick only 3 weeks after dental surgery & inguinal biopsy? Did something go wrong during surgery? Were the pre-surgery antibiotics effective? Did she get enough antibiotics? Did I make dosage mistakes? Does cancer have anything to do with what we’ve been going through at all? Would all those drugs in her stomach have adversely affected her? A plethora of thoughts now filled my mind. The irony of it all is that’s also the reason my husband had been hospitalized back in November.
At this point, we were working with the notion that Sadie’s resistance to antibiotics was because they weren’t reaching the abscess. What could we do? My RN sister-in-law had previously suggested IV antibiotics, so I again suggested that to the vet. It really was the only option we had. I would bring Sadie in the next morning, and for the next 10 days she would receive antibiotics via IV approximately every 24 hours. How I wish this had been done at the first sign of infection (note: her WBC had been high prior to chemo, though the count could have been affected by prednisolone; it had dropped to a dangerously low 2.39 four days after her 1st chemo, then was normal 3 days later. After that, it was always high). I didn’t realize how difficult this would be, although I had always known it would not be easy, hence my previous hesitance. They would have to keep the catheter in her leg, which made my heart sink. We were just getting her to walk normally again, we knew this would be a major setback. But we had to do something.
On Tues. April 8, even her vet noticed the improvement. Now, I’m not saying Sadie was bounding up and down stairs and running around the house. But what I am saying is that we had come a long way in the last 2 weeks! She was barking again. She was paying attention to life again. It was obvious that she felt better. And I was glad! We had her blood drawn to see if her infection had subsided. At lunchtime, I left her with my in-laws while we celebrated my father’s birthday. It was a very good day. Later that night, I had to leave for 2 hours and when I got home, she wasn’t doing as well, and she seemed very tired. I blamed myself for leaving her, although it wasn’t really my fault. What was wrong? I thought things were getting better. Oh, the merry-go-round continued…..
For whatever reason, I did not hear back from Sadie’s vet the next day, even though the results were sent to the clinic. This did not sit well with me. When I did hear back on Thursday, I learned that Sadie’s WBC had not gone down, but rather sky-high, up to 53! Other abnormalities: Hemoglobin 5.6 (low), Hematocrit 19.6 (low), RBC 2.74 (low), MCHC 28.6 (low), Platelets 480 (high), Neutrophils 47,170 (high), Lymphocytes 4770 (high), Monocytes 1060 (high), slight Polychromasia, slight Anisocytosis, HRBC 1, Toxic Neutrophils +1, Reticulocytes 4.7 (high), Absolute Reticulocytes 128,780 (high), and Corrected Reticulocytes 1.9. The vet was now leaning to the notion that either Sadie had an abscess, or her lymphoma was leukemic. The vet did say that it was a very good thing that Sadie was making new Red Blood Cells, and she was encouraged by that. She asked another pathologist to look at her blood work. While we waited, I was to bring Sadie in the next morning for an ultrasound to check for an abscess. Thankfully, her organs looked great. There were not the usual organ enlargements typically seen with lymphoma. But then again, nothing was ever typical when it came to Sadie. The vet was going to wait on the pathologist before we changed any meds, but for now we were coming to terms with the leukemic form of t-cell lymphoma.
We noticed a trend: in those times where Sadie seemed to drastically improve, we would get bad test results! Go figure. The silver lining was that Sadie didn’t know about those bad reports, and that was a comfort.
It was a long weekend as we awaited news. I received a call on Monday, though the report stated that it had come in shortly before the clinic had closed on Saturday. What a difference the weekend would have made! These issues point to my first inhibitions about switching clinics. I was not seeing that Sadie was a priority. Although knowledgeable, did they think Sadie was too far gone and put her needs on the backburner? We felt increasingly alone. The pathologist’s report stated, “Poorly progressive regenerative anemia and inflammatory leukocytosis along with chronic hypoalbuminia suggest exudation or intestinal loss because of intestinal abscess.” Abscess? Is this not what I had suggested way back when she first got sick only 3 weeks after dental surgery & inguinal biopsy? Did something go wrong during surgery? Were the pre-surgery antibiotics effective? Did she get enough antibiotics? Did I make dosage mistakes? Does cancer have anything to do with what we’ve been going through at all? Would all those drugs in her stomach have adversely affected her? A plethora of thoughts now filled my mind. The irony of it all is that’s also the reason my husband had been hospitalized back in November.
At this point, we were working with the notion that Sadie’s resistance to antibiotics was because they weren’t reaching the abscess. What could we do? My RN sister-in-law had previously suggested IV antibiotics, so I again suggested that to the vet. It really was the only option we had. I would bring Sadie in the next morning, and for the next 10 days she would receive antibiotics via IV approximately every 24 hours. How I wish this had been done at the first sign of infection (note: her WBC had been high prior to chemo, though the count could have been affected by prednisolone; it had dropped to a dangerously low 2.39 four days after her 1st chemo, then was normal 3 days later. After that, it was always high). I didn’t realize how difficult this would be, although I had always known it would not be easy, hence my previous hesitance. They would have to keep the catheter in her leg, which made my heart sink. We were just getting her to walk normally again, we knew this would be a major setback. But we had to do something.
Our Last Trip to the Cabin
We weren’t exactly headed to a cabin, but Sadie probably didn’t know much difference between one and the cozy cottage we were in. She seemed happy that we took her on such a long car ride. It always made her feel special. And trips always seemed to perk her up! We settled in for the next three nights. I had made advance calls to local vets, ensuring that I would have access to someone 24 hours a day. Thankfully, the clinic was less than 1 mile away.
I did not mention in the previous blog about a new drug that Sadie was on for motility, Cisapride (aka propulsid). It had to be special ordered from a compounding pharmacy and sent from AZ, and it arrived the previous Friday. With it, Sadie wasn’t vomiting as much, which was a huge relief! How I wish she’d been on it since her motility issues began! It was making such a difference. We were now on a good schedule, and seemed to have the “science” down! We also concluded that the drug Carafate was causing lethargy in Sadie. Although its soothing properties were good for her gut, she was far too inactive while on this med, so we discontinued its use.
I cannot fully say how much that trip did for Sadie! It lifted her spirits. It felt like a fresh start. At 5am on April 2, she growled at me, something she hadn’t done in quite a while! I thought she wanted me to pet her, but she needed to go outside. (I haven’t previously mentioned how difficult it had been for her to walk since her tube insertion surgery. She was considerably weakened and her muscles had wasted over time. We had to hold her and help her walk for the last 2 weeks. But at “the cabin” I spent extra time helping her walk on her own and we were making progress while my husband attending meetings. Her vet had also suggested water therapy in the new future, which would help her regain strength). Bless her heart, when we took her out we were gladdened at how much the Cisapride was helping her motility issues and her digestive process. She was getting that spunk back! She even barked at the cleaning lady later that day! We hadn’t heard our girl bark in quite a while. What a sound! It was such a good 3 days, and we believed with all our hearts she would pull through. In fact, there was never a moment where I did not believe that she would make it, save for the night of her last chemo treatment.
When we got back into town, we planned on taking Sadie in that day to get her tube area cleaned and get more blood work. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the vet, even though I had called in advance. This was extremely frustrating for us, because it would be the next Tues. before we could see her (to date, we didn’t know any other vet in the clinic). This is one time where it would have made a difference. How was I to know? Sadie was doing SO much better . . . or so we thought.
I did not mention in the previous blog about a new drug that Sadie was on for motility, Cisapride (aka propulsid). It had to be special ordered from a compounding pharmacy and sent from AZ, and it arrived the previous Friday. With it, Sadie wasn’t vomiting as much, which was a huge relief! How I wish she’d been on it since her motility issues began! It was making such a difference. We were now on a good schedule, and seemed to have the “science” down! We also concluded that the drug Carafate was causing lethargy in Sadie. Although its soothing properties were good for her gut, she was far too inactive while on this med, so we discontinued its use.
I cannot fully say how much that trip did for Sadie! It lifted her spirits. It felt like a fresh start. At 5am on April 2, she growled at me, something she hadn’t done in quite a while! I thought she wanted me to pet her, but she needed to go outside. (I haven’t previously mentioned how difficult it had been for her to walk since her tube insertion surgery. She was considerably weakened and her muscles had wasted over time. We had to hold her and help her walk for the last 2 weeks. But at “the cabin” I spent extra time helping her walk on her own and we were making progress while my husband attending meetings. Her vet had also suggested water therapy in the new future, which would help her regain strength). Bless her heart, when we took her out we were gladdened at how much the Cisapride was helping her motility issues and her digestive process. She was getting that spunk back! She even barked at the cleaning lady later that day! We hadn’t heard our girl bark in quite a while. What a sound! It was such a good 3 days, and we believed with all our hearts she would pull through. In fact, there was never a moment where I did not believe that she would make it, save for the night of her last chemo treatment.
When we got back into town, we planned on taking Sadie in that day to get her tube area cleaned and get more blood work. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the vet, even though I had called in advance. This was extremely frustrating for us, because it would be the next Tues. before we could see her (to date, we didn’t know any other vet in the clinic). This is one time where it would have made a difference. How was I to know? Sadie was doing SO much better . . . or so we thought.
Exploring Other Possibilities
It was Easter Sunday, March 23, and it had been a rough day. By this point, I had researched so many topics on Sadie’s symptoms and I noticed a trend: with each effort to help her, she only grew worse. Why? What would cause this? I was in no way denying that Sadie’s body had cancer cells, but I had done some research on the adrenal glands and started learning about Addison’s Disease. The “crisis” so many of these dogs experience sounded so much like Sadie’s experience with her last chemo (cytoxan) pill, that I now wanted Sadie’s adrenal glands tested. One of the main factors in making sure there were no adrenal problems was that due to her chronic allergies, there were many seasons in her life where she had steroid shots. From the time she was a small pup, she was given a monthly injection for years. When she was in our care, I used a shot as a very last resort, because I had been warned they could overwork the adrenals. I much preferred to give her benadryl, but the key was prevention. For example, we would know the approximate season when her allergies would flare up, so if we gave her preventative doses of benadryl in the days before the bloom, sometimes she wouldn’t have to get a shot. Sometimes it got so bad that we had no other choice. But I was never happy about it.
I made the mistake of asking for the ACTH test “to check for Addison’s.” I was so ignorant about it all, but I should have just asked for the adrenals to be checked. Wouldn’t you know it? Her test on March 25 came back positive for the opposite of Addison’s – Cushing’s Syndrome (Pre-Cortisol: 21.7; Post: 41.6)! I didn’t really know much about it, but the doctor said we would have to disregard the results for this reason: you never get tested looking for one issue and receive the opposite diagnosis. It’s not good medical practice to do so. She even told me, “You don’t want this to be Cushing’s. You have to give your dog chemo-like meds and follow a strict regimen. There are many ups and downs. You don’t want it to be Cushing’s.” I kept thinking, “But I’m ignorant; I’m the one who brought it up! Couldn’t I have made a mistake in asking what to look for?” Still, I know I’m not a medical doctor, and would have to defer to the vet’s experience. We did not pursue Cushing’s, but I will post similarities between Sadie’s symptoms over the last 2 years of her life and Cushinoid dogs (many things that are typical of old age can also be caused by Cushing's):
1) She had a ravenous appetite (until she went anorexic).
2) In 2003, she gained several pounds (was up to 23 pounds); this was while we were out of the country. We had her on Hills W/D and rationed her food, and she stabilized. (Good weight for her was 18 lbs.) In the last year ½ prior to her illness, she actually lost 2 pounds.
3) Whenever people would say she was skinny (in her healthy years), we’d just say, “look at her belly!” Her nickname was the “pot-bellied pig”.
4) She had funny sleep patterns and her “happy hour” was between 3 and 4 am.
5) In 2004, she had bladder stones & surgery.
6) Her hair was thinning a bit, and her skin was very sensitive over the last year and a half. In fact, she was so sensitive that that groomers would refuse to take her because she bit them if she was in pain. She was not able to walk stairs or jump on furniture as well in her older years.
7) She had numerous “old age warts,” and quite a number of them were removed during the final dental surgery.
8) Her drinking habits were odd: sometimes she would go hours without drinking, but whenever she drank…..it was like a horse! Bless her heart, she almost always had a coughing spell after drinking (due to her enlarged heart).
9) She had protein deposits on her eyes.
10) For at least the past several months, her Albumin was low.
11) She had severe muscle wasting. Before she was sick, she did feel “bony,” but just thought she was getting older. She continued to malabsorb some of her food even with the feeding tube, due to the protein loss.
12) She was diagnosed as being hypothyroid in the last months of her life.
13) She rarely had an easy recovery from surgery.
14) She had High Platelet Counts.
I made the mistake of asking for the ACTH test “to check for Addison’s.” I was so ignorant about it all, but I should have just asked for the adrenals to be checked. Wouldn’t you know it? Her test on March 25 came back positive for the opposite of Addison’s – Cushing’s Syndrome (Pre-Cortisol: 21.7; Post: 41.6)! I didn’t really know much about it, but the doctor said we would have to disregard the results for this reason: you never get tested looking for one issue and receive the opposite diagnosis. It’s not good medical practice to do so. She even told me, “You don’t want this to be Cushing’s. You have to give your dog chemo-like meds and follow a strict regimen. There are many ups and downs. You don’t want it to be Cushing’s.” I kept thinking, “But I’m ignorant; I’m the one who brought it up! Couldn’t I have made a mistake in asking what to look for?” Still, I know I’m not a medical doctor, and would have to defer to the vet’s experience. We did not pursue Cushing’s, but I will post similarities between Sadie’s symptoms over the last 2 years of her life and Cushinoid dogs (many things that are typical of old age can also be caused by Cushing's):
1) She had a ravenous appetite (until she went anorexic).
2) In 2003, she gained several pounds (was up to 23 pounds); this was while we were out of the country. We had her on Hills W/D and rationed her food, and she stabilized. (Good weight for her was 18 lbs.) In the last year ½ prior to her illness, she actually lost 2 pounds.
3) Whenever people would say she was skinny (in her healthy years), we’d just say, “look at her belly!” Her nickname was the “pot-bellied pig”.
4) She had funny sleep patterns and her “happy hour” was between 3 and 4 am.
5) In 2004, she had bladder stones & surgery.
6) Her hair was thinning a bit, and her skin was very sensitive over the last year and a half. In fact, she was so sensitive that that groomers would refuse to take her because she bit them if she was in pain. She was not able to walk stairs or jump on furniture as well in her older years.
7) She had numerous “old age warts,” and quite a number of them were removed during the final dental surgery.
8) Her drinking habits were odd: sometimes she would go hours without drinking, but whenever she drank…..it was like a horse! Bless her heart, she almost always had a coughing spell after drinking (due to her enlarged heart).
9) She had protein deposits on her eyes.
10) For at least the past several months, her Albumin was low.
11) She had severe muscle wasting. Before she was sick, she did feel “bony,” but just thought she was getting older. She continued to malabsorb some of her food even with the feeding tube, due to the protein loss.
12) She was diagnosed as being hypothyroid in the last months of her life.
13) She rarely had an easy recovery from surgery.
14) She had High Platelet Counts.
15) She had High Monocytes.
16) She had High Neutrophils.
17) She had Protein Loss.
Other abnormalities from Sadie’s labs that day were: Hemoglobin 9.2 (low), Hematocrit 27.8 (low), WBC 36.6 (high), MCV 4.33 (low), Platelets 554 (high), Neutrophils 28,548 (high), Bands 1098 (high), Monocytes 4026 (high), slight Polychromasia, moderate Dohle bodies, slight toxic granulation, few Howell Jolly bodies, BUN 63 (high), Total Protein 4.5 (low), Albumin 1.6 (low), Calcium 7.7 (low), and Chloride 97 (low). A lot of things were abnormal. Her WBC was way too high, so we tried a broader class of antibiotic, Cephalexin. If I had it to do over, Sadie would have received IV antibiotics at this point. I also wish we had given her something for her Hematocrit then! A dog with anemia has very little energy. Another help at this point would have been Hetastarch for the protein/albumin issues. If I had only known! I was doing the best I could with the knowledge I possessed.
What we could discern at this point was that Sadie was battling an infection. The possibility also existed that Sadie’s lymphoma was a leukemic form. We’d have to give these antibiotics a few days and then go from there. In the meantime, there was a conference we were set to attend in the mountains. There was no way we were going to leave our baby, so I suggested we take Sadie with us and see if it perked her up. I knew it was a risk, but nothing seemed to have helped at this point, hard as we were trying. We told her we were going “to the cabin” and she knew what that meant. On March 31, we set out on our trip, hoping it would make a difference!
Other abnormalities from Sadie’s labs that day were: Hemoglobin 9.2 (low), Hematocrit 27.8 (low), WBC 36.6 (high), MCV 4.33 (low), Platelets 554 (high), Neutrophils 28,548 (high), Bands 1098 (high), Monocytes 4026 (high), slight Polychromasia, moderate Dohle bodies, slight toxic granulation, few Howell Jolly bodies, BUN 63 (high), Total Protein 4.5 (low), Albumin 1.6 (low), Calcium 7.7 (low), and Chloride 97 (low). A lot of things were abnormal. Her WBC was way too high, so we tried a broader class of antibiotic, Cephalexin. If I had it to do over, Sadie would have received IV antibiotics at this point. I also wish we had given her something for her Hematocrit then! A dog with anemia has very little energy. Another help at this point would have been Hetastarch for the protein/albumin issues. If I had only known! I was doing the best I could with the knowledge I possessed.
What we could discern at this point was that Sadie was battling an infection. The possibility also existed that Sadie’s lymphoma was a leukemic form. We’d have to give these antibiotics a few days and then go from there. In the meantime, there was a conference we were set to attend in the mountains. There was no way we were going to leave our baby, so I suggested we take Sadie with us and see if it perked her up. I knew it was a risk, but nothing seemed to have helped at this point, hard as we were trying. We told her we were going “to the cabin” and she knew what that meant. On March 31, we set out on our trip, hoping it would make a difference!
Something We Never Thought We’d Do . . . Sadie Gets a Feeding Tube
Sadie’s blood test earlier in the week indicated her WBC was 32.2, which way far too high. Since we were unsure if it was the lymphoma or an infection, the antibiotic Orbax had been prescribed. I will make a separate post on this subject in the future, but for now I must mention the benefits of pro-biotics. Antibiotics can be very harsh on the stomach, killing the good bacteria as well as the bad. Because of this, probiotics are a good way to maintain the good flora that is in the intestine. They must be administered several hours apart, but they will eliminate the risk of gastritis or acid reflux, which can cause perpetual nausea. The manner I gave them to Sadie was by crushing a ½ yogurt tab. I could have also used yogurt containing live cultures. I noticed that whenever I gave these to Sadie, she seemed soothed, and in fact, there was only 1 occasion where she threw up after its administration.
The new doctor phoned us with the results of Sadie’s labs. {Abnormalities: Hematocrit 35.4 (low), WBC 24.5 (high, but greatly improved from only 3 days before), Platelets 639 (high), Neutrophils 21,315 (high), Basophils 245 (high), Glucose 59 (low), BUN 35 (high), Total Protein 4.2 (low), Albumin 1.8 (low), Calcium 8.2 (low), Free T4 8 (borderline low). Sadie was put on levothyroxin for her thyroid, as previous tests had indicated very low levels. It would give her a boost. Another thing the new vet suggested to raise Sadie’s glucose level was to place a little syrup on her tongue. She seemed to perk up when I did that. How I wish I had known 2 months before! It definitely would have helped! The new vet and I had a frank discussion on how to get Sadie eating. She was honest with me, there was only 2 ways to feed a dog who will not eat on their own: 1) force feed 2) feeding tube. The appetite stimulant wasn’t al that effective anymore, and we’d been force-feeding Sadie since Feb. 4. All too often the meal would be lost because Sadie would get so hyper. My husband and I felt like we were at the end of our rope. I feel I need to repeat that Sadie still did not know she was sick! Yes, we’d had our low points, but she still had the will to live. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. For the last month, we’d believed it was the lymphoma. Yet, as so many other things with Sadie, her behavior was not typical. Maybe the thyroid medicine and raising Sadie’s sugar level would help. But that wasn’t a solution. I felt strongly that we should allow a feeding tube to be placed in Sadie. Otherwise, she’d starve while we were trying to get to the bottom of things. I could not let the reason Sadie died be because she starved to death. After much discussion, my husband agreed. We thought we were doing what was best for her, but I will pause a moment to say that one thing in particular should have been addressed from the very beginning of Sadie’s illness: her chronically low Albumin level. It had progressively gotten worse, and would end up being a major factor in her death. This was one of the reasons that she continued to lose weight. More about it later.
With much trepidation, we took Sadie in for placement of an esophageal feeding tube on Tues., March 18, only 5 days after our first appointment with the new vet. I will address the “ins and outs” of tube feeding in later posts, but immediately there was much stress eliminated from my life. I could lay my head down at night and know my baby had eaten! We would have to gradually increase her portions, as she had now gone 2 months without regularly eating and holding down food. Too much food at once would shock her. The first 2 days went like a dream! She didn’t vomit at all---we hadn’t had a vomit-free day since Feb. 27! As we began to increase her food levels, though, we had a major problem. She was keeping her food down after feeding, but after she would drink water, she would lose her food! We made the increases less progressive, but had to make the decision to give her water only through her tube. I hated taking her freedom to drink at will away. It was an exact science on how much to give her, when to give her, making sure she did not move so-many minutes after meals, etc. As happy as we were that she was being properly nourished, Sadie was becoming lethargic. For the first time during her illness, she acted sick. That really bothered us. We were doing everything we could to get her better, why was she only getting worse?
The new doctor phoned us with the results of Sadie’s labs. {Abnormalities: Hematocrit 35.4 (low), WBC 24.5 (high, but greatly improved from only 3 days before), Platelets 639 (high), Neutrophils 21,315 (high), Basophils 245 (high), Glucose 59 (low), BUN 35 (high), Total Protein 4.2 (low), Albumin 1.8 (low), Calcium 8.2 (low), Free T4 8 (borderline low). Sadie was put on levothyroxin for her thyroid, as previous tests had indicated very low levels. It would give her a boost. Another thing the new vet suggested to raise Sadie’s glucose level was to place a little syrup on her tongue. She seemed to perk up when I did that. How I wish I had known 2 months before! It definitely would have helped! The new vet and I had a frank discussion on how to get Sadie eating. She was honest with me, there was only 2 ways to feed a dog who will not eat on their own: 1) force feed 2) feeding tube. The appetite stimulant wasn’t al that effective anymore, and we’d been force-feeding Sadie since Feb. 4. All too often the meal would be lost because Sadie would get so hyper. My husband and I felt like we were at the end of our rope. I feel I need to repeat that Sadie still did not know she was sick! Yes, we’d had our low points, but she still had the will to live. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. For the last month, we’d believed it was the lymphoma. Yet, as so many other things with Sadie, her behavior was not typical. Maybe the thyroid medicine and raising Sadie’s sugar level would help. But that wasn’t a solution. I felt strongly that we should allow a feeding tube to be placed in Sadie. Otherwise, she’d starve while we were trying to get to the bottom of things. I could not let the reason Sadie died be because she starved to death. After much discussion, my husband agreed. We thought we were doing what was best for her, but I will pause a moment to say that one thing in particular should have been addressed from the very beginning of Sadie’s illness: her chronically low Albumin level. It had progressively gotten worse, and would end up being a major factor in her death. This was one of the reasons that she continued to lose weight. More about it later.
With much trepidation, we took Sadie in for placement of an esophageal feeding tube on Tues., March 18, only 5 days after our first appointment with the new vet. I will address the “ins and outs” of tube feeding in later posts, but immediately there was much stress eliminated from my life. I could lay my head down at night and know my baby had eaten! We would have to gradually increase her portions, as she had now gone 2 months without regularly eating and holding down food. Too much food at once would shock her. The first 2 days went like a dream! She didn’t vomit at all---we hadn’t had a vomit-free day since Feb. 27! As we began to increase her food levels, though, we had a major problem. She was keeping her food down after feeding, but after she would drink water, she would lose her food! We made the increases less progressive, but had to make the decision to give her water only through her tube. I hated taking her freedom to drink at will away. It was an exact science on how much to give her, when to give her, making sure she did not move so-many minutes after meals, etc. As happy as we were that she was being properly nourished, Sadie was becoming lethargic. For the first time during her illness, she acted sick. That really bothered us. We were doing everything we could to get her better, why was she only getting worse?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Ups and Downs and a Difficult Decision
What followed was a week of ups and downs. As you can tell, I kept a journal, so I could go on and on with details, but I won’t. The “ups” were that she would eat a bit, and throughout these days actually began to eat her “kibbles” again after 2 months! Not a lot, but at least she wanted them. That was a huge moment for us! She also took a liking to turkey bacon and bacon treats. Again, not a huge amount, but it roused her appetite. Her digestive system seemed to be getting back to normal, although there was only 1 vomit-free day during that time. We kept her on a regular regimen of Cerenia, Mirtazapine, Reglan, and Pepcid. The “downs” were just trying to get her to eat, only to have her vomit. One thing we had to watch out for was making sure she was not too active after a meal, because so many things could trigger vomiting. It felt like an endless merry-go-round. Still, I cannot adequately convey with words how pleased we were that she was showing signs of wanting to eat again! But when she didn’t want to eat, buddy her little temper would flare! I couldn’t blame her. It was only during this week that I was told about the mini-syringes. They made my life so much easier, as I was able to prepare a very small amount of food with crushed meds. The meds would help to ease her stomach and then she might feel like eating more later on. Had I only known about their benefit 2 months earlier! She would have never missed an antibiotic, steroid, anti-nausea drug, etc.
Discouraged by the chemo reaction, we were at a loss on how to care for her. We felt desperate. This was the first week in 2 months that we did not take her to the vet, although were in consultation. To give you an idea of how much we were at the clinic, I have 15 receipts from the month of February alone! We had a bad weekend, and on Monday, March 10 we were back at the vet’s office. She was dehydrated, so she got Sub-Q fluids and more blood work. {Abnormalities: WBC 32.2 (high), Platelets 761 (high), Neutrophils 27,048 (high)}. She only weighed 11.1 lbs. Sadie’s vet is one of the most caring doctors you could ask for, and I have never seen anyone better at returning phone calls and taking time with a patient. I’m sure it was difficult for her to tell me she’d done all she could do for Sadie, exhausting all her options. The more research I did, the more Sadie’s problems didn’t perfectly align with lymphoma. I still wondered if something additional was going on, although I certainly wasn’t in denial that Sadie had cancer cells. I read everything I could on Sadie’s symptoms. We got back in touch with the vet at the teaching hospital, and she admitted that Sadie’s condition wasn’t typical.
I made a difficult decision that week. Since Sadie’s normal vet was out of options, I couldn’t just quit. I had to do something. My sister-in-law knew another vet who was on the cutting edge of research and whose dog had recently died of t-cell lymphoma. She begged me to take Sadie to her. What if there was something else wrong? I had to know. My inhibitions about seeing a new vet centered around someone new understanding Sadie. Her cases were never simple, nor cut-and-dried. Would a new vet "be there" when Sadie needed them? What if they weren't in the office during an hour of need; were the other vets at the new clinic caring? I knew I had to pack 15 years of history into a few moments, and bonds and understanding don't always happen quickly. Nevertheless, I was desperate. I took Sadie in, armed with all of Sadie’s lab results to this point (she’d had 8 blood tests, 1 X-ray, 1 ultrasound, 2 urinalyses, 2 needle aspirates, and 2 surgeries w/ biopsies since Dec.).
After describing Sadie’s symptoms, the new vet thought Sadie might have mega-esophagus. An initial X-ray showed a slightly enlarged esophagus, so a Barium test was performed, but its results were normal. The enlargement was most likely due to frequent vomiting. The X-ray was encouraging in that Sadie’s organs and lymph nodes looked “beautiful”, which indicated that the lymphoma was not in an advanced stage! The only issue was an enlarged heart, but we were already aware that she had a slight murmur. More blood work was taken. Maybe that would show us something that would help.
Discouraged by the chemo reaction, we were at a loss on how to care for her. We felt desperate. This was the first week in 2 months that we did not take her to the vet, although were in consultation. To give you an idea of how much we were at the clinic, I have 15 receipts from the month of February alone! We had a bad weekend, and on Monday, March 10 we were back at the vet’s office. She was dehydrated, so she got Sub-Q fluids and more blood work. {Abnormalities: WBC 32.2 (high), Platelets 761 (high), Neutrophils 27,048 (high)}. She only weighed 11.1 lbs. Sadie’s vet is one of the most caring doctors you could ask for, and I have never seen anyone better at returning phone calls and taking time with a patient. I’m sure it was difficult for her to tell me she’d done all she could do for Sadie, exhausting all her options. The more research I did, the more Sadie’s problems didn’t perfectly align with lymphoma. I still wondered if something additional was going on, although I certainly wasn’t in denial that Sadie had cancer cells. I read everything I could on Sadie’s symptoms. We got back in touch with the vet at the teaching hospital, and she admitted that Sadie’s condition wasn’t typical.
I made a difficult decision that week. Since Sadie’s normal vet was out of options, I couldn’t just quit. I had to do something. My sister-in-law knew another vet who was on the cutting edge of research and whose dog had recently died of t-cell lymphoma. She begged me to take Sadie to her. What if there was something else wrong? I had to know. My inhibitions about seeing a new vet centered around someone new understanding Sadie. Her cases were never simple, nor cut-and-dried. Would a new vet "be there" when Sadie needed them? What if they weren't in the office during an hour of need; were the other vets at the new clinic caring? I knew I had to pack 15 years of history into a few moments, and bonds and understanding don't always happen quickly. Nevertheless, I was desperate. I took Sadie in, armed with all of Sadie’s lab results to this point (she’d had 8 blood tests, 1 X-ray, 1 ultrasound, 2 urinalyses, 2 needle aspirates, and 2 surgeries w/ biopsies since Dec.).
After describing Sadie’s symptoms, the new vet thought Sadie might have mega-esophagus. An initial X-ray showed a slightly enlarged esophagus, so a Barium test was performed, but its results were normal. The enlargement was most likely due to frequent vomiting. The X-ray was encouraging in that Sadie’s organs and lymph nodes looked “beautiful”, which indicated that the lymphoma was not in an advanced stage! The only issue was an enlarged heart, but we were already aware that she had a slight murmur. More blood work was taken. Maybe that would show us something that would help.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Giving Chemo A Chance
On Feb. 19, we took Sadie in for her pre-chemo blood work. Since her stool was still bloody, we also had her tested for pancreatitis (came back negative). She had lost more weight, now at only 13 lbs. She was given IV fluids to replace lost electrolytes. I also was able to get a prescription for the appetite stimulant, mirtazapine. It’s not hard on the stomach like prednisone, can be given on an empty stomach, and also has anti-nausea properties. The next day she seemed a bit hungry, and ate a little bit, but threw up. By the next day, she was eating great! I had to drop Sadie off with my in-laws for a little while, and when I checked on her, they said she was eating like a little pig again! How I wished we’d been warned to ration her portion sizes! Although we were thrilled she was eating, overfeeding can be harmful, and in Sadie’s case, it was. She should have only been fed 2 tablespoons of food at a time.
The next morning, I took Sadie in for her first chemo treatment. The plan was to give her a vincristine injection every 2 weeks, and ½ pill of cytoxan every other day. But over the last couple of days, I noticed that Sadie was vomiting undigested food. Come to think of it, in the past she regularly vomited undigested kibbles hours after eating. Around midnight, she threw up 5 times in ½ hour. Although her last meal had been at 4pm, it was undigested. Her vet said it sounded like she had a motility problem, and in addition to the chemo, gave her an injection of the drug Reglan. She did well that first morning as far as the chemo went, but by early afternoon, she was still vomiting. I took her back to the vet for more shots, Cerenia and Reglan namely. I made the mistake of buying 6 unreturnable shots (at $18 a pop!), believing that it would be easier to give Sadie a shot than pop a pill, to get through the weekend. HA! I will never forget the kindness of one of the assistants at the clinic, who happened to be my neighbor, as I met her later in the evening to give Sadie a Reglan shot. Unfortunately, Sadie did not eat on this day. That could not have been good for her. I will never forget Sadie that night---here she’d had this rather awful day, but at night she would still get on the bed and try to dig up the pillows! It was comforting to know she did not really know she was sick.
One more thing: the pharmacy had made an error on the cytoxan label. Although Sadie’s vet was suspicious and was going to call, she forgot and popped the pill anyway. It was twice as much as Sadie should have had. She admitted her mistake, and said we’d forgo the next scheduled dose. The next 2 days were very, very difficult. She had gone an entire week without proper digestion and she was very weak. On Monday, Feb. 25, we knew something had to change. We had a plan of action with our vet: special nutrients were ordered and we would feed Sadie through an IV. Although it would cost us about $300 a day, we felt desperate and would do this for 3 days, leaving her there from morning til 5pm. Although Sadie was unusually subdued when we would bring her home, we were told that she would be alert during the daytime. The next day, Feb. 28, to our joy Sadie was eating again! It was a very good day, and we kept saying “Sadie’s back!” That was the only completely normal day we'd had in a long time, and little did I know, would ever have again. I cherished every moment. The next morning, I took her in for her pre-chemo blood work. The office’s machine was out of fluid and the test had to be sent off, so we waited a day. I spent the day with her and it was a very good day. She was beginning to eat again on her own. As happy as I was with her new appetite, I should not have stopped hand feeding her. I had set a plate out of heavily-drained and blotted ground beef, and although it wasn’t a huge amount, she didn’t have the self-control to not gobble it all up at once. So, she spit it out, and only ate a little more later that evening. I felt terrible that I could not foresee what would have happened.
Throughout the night she would continue to spit up the little bits of ground beef from the gorging. The next morning, I took her back to the vet so that she could get her Cytoxan dose, as I still was uncomfortable administering a chemo drug. By now, she weighed 12.2 lbs. That broke my heart. We had a rough day, and I tried giving her a Reglan shot, but she snapped at me. I administered a pill instead. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: had I known how beneficial very small syringes filled food and crushed pills were, it would have made a difference! I simply did not know. Sadie began to cough that day, and we could hear congestion. About 1am, she got up and looked like she wanted to drink, but then started moaning and groaning. This was the most awful night we ever endured. She was moaning and shivering, and we thought we were about to lose her. We are in a profession that warrants middle-of-the-night phone calls, but I was hesitant to make one myself. But this was an emergency, so I called the on-call number. The vet asked me to check Sadie’s gums. They were not pale, and I was assured this was not the end. But it felt like it. It was so difficult to see her like that. A few hours later she got up to drink, and needed to go outside. She was groaning with stomach pain. When she came back in, she fell asleep, but she had frequent stomach contractions and even moaned in her sleep. It was the saddest thing to see her in pain. My husband and I made a very difficult decision: there would be no more chemo for our girl. We tried, but it just was not for her.
The next morning, I took Sadie in for her first chemo treatment. The plan was to give her a vincristine injection every 2 weeks, and ½ pill of cytoxan every other day. But over the last couple of days, I noticed that Sadie was vomiting undigested food. Come to think of it, in the past she regularly vomited undigested kibbles hours after eating. Around midnight, she threw up 5 times in ½ hour. Although her last meal had been at 4pm, it was undigested. Her vet said it sounded like she had a motility problem, and in addition to the chemo, gave her an injection of the drug Reglan. She did well that first morning as far as the chemo went, but by early afternoon, she was still vomiting. I took her back to the vet for more shots, Cerenia and Reglan namely. I made the mistake of buying 6 unreturnable shots (at $18 a pop!), believing that it would be easier to give Sadie a shot than pop a pill, to get through the weekend. HA! I will never forget the kindness of one of the assistants at the clinic, who happened to be my neighbor, as I met her later in the evening to give Sadie a Reglan shot. Unfortunately, Sadie did not eat on this day. That could not have been good for her. I will never forget Sadie that night---here she’d had this rather awful day, but at night she would still get on the bed and try to dig up the pillows! It was comforting to know she did not really know she was sick.
One more thing: the pharmacy had made an error on the cytoxan label. Although Sadie’s vet was suspicious and was going to call, she forgot and popped the pill anyway. It was twice as much as Sadie should have had. She admitted her mistake, and said we’d forgo the next scheduled dose. The next 2 days were very, very difficult. She had gone an entire week without proper digestion and she was very weak. On Monday, Feb. 25, we knew something had to change. We had a plan of action with our vet: special nutrients were ordered and we would feed Sadie through an IV. Although it would cost us about $300 a day, we felt desperate and would do this for 3 days, leaving her there from morning til 5pm. Although Sadie was unusually subdued when we would bring her home, we were told that she would be alert during the daytime. The next day, Feb. 28, to our joy Sadie was eating again! It was a very good day, and we kept saying “Sadie’s back!” That was the only completely normal day we'd had in a long time, and little did I know, would ever have again. I cherished every moment. The next morning, I took her in for her pre-chemo blood work. The office’s machine was out of fluid and the test had to be sent off, so we waited a day. I spent the day with her and it was a very good day. She was beginning to eat again on her own. As happy as I was with her new appetite, I should not have stopped hand feeding her. I had set a plate out of heavily-drained and blotted ground beef, and although it wasn’t a huge amount, she didn’t have the self-control to not gobble it all up at once. So, she spit it out, and only ate a little more later that evening. I felt terrible that I could not foresee what would have happened.
Throughout the night she would continue to spit up the little bits of ground beef from the gorging. The next morning, I took her back to the vet so that she could get her Cytoxan dose, as I still was uncomfortable administering a chemo drug. By now, she weighed 12.2 lbs. That broke my heart. We had a rough day, and I tried giving her a Reglan shot, but she snapped at me. I administered a pill instead. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: had I known how beneficial very small syringes filled food and crushed pills were, it would have made a difference! I simply did not know. Sadie began to cough that day, and we could hear congestion. About 1am, she got up and looked like she wanted to drink, but then started moaning and groaning. This was the most awful night we ever endured. She was moaning and shivering, and we thought we were about to lose her. We are in a profession that warrants middle-of-the-night phone calls, but I was hesitant to make one myself. But this was an emergency, so I called the on-call number. The vet asked me to check Sadie’s gums. They were not pale, and I was assured this was not the end. But it felt like it. It was so difficult to see her like that. A few hours later she got up to drink, and needed to go outside. She was groaning with stomach pain. When she came back in, she fell asleep, but she had frequent stomach contractions and even moaned in her sleep. It was the saddest thing to see her in pain. My husband and I made a very difficult decision: there would be no more chemo for our girl. We tried, but it just was not for her.
All I Wanted for my Birthday
I was given the news about Sadie’s lymphoma a mere 15 minutes before I was scheduled to team-teach a class with my husband. There was no way I could tell him prior to class, and somehow God gave me the grace to get through the evening without losing control of my emotions. But I didn’t have to tell him; he knew me well enough to know my unspoken thoughts. We didn’t talk about it until the building cleared. Being Valentine’s Day, we decided to keep our dinner date at a local restaurant (while Sadie was being lovingly pampered by my in-laws) so we could discuss in private exactly what to do to care better for Sadie. We didn’t really like the thought of chemo, yet if it could buy her some time…. The plan of action was thus: I would take Sadie in for an ultrasound in the morning, hopefully it would shed light on the stage of disease. We would await a call from the veterinarian oncologist that we had seen the previous Thursday. We would consider all options. We wanted Sadie to enjoy life. The ironic thing about Sadie was that she had no idea she was sick up to this point! She was still spunky, still cuddly, still playful, still herself with one huge omission: her appetite. Now, that week was an exception in that, though sporadic, my journal shows that she ate more than she had been, as the dexamethasone shot was a huge boost. You can easily see how our hopes would surge, then fall. It was hard to see beyond the day.
On Feb. 15, her ultrasound showed mild enlargement of the liver, spleen, and intestinal lymph nodes. This is consistent with lymphoma. We were told that if we did nothing, Sadie would be gone 8-12 weeks from diagnosis. This was heartbreaking to hear. Yet, we were also told that lymphoma was treatable. We had to do something. I could not look down the future without seeing my Sadie. We didn’t hear from the oncologists at the Veterinary Hospital that day, but word was left for them to call. It would be a long weekend. On a positive note, Sadie’s appetite had been great for 3 days! It was an encouragement to know she was not suffering or in pain. Since Sadie’s behavior was perkier than it had been in 2 months, I made the decision to leave her for 4 hours so my husband and I could go to one of my favorite restaurants an hour away to celebrate my birthday a day early. I stayed with Sadie until my husband returned from church, and then we left her in the care of a group of loved ones who adored her. We had such a good time, and when we called to check on Sadie, we were told she was doing well and had eaten ½ of a chicken breast. “Good,” we thought. Then I had a sinking feeling, “what if it was fried?” “Surely not,” we thought. Turns out, it had been fried, but blotted. What followed was one of the worst nights in Sadie’s life. I can not say it enough times: DON’T give your animal grease! Especially if they’re not used to it. Under healthy circumstances, Sadie would have still been sick for days after such a meal, much less when battling anorexia and cancer! We awakened at 5am to Sadie vomiting violently. She had bloody diarrhea and went anorexic again on us. What a difference a day made! Unfortunately, from this point on it was a never ending saga. Never, never would I leave her for so long again! We had one of our roughest days ever with Sadie --- and it happened to be my birthday. I spoke at great length with Sadie’s vet who had been in touch with one of the top oncologists in the world. He suggested a middle-of-the-road approach to chemo, not hitting her too hard, and seeing what became of it. We would know soon if it was going to work. I was finally able to speak with the oncologist we had previously visited. Her recommendation was to drive Sadie back and forth the 3-4 hours to the clinic on a regular basis for a bit more aggressive treatment. It would cost anywhere from $4,000-8,000 and would buy her 6 months to a year. She would have to be left there sometimes without us. With her separation anxiety, this was not a realistic option. You’d just have to have seen her behavior to believe me. As far as the money goes, yes, obviously it was expensive; but that was not the deciding factor. I would have done anything reasonable to save Sadie, even if it meant parting with something I liked. I will say, though, how beneficial pet insurance would have been at this point. We ended up deciding on the middle-of-the-road approach, and the therapy would be administered by our local vet. The drugs were ordered that day, and we’d get started that week.
My birthday was a rough day. All I wanted was to see Sadie happy. And unfortunately, she was not happy for most of my birthday. She had been happy for several days before, though. I told my husband I wanted to see a spring in her step, and if we could go on a country drive to one of our favorite parks and let her sniff the breezy air, just like old times. She enjoyed the drive. When we got out to walk, we put her little flight jacket on. She always though she was “the stuff” when she wore it! Sure enough, despite the bad day, I was able to see that little bit of a spring in her step. That glimmer of the girl I loved so much. That was all I wanted for my birthday, and it was enough.
On Feb. 15, her ultrasound showed mild enlargement of the liver, spleen, and intestinal lymph nodes. This is consistent with lymphoma. We were told that if we did nothing, Sadie would be gone 8-12 weeks from diagnosis. This was heartbreaking to hear. Yet, we were also told that lymphoma was treatable. We had to do something. I could not look down the future without seeing my Sadie. We didn’t hear from the oncologists at the Veterinary Hospital that day, but word was left for them to call. It would be a long weekend. On a positive note, Sadie’s appetite had been great for 3 days! It was an encouragement to know she was not suffering or in pain. Since Sadie’s behavior was perkier than it had been in 2 months, I made the decision to leave her for 4 hours so my husband and I could go to one of my favorite restaurants an hour away to celebrate my birthday a day early. I stayed with Sadie until my husband returned from church, and then we left her in the care of a group of loved ones who adored her. We had such a good time, and when we called to check on Sadie, we were told she was doing well and had eaten ½ of a chicken breast. “Good,” we thought. Then I had a sinking feeling, “what if it was fried?” “Surely not,” we thought. Turns out, it had been fried, but blotted. What followed was one of the worst nights in Sadie’s life. I can not say it enough times: DON’T give your animal grease! Especially if they’re not used to it. Under healthy circumstances, Sadie would have still been sick for days after such a meal, much less when battling anorexia and cancer! We awakened at 5am to Sadie vomiting violently. She had bloody diarrhea and went anorexic again on us. What a difference a day made! Unfortunately, from this point on it was a never ending saga. Never, never would I leave her for so long again! We had one of our roughest days ever with Sadie --- and it happened to be my birthday. I spoke at great length with Sadie’s vet who had been in touch with one of the top oncologists in the world. He suggested a middle-of-the-road approach to chemo, not hitting her too hard, and seeing what became of it. We would know soon if it was going to work. I was finally able to speak with the oncologist we had previously visited. Her recommendation was to drive Sadie back and forth the 3-4 hours to the clinic on a regular basis for a bit more aggressive treatment. It would cost anywhere from $4,000-8,000 and would buy her 6 months to a year. She would have to be left there sometimes without us. With her separation anxiety, this was not a realistic option. You’d just have to have seen her behavior to believe me. As far as the money goes, yes, obviously it was expensive; but that was not the deciding factor. I would have done anything reasonable to save Sadie, even if it meant parting with something I liked. I will say, though, how beneficial pet insurance would have been at this point. We ended up deciding on the middle-of-the-road approach, and the therapy would be administered by our local vet. The drugs were ordered that day, and we’d get started that week.
My birthday was a rough day. All I wanted was to see Sadie happy. And unfortunately, she was not happy for most of my birthday. She had been happy for several days before, though. I told my husband I wanted to see a spring in her step, and if we could go on a country drive to one of our favorite parks and let her sniff the breezy air, just like old times. She enjoyed the drive. When we got out to walk, we put her little flight jacket on. She always though she was “the stuff” when she wore it! Sure enough, despite the bad day, I was able to see that little bit of a spring in her step. That glimmer of the girl I loved so much. That was all I wanted for my birthday, and it was enough.
Monday, January 19, 2009
At A Loss
We were so hopeful on the morning of Feb. 7. Our girl had held down the steak! We were heading to one of the best Vet Hospitals in the world! We arrived nearly an hour early. For some reason the receptionist did not alert the attending physician of our early arrival. She would have been more than glad to see us early. At the appointed time, 2 foreign students came to get us. They were as sweet as they could be. They did an initial exam and then reported the findings to their superior, one of the residents. Being that we had only learned of this hospital’s existence the day before, my husband and I were not familiar with how teaching hospitals operate, though we were assured they do not use people’s pets as guinea pigs. Their benefit is that a pet is seen by more than one doctor, has access to the latest technology, radiology reports are read by specialists, and they are on the cutting-edge of research. Sadie’s pathology report had already been sent to them and they would be able to make a firm diagnosis very soon.
We spent the most of our time being told about cancer treatment options. WHAT? This is not what we wanted to hear already! The vet assured us that they would not do any chemo until they had absolutely ruled out all other possibilities: endocrine disorders, lyme disease and other tick disorders, etc. I realize that at some point all the chemo talk would have been necessary; however, it seemed premature without a firm diagnosis and we desperately wanted Sadie to have her tests. By the time they were ready to schedule Sadie for radiology and blood work, they told us they couldn’t take her for several more hours! WHAT? We’d been there all morning. Why didn’t they take Sadie for tests, and THEN give us the cancer spill once we were sure? The approach did not sit well with us at all. There was no way we were going to leave Sadie overnight. We were willing to leave her for a few hours and then make the several-hour drive back that night to pick her up, but no one would be able to let us in! We needed time to clear our heads. We were not impressed. We decided to come back the next day.
I cannot explain the way we felt on the way back home, I guess “disappointed” comes closest. We had no answers. We had no diagnosis. At lunchtime we stopped at Burger King and ordered grilled chicken sandwiches. Wouldn’t you know it? Sadie sat right up and wanted a bite! All in all, she ate about 5 oz! She would continue to eat several more times that day. We were thrilled! We called our local clinic and spoke to one of the vets about our disappointment with the teaching hospital. He said there was a closer place where we could get an MRI for Sadie, which was a better test than the ultrasound. For whatever reason, we had no confidence in the teaching hospital. We cancelled our appointment for the next day and rescheduled it for the following Tuesday, needing some time to sort out the best plan of action. Now that Sadie was eating again, we were very confused! What was going on? Why would she eat sometimes and other times not? Every time she would start to eat, we were unsure about what to do next. We ended up canceling the next appointment at the hospital. There are times when I wonder what would have happened had we gone back. Would they have found something else that we failed to ever discover? Probably not. I’m nowhere near done with Sadie’s chronicle, and readers will see that we explored many avenues in hopes of finding answers. In retrospect, I probably would have taken her back, regardless of how the first meeting went. I don’t really know that it would have helped.
Sadie was spunky the next day. She had to go in to get her souchers out and the vet could not believe what she was seeing. We all knew how much Sadie loved long car rides, and it really seemed to perk her up. The next day, however, was up and down. We were able to get her to eat ice cream, though. Over the next several days, Sadie was unbearable to force-feed. I nicknamed her “my little crocodile” because she kept snapping at me. I will post tidbit blogs on force-feeding in the future, but suffice it to say for now that it was an exact science with regards to the schedule we had to keep, the number of feedings per day, the right amount of food, making sure she got enough calories, etc. Force feeding is exhausting for the dog who does not want to eat---and for the owner.
Sadie was losing weight. By Feb. 12, she had lost 2.5 lbs. since December, now weighing 13.5. That was too large a percentage of her body weight for me! We took her back to the vet and they gave her a dexamethasone (steroid) shot that would last for 48 hours, antibiotics shot, and also fed her puppy milk. The next 2 days, she ate well! It was Valentine’s Day and our girl was doing good again! During all of this, one of the vets tried to temper me by saying, "you'll have a few good days, and then a few bad days. Just because you have good days doesn't mean there's not a problem." She was certainly right. Still, I couldn't help but rejoice when glimmers of "the old Sadie" were shining. Then later that day I got a phone call with the UT pathology report, at last. It was horrible news: Sadie’s cells were consistent with T-cell Lymphoma. I felt like my heart would break.
We spent the most of our time being told about cancer treatment options. WHAT? This is not what we wanted to hear already! The vet assured us that they would not do any chemo until they had absolutely ruled out all other possibilities: endocrine disorders, lyme disease and other tick disorders, etc. I realize that at some point all the chemo talk would have been necessary; however, it seemed premature without a firm diagnosis and we desperately wanted Sadie to have her tests. By the time they were ready to schedule Sadie for radiology and blood work, they told us they couldn’t take her for several more hours! WHAT? We’d been there all morning. Why didn’t they take Sadie for tests, and THEN give us the cancer spill once we were sure? The approach did not sit well with us at all. There was no way we were going to leave Sadie overnight. We were willing to leave her for a few hours and then make the several-hour drive back that night to pick her up, but no one would be able to let us in! We needed time to clear our heads. We were not impressed. We decided to come back the next day.
I cannot explain the way we felt on the way back home, I guess “disappointed” comes closest. We had no answers. We had no diagnosis. At lunchtime we stopped at Burger King and ordered grilled chicken sandwiches. Wouldn’t you know it? Sadie sat right up and wanted a bite! All in all, she ate about 5 oz! She would continue to eat several more times that day. We were thrilled! We called our local clinic and spoke to one of the vets about our disappointment with the teaching hospital. He said there was a closer place where we could get an MRI for Sadie, which was a better test than the ultrasound. For whatever reason, we had no confidence in the teaching hospital. We cancelled our appointment for the next day and rescheduled it for the following Tuesday, needing some time to sort out the best plan of action. Now that Sadie was eating again, we were very confused! What was going on? Why would she eat sometimes and other times not? Every time she would start to eat, we were unsure about what to do next. We ended up canceling the next appointment at the hospital. There are times when I wonder what would have happened had we gone back. Would they have found something else that we failed to ever discover? Probably not. I’m nowhere near done with Sadie’s chronicle, and readers will see that we explored many avenues in hopes of finding answers. In retrospect, I probably would have taken her back, regardless of how the first meeting went. I don’t really know that it would have helped.
Sadie was spunky the next day. She had to go in to get her souchers out and the vet could not believe what she was seeing. We all knew how much Sadie loved long car rides, and it really seemed to perk her up. The next day, however, was up and down. We were able to get her to eat ice cream, though. Over the next several days, Sadie was unbearable to force-feed. I nicknamed her “my little crocodile” because she kept snapping at me. I will post tidbit blogs on force-feeding in the future, but suffice it to say for now that it was an exact science with regards to the schedule we had to keep, the number of feedings per day, the right amount of food, making sure she got enough calories, etc. Force feeding is exhausting for the dog who does not want to eat---and for the owner.
Sadie was losing weight. By Feb. 12, she had lost 2.5 lbs. since December, now weighing 13.5. That was too large a percentage of her body weight for me! We took her back to the vet and they gave her a dexamethasone (steroid) shot that would last for 48 hours, antibiotics shot, and also fed her puppy milk. The next 2 days, she ate well! It was Valentine’s Day and our girl was doing good again! During all of this, one of the vets tried to temper me by saying, "you'll have a few good days, and then a few bad days. Just because you have good days doesn't mean there's not a problem." She was certainly right. Still, I couldn't help but rejoice when glimmers of "the old Sadie" were shining. Then later that day I got a phone call with the UT pathology report, at last. It was horrible news: Sadie’s cells were consistent with T-cell Lymphoma. I felt like my heart would break.
A Two Week Roller Coaster
During our visit at the clinic, Sadie was examined by 3 different veterinarians. There was no apparent reason for her behavior, thus there were no answers for so many questions. I requested an ultrasound, but was told it probably would not show anything. The vet thought Sadie’s lymph nodes in her thighs were enlarged and she took a needle aspirate from each leg. She excused herself for a moment, and I could tell she was emotional. To say that she loved Sadie was an understatement. And this doctor was the first vet Sadie actually liked. She had been there every step of the way when Sadie was diagnosed with cancer 4 years before. I still remember her saying, “Let me tell you what I think . . . .” She proceeded to tell us she thought Sadie had lymphoma. I protested: how can this be? Sadie was tested last month and given a clean bill of health! It didn’t make any sense. But the kind doctor kept doing the math and it was adding up to cancer for her, so to speak. She was always overly cautious in the cancer department when it came to Sadie, and I certainly appreciated her concern. For now, we’d have to wait on the cytology report.
In the meantime, Sadie was put on Prednisolone. The vet warned that if the diagnosis turned out to be cancer, this drug might slow down any chemo. She also warned that it was a double-edged sword, because its effects could mask an underlying condition. But she knew we sought a better quality of life and were at a desperation-point, so we agreed to give Sadie the drug to perk her up. It worked! Big time. The old Sadie was back, thank God! After 3 weeks of finicky eating, this little pup was acting like a pig again! Hope surged within our hearts. That was Friday. On Monday morning, Jan. 28, we were called with bad news: the aspirate showed cells that were highly suspective of lymphoma. A biopsy was needed to confirm. We took Sadie in immediately. Thankfully, she recovered well from surgery, which was out of the norm, but a blessing. She ate well for 3 days. On the evening of the 3rd night, she was given undrained lean ground beef. She awakened and did not want to eat. Oh dear! I cannot stress the importance of draining and blotting ground meats, no matter how lean it is! If it takes 15 paper towels to get it clean, do it! Sadie’s stomach was always SO sensitive; even in good health she would have reacted adversely. But no one meant her harm, they just didn’t think. Because she was on the steroids, she couldn’t just miss a dose, so we took her in and had one of the vets pop the pill. Oh, that I had been told about little syringes! Oh, the headaches that would have been spared! There are pills that can be crushed; I just didn’t have a clue! Thankfully that evening Sadie ate ¼ lb. of ground beef! Sadie was also on the anti-nausea drug Cerenia. It was created to benefit dogs with motion sickness, but is also a great anti-nausea drug in general. On Feb. 1, Sadie was finicky again and didn’t want to eat. A family member popped the Prednisolone, but not the Cerenia. Steroids on an empty stomach can cause distress, and Sadie ate nothing. The next day we took Sadie to the clinic and another vet was able to get the pill down. They introduced us to the “pill popper”. Oh, how cantankerous Sadie could be! She hated pills. She would clamp her jaws down tight and then try to bite me! If my heart weren’t breaking so bad, it would have been cute. That day, she ate ¾ slice of turkey. The next day she didn’t want to eat, so I thought maybe, just maybe she’d give in if we gave her one of her favorite --- yet forbidden --- foods: vanilla ice cream. Before we went overseas, this was one of our favorite things to do in the convertible. But when we came back, we stuck close to the dog food-only diet. But we were desperate. At first she just looked at the cone. Then my husband took a bold approach: he put the cone right onto her lips. Her eyes lit up! She licked and licked and even bit in. It was the cutest thing in the world, and it brought me to tears. Even in this dark valley, there were these precious moments.
On Monday, Feb. 4, I spent a long time on the phone with her vet. Also, the pathology report came back as “uncertain.” The sample was sent to another doctor for a 2nd opinion. In the meantime, Sadie had to eat. My husband and I would not hear of a feeding tube (at this point), and the thought of force feeding Sadie ourselves seemed overwhelming. So, our vet offered to keep her for the day and do it herself. Everything seemed to go well, but less than 2 hours after coming home, she lost it. The next morning, the vet called to say Sadie’s WBC was elevated (18.8). For those it might help, here are other abnormalities: HIGH: BUN (31), ALK PHOS (149), ALT (119), Amylase (1679). LOWS: Total Protein (4.4), Albumin (2.0), Cholesterol (84), Calcium (8.5), This could be from the steroids, or due to infection. Not wanting to risk it, antibiotics were prescribed. My RN-sister-in-law suggested we give Sadie shots and not put anything on her sick gut. Good advice! We force fed her that day, and while challenging, it worked. We hated taking that freedom away from our girl, but she needed to eat. The next day, our vet phoned to say she was able to get an appointment for us at a prominent Veterinarian Teaching Hospital. The only catch was that it was for the very next day. That was not good for us because we both were teaching a class the next evening, the first of the semester, together. We could not cancel it because it had already been cancelled the week before due to snow. We had 50 people depending on us. We decided to do both. I explained that it was imperative we leave the clinic back for home no later than 1pm. She didn’t think it would be any big deal for them to board Sadie overnight if they weren’t finished testing her. I guess I’ll never adequately be able to explain to anyone how devastating separation anxiety was for Sadie. I just couldn’t leave her overnight in a foreign environment. I stressed how important it was that they knew what time we had to leave, and if they could be considerate of our needs. “At last,” we thought, “we’ll get some answers.” Before going to bed that night I decided to tempt Sadie with a steak. The aroma filled the house and my little buddy came into the kitchen and wagged her tail. She wanted me to feed her! She ate the steak, and held it down. We had to get up at 3am the next morning, but it would all be worth it to get some help for our baby. It couldn’t come soon enough.
In the meantime, Sadie was put on Prednisolone. The vet warned that if the diagnosis turned out to be cancer, this drug might slow down any chemo. She also warned that it was a double-edged sword, because its effects could mask an underlying condition. But she knew we sought a better quality of life and were at a desperation-point, so we agreed to give Sadie the drug to perk her up. It worked! Big time. The old Sadie was back, thank God! After 3 weeks of finicky eating, this little pup was acting like a pig again! Hope surged within our hearts. That was Friday. On Monday morning, Jan. 28, we were called with bad news: the aspirate showed cells that were highly suspective of lymphoma. A biopsy was needed to confirm. We took Sadie in immediately. Thankfully, she recovered well from surgery, which was out of the norm, but a blessing. She ate well for 3 days. On the evening of the 3rd night, she was given undrained lean ground beef. She awakened and did not want to eat. Oh dear! I cannot stress the importance of draining and blotting ground meats, no matter how lean it is! If it takes 15 paper towels to get it clean, do it! Sadie’s stomach was always SO sensitive; even in good health she would have reacted adversely. But no one meant her harm, they just didn’t think. Because she was on the steroids, she couldn’t just miss a dose, so we took her in and had one of the vets pop the pill. Oh, that I had been told about little syringes! Oh, the headaches that would have been spared! There are pills that can be crushed; I just didn’t have a clue! Thankfully that evening Sadie ate ¼ lb. of ground beef! Sadie was also on the anti-nausea drug Cerenia. It was created to benefit dogs with motion sickness, but is also a great anti-nausea drug in general. On Feb. 1, Sadie was finicky again and didn’t want to eat. A family member popped the Prednisolone, but not the Cerenia. Steroids on an empty stomach can cause distress, and Sadie ate nothing. The next day we took Sadie to the clinic and another vet was able to get the pill down. They introduced us to the “pill popper”. Oh, how cantankerous Sadie could be! She hated pills. She would clamp her jaws down tight and then try to bite me! If my heart weren’t breaking so bad, it would have been cute. That day, she ate ¾ slice of turkey. The next day she didn’t want to eat, so I thought maybe, just maybe she’d give in if we gave her one of her favorite --- yet forbidden --- foods: vanilla ice cream. Before we went overseas, this was one of our favorite things to do in the convertible. But when we came back, we stuck close to the dog food-only diet. But we were desperate. At first she just looked at the cone. Then my husband took a bold approach: he put the cone right onto her lips. Her eyes lit up! She licked and licked and even bit in. It was the cutest thing in the world, and it brought me to tears. Even in this dark valley, there were these precious moments.
On Monday, Feb. 4, I spent a long time on the phone with her vet. Also, the pathology report came back as “uncertain.” The sample was sent to another doctor for a 2nd opinion. In the meantime, Sadie had to eat. My husband and I would not hear of a feeding tube (at this point), and the thought of force feeding Sadie ourselves seemed overwhelming. So, our vet offered to keep her for the day and do it herself. Everything seemed to go well, but less than 2 hours after coming home, she lost it. The next morning, the vet called to say Sadie’s WBC was elevated (18.8). For those it might help, here are other abnormalities: HIGH: BUN (31), ALK PHOS (149), ALT (119), Amylase (1679). LOWS: Total Protein (4.4), Albumin (2.0), Cholesterol (84), Calcium (8.5), This could be from the steroids, or due to infection. Not wanting to risk it, antibiotics were prescribed. My RN-sister-in-law suggested we give Sadie shots and not put anything on her sick gut. Good advice! We force fed her that day, and while challenging, it worked. We hated taking that freedom away from our girl, but she needed to eat. The next day, our vet phoned to say she was able to get an appointment for us at a prominent Veterinarian Teaching Hospital. The only catch was that it was for the very next day. That was not good for us because we both were teaching a class the next evening, the first of the semester, together. We could not cancel it because it had already been cancelled the week before due to snow. We had 50 people depending on us. We decided to do both. I explained that it was imperative we leave the clinic back for home no later than 1pm. She didn’t think it would be any big deal for them to board Sadie overnight if they weren’t finished testing her. I guess I’ll never adequately be able to explain to anyone how devastating separation anxiety was for Sadie. I just couldn’t leave her overnight in a foreign environment. I stressed how important it was that they knew what time we had to leave, and if they could be considerate of our needs. “At last,” we thought, “we’ll get some answers.” Before going to bed that night I decided to tempt Sadie with a steak. The aroma filled the house and my little buddy came into the kitchen and wagged her tail. She wanted me to feed her! She ate the steak, and held it down. We had to get up at 3am the next morning, but it would all be worth it to get some help for our baby. It couldn’t come soon enough.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
What’s Wrong With Sadie?
As 2008 was about to dawn, my husband and I headed out of town for a 5 night getaway. We grappled with taking Sadie with us, but decided against it. We returned January 5, and my mother-in-law remarked that Sadie had not eaten her hard food the previous day. Now that was odd! Ever since Sadie’s trouble with bladder stones, she was on a dog food-only diet. Her “treats” were actually baked soft food and she never knew the difference. She loved her “kibbles” and she and I had a nightly feeding routine. She would come up to me, get my attention, and hit me when she was ready for me to hand feed her, piece-by-piece. Some nights she even barked at me. I loved it! She showed her love to each of us in different ways, and this late-night feeding was “our thing.” She also had a habit several times a day of playing “kibbie ball.” She would take the hard food, throw it up in the air, play with it, dance on it, and throw it across the floor before eating it. For her not to eat her hard food was out of the ordinary, to say the least. The whole reason she landed up with us in the first place was because she loved food so much! We thought perhaps with my husband’s illness and us being away, that maybe she didn’t feel up to it.
She was very glad to see us, but she did not eat her hard food again the next day. Over the next two days she would also stop eating her treats. What’s going on? She’s just been given a clean bill of health mere weeks before! Now, I must pause her to say that there would be the odd day out where Sadie would not eat; she had little vomiting episodes whenever something didn’t agree with her, but to snub all food completely was out of character. So we tried fish. And she ate it. But then lost it. We called the vet and they suggested we try chicken and rice. She loved that. On Jan. 9, my husband awoke with searing pain; we rushed him to the ER and discovered he had torn a muscle in his neck. It was one of those seasons in our lives where it was literally one thing after another. Sadie came back home from my in-laws' the next day. She was eating chicken and rice, but nothing else. I was somewhat comforted that she was at least eating, but I knew that long-term chicken and rice were not providing her with all the nutrients she needed. On Jan. 13, we took Sadie to the vet. Blood work and a urinalysis were done to check for infection. Baytril was given “just in case” there was infection. Sadie continued to eat the chicken and rice until on the 17th, she discovered that I was trying to trick her into taking the Baytril. She was not happy. And she didn’t want to eat any more chicken after that. We could entice her here and there with various things, but nothing steady. The blood work showed an elevated platelet count (654), monocytes (1056), BUN (41), Creatnine (1.8), and low glucose (55), albumin (2.3), with all other values normal.
On Jan. 21 we took Sadie back to get a sterile urine sample. Test came back fine. On the 23rd, my husband and I had to go out of town for a couple of days while he had tests at a major hospital. She woke up and wouldn’t eat. We thought perhaps she was depressed because she saw our luggage. My in-laws gave her an egg, peanut butter, and soda crackers, all of which were vet-recommended. On the 24th, she ate non-drained ground turkey, but she threw it up. I know I’m giving a log of her eating history, blood work, and dates, but when she was ill those types of data would have helped me greatly.
My husband’s tests went wonderfully. To make a long story short, the surgery he was facing was no longer needed. God had worked miracle after miracle on his behalf. So we were relieved for his sake, but when we returned home on the 25th, Sadie had not eaten that day and my father-in-law thought her stool was black and tarry. Something had to be done. This habit of eating sporadically had been going on for exactly three weeks, and Sadie’s muscle mass was deteriorating quickly.
In upcoming posts, after Sadie’s story is completely told, I want to offer tidbits of helpful advice for those who are going through a pet’s illness. So I will save those types of comments for the future. But for now, I want to note that in retrospect, those first 3 weeks were crucial. Yes there were several other crises going on in both our lives concurrent with Sadie’s illness, but had I been able to keep her from losing muscle mass early on, it would have been so beneficial. Our vet recommended several “special” recipes, which I tried. She wouldn’t eat them. I later learned of a pork roast recipe that many dogs with a poor appetite will eat. Later on in the illness, Sadie would eat a little turkey bacon. Some days I would cook for hours trying to make something --- anything she would eat. It was tough. Had I known how helpful small syringes were in feeding a dog, I would have used them during those weeks, filled with yogurt, baby food or cereal mixed with crushed vitamins. PediaLite also helps replenish electrolytes lost through vomiting and diarrhea.
At the time we were doing all we could. We were advised to visit other veterinarians; however, we trusted our clinic to be there for us when we needed them. Their bedside manners cannot be beat. Still, it felt like we weren’t getting anywhere. This was more than Sadie just being moody. If I had known about such a thing as a veterinary teaching hospital, I would have taken her there the first week. But I did not know. I did the best I could with the information I had at the time. We took Sadie to the vet within two hours of returning to town. The question had to be answered: What was wrong with Sadie?
She was very glad to see us, but she did not eat her hard food again the next day. Over the next two days she would also stop eating her treats. What’s going on? She’s just been given a clean bill of health mere weeks before! Now, I must pause her to say that there would be the odd day out where Sadie would not eat; she had little vomiting episodes whenever something didn’t agree with her, but to snub all food completely was out of character. So we tried fish. And she ate it. But then lost it. We called the vet and they suggested we try chicken and rice. She loved that. On Jan. 9, my husband awoke with searing pain; we rushed him to the ER and discovered he had torn a muscle in his neck. It was one of those seasons in our lives where it was literally one thing after another. Sadie came back home from my in-laws' the next day. She was eating chicken and rice, but nothing else. I was somewhat comforted that she was at least eating, but I knew that long-term chicken and rice were not providing her with all the nutrients she needed. On Jan. 13, we took Sadie to the vet. Blood work and a urinalysis were done to check for infection. Baytril was given “just in case” there was infection. Sadie continued to eat the chicken and rice until on the 17th, she discovered that I was trying to trick her into taking the Baytril. She was not happy. And she didn’t want to eat any more chicken after that. We could entice her here and there with various things, but nothing steady. The blood work showed an elevated platelet count (654), monocytes (1056), BUN (41), Creatnine (1.8), and low glucose (55), albumin (2.3), with all other values normal.
On Jan. 21 we took Sadie back to get a sterile urine sample. Test came back fine. On the 23rd, my husband and I had to go out of town for a couple of days while he had tests at a major hospital. She woke up and wouldn’t eat. We thought perhaps she was depressed because she saw our luggage. My in-laws gave her an egg, peanut butter, and soda crackers, all of which were vet-recommended. On the 24th, she ate non-drained ground turkey, but she threw it up. I know I’m giving a log of her eating history, blood work, and dates, but when she was ill those types of data would have helped me greatly.
My husband’s tests went wonderfully. To make a long story short, the surgery he was facing was no longer needed. God had worked miracle after miracle on his behalf. So we were relieved for his sake, but when we returned home on the 25th, Sadie had not eaten that day and my father-in-law thought her stool was black and tarry. Something had to be done. This habit of eating sporadically had been going on for exactly three weeks, and Sadie’s muscle mass was deteriorating quickly.
In upcoming posts, after Sadie’s story is completely told, I want to offer tidbits of helpful advice for those who are going through a pet’s illness. So I will save those types of comments for the future. But for now, I want to note that in retrospect, those first 3 weeks were crucial. Yes there were several other crises going on in both our lives concurrent with Sadie’s illness, but had I been able to keep her from losing muscle mass early on, it would have been so beneficial. Our vet recommended several “special” recipes, which I tried. She wouldn’t eat them. I later learned of a pork roast recipe that many dogs with a poor appetite will eat. Later on in the illness, Sadie would eat a little turkey bacon. Some days I would cook for hours trying to make something --- anything she would eat. It was tough. Had I known how helpful small syringes were in feeding a dog, I would have used them during those weeks, filled with yogurt, baby food or cereal mixed with crushed vitamins. PediaLite also helps replenish electrolytes lost through vomiting and diarrhea.
At the time we were doing all we could. We were advised to visit other veterinarians; however, we trusted our clinic to be there for us when we needed them. Their bedside manners cannot be beat. Still, it felt like we weren’t getting anywhere. This was more than Sadie just being moody. If I had known about such a thing as a veterinary teaching hospital, I would have taken her there the first week. But I did not know. I did the best I could with the information I had at the time. We took Sadie to the vet within two hours of returning to town. The question had to be answered: What was wrong with Sadie?
2007---What a Year!
It was exactly 2 weeks before Christmas and I was driving Sadie to her annual dental surgery. I always dreaded to put Sadie “under” because she was a slow one to recover. Nevertheless, I knew how important clean teeth were to a canine. I knew the diseases that could develop if bacteria were on the teeth. So, I made it a point to take care of Sadie’s teeth! To me, that was taking care of her heart, too. She had the cutest little teeth.
Sadie had been through an interesting year --- we all had. The dream that we had spent the last 4 years of our lives in preparation for became a reality that January. There were so many blessings, but in the midst of a very busy life, our health broke. I developed chronic migraine headaches, and the 4-month process to diagnosis seemed to last an eternity. In the midst of a nasty flu season both my husband and I had taken quite a beating. Due to complications, it took me over a month to recover. Sadie had become increasingly irritable when it came time for grooming. The previous fall, she had bitten a groomer. During my illness, I missed a couple of days brushing her and she became quite matted. I took her to a new groomer and we thought everything was fine, but on her next visit, Sadie bit her, too. So now we were left without a groomer. (Note: Because of Sadie’s history, she did not trust most people near her face. That made finding a groomer very difficult). Growing older, Sadie also was developing lots of “old age spots” that also made grooming a challenge.
My husband had just been released from the hospital 3 weeks before after an emergency stay, and after I dropped Sadie off we were headed to a follow-up MRI. He was facing surgery, and this MRI would give us more information. Later that week we would have appointments with a surgeon and a new family doctor. It was a stressful time, to say the least. One good thing about it was that we were able to work from the house during his illness, and that meant spending more time with Sadie. Now, we could handle that!
The day before her surgery another vet in the office called to say that there was a problem with Sadie’s blood work; the CBC clotted in the tube and there wasn’t enough blood for any readings. Now, it could be a stressful experience for Sadie to go to the vet. She didn’t particularly like having her blood drawn. I sure wanted that reading, though. One vet thought I should have the test results prior to surgery, but Sadie’s vet promised to take another sample while Sadie was “under” so as not to stress her out. During her pre-op exam, her vet also advised me that her mammary gland was swollen and it would be best if a sample was taken “just to be safe.” We also decided to have most of her “old age warts” removed. I dropped Sadie off, and then picked up my husband for his MRI. On both fronts, I had cause to pray for my loved ones.
When it was time to pick up Sadie, she was more perky than usual. I asked if the CBC was re-taken and was taken a bit off guard when the vet told me, “Oh, I forgot. My head was in the clouds this morning.” Sadie lost a front tooth in the surgery, and she looked like a cute little kindergartner. Sadie’s recovery was better than she had ever experienced. And that made us relieved. The only issue I needed to watch were her stitches on her abdomen. I wanted to make sure she did not bite and chew, so I slept with a hand on her belly for 10 nights until her souchers were removed. We received the pathology report and it was good news! No cancer. Her cells were reactive, so we'd need to keep an eye on her lymph nodes, but for now there was no immediate cause for concern.
I was now in PT for my knees and was grappling with an auto-immune disorder. But I was determined to get well and be healthy! We headed into Christmas with my husband and me on the mend, and with Sadie as cute as ever. I’ll never forget her sleeping and playing under my in-laws’ Christmas tree that year. Little did we know what the next week would hold.
Sadie had been through an interesting year --- we all had. The dream that we had spent the last 4 years of our lives in preparation for became a reality that January. There were so many blessings, but in the midst of a very busy life, our health broke. I developed chronic migraine headaches, and the 4-month process to diagnosis seemed to last an eternity. In the midst of a nasty flu season both my husband and I had taken quite a beating. Due to complications, it took me over a month to recover. Sadie had become increasingly irritable when it came time for grooming. The previous fall, she had bitten a groomer. During my illness, I missed a couple of days brushing her and she became quite matted. I took her to a new groomer and we thought everything was fine, but on her next visit, Sadie bit her, too. So now we were left without a groomer. (Note: Because of Sadie’s history, she did not trust most people near her face. That made finding a groomer very difficult). Growing older, Sadie also was developing lots of “old age spots” that also made grooming a challenge.
My husband had just been released from the hospital 3 weeks before after an emergency stay, and after I dropped Sadie off we were headed to a follow-up MRI. He was facing surgery, and this MRI would give us more information. Later that week we would have appointments with a surgeon and a new family doctor. It was a stressful time, to say the least. One good thing about it was that we were able to work from the house during his illness, and that meant spending more time with Sadie. Now, we could handle that!
The day before her surgery another vet in the office called to say that there was a problem with Sadie’s blood work; the CBC clotted in the tube and there wasn’t enough blood for any readings. Now, it could be a stressful experience for Sadie to go to the vet. She didn’t particularly like having her blood drawn. I sure wanted that reading, though. One vet thought I should have the test results prior to surgery, but Sadie’s vet promised to take another sample while Sadie was “under” so as not to stress her out. During her pre-op exam, her vet also advised me that her mammary gland was swollen and it would be best if a sample was taken “just to be safe.” We also decided to have most of her “old age warts” removed. I dropped Sadie off, and then picked up my husband for his MRI. On both fronts, I had cause to pray for my loved ones.
When it was time to pick up Sadie, she was more perky than usual. I asked if the CBC was re-taken and was taken a bit off guard when the vet told me, “Oh, I forgot. My head was in the clouds this morning.” Sadie lost a front tooth in the surgery, and she looked like a cute little kindergartner. Sadie’s recovery was better than she had ever experienced. And that made us relieved. The only issue I needed to watch were her stitches on her abdomen. I wanted to make sure she did not bite and chew, so I slept with a hand on her belly for 10 nights until her souchers were removed. We received the pathology report and it was good news! No cancer. Her cells were reactive, so we'd need to keep an eye on her lymph nodes, but for now there was no immediate cause for concern.
I was now in PT for my knees and was grappling with an auto-immune disorder. But I was determined to get well and be healthy! We headed into Christmas with my husband and me on the mend, and with Sadie as cute as ever. I’ll never forget her sleeping and playing under my in-laws’ Christmas tree that year. Little did we know what the next week would hold.
Just Like Old Times
When we entered the door to see Sadie, she took one look at us and I kid you not, she gasped! She was so excited to see us it was amazing, voiding any fears we had that she wouldn’t remember us. She was just as bright and strong as ever, it was hard to believe her prognosis just 4 months earlier. We immensely enjoyed the month home and were even able to take Sadie to a cabin with both families. While we were home we also were able to chat with her veterinarian. This was not Misty and Sadie’s old vet, but a new one who had come to the clinic after their former one had moved on. She was the same vet who found the tonsil tumor. Sadie’s health was just as good as it had ever been. She was not symptomatic of cancer, although she was cautiously monitored. We couldn’t have been happier about that!
After our trip back overseas, Sadie continued to enjoy wonderful health. We moved back home in the summer of 2006, purchased another house, and Sadie enjoyed herself getting adjusted to her new home. Having Sadie as part of our everyday life was just great. Everything about her was filled with life and sweetness. It didn’t matter what would happen in a day, one look at those big eyes and your heart melted!
Just 3 months after moving back, we got a bad report again. During a routine exam, one of Sadie’s lymph nodes was swollen. A cytology sample (needle) was taken and the report was suspicious of low-grade lymphoma. These reports aren't the final word, and further testing has to be done to confirm a diagnosis. Of course, we immediately took Sadie in to have the lymph node removed. I had it combined with her annual dental cleaning. She did not recover well from the surgery, as was her custom. When the lab report was returned, the pathologist noted that the sample contained no lymph tissue --- only salivary gland tissue. I was stunned that this could happen. Now we were getting several sets of advice on what to do: one vet said Sadie needed to get back for another surgery as soon as she recovered from this one, but her regular vet insisted that she removed the area that was swollen (i.e., the same area that was reflected in the cytology report). We were confused. In hindsight, I would have taken Sadie back in for a second surgery (although there was never another issue with that gland). But for the moment in which I was living, all I could see was how weak Sadie was after surgery. We didn’t want to play games with her life, but we wanted to do what was best for her. The risk of anesthesia scared me at Sadie's age. We decided against a second surgery, trusting that her vet had removed a sample from the previously affected area. After her usual recovery time, Sadie returned to life as normal and gave us no cause for concern. Never would that particular area give us cause for concern again. I now know that there are some dogs that have cancer cells in their body, but they are in an “indolent” (i.e., relatively inactive) stage, not causing problems for years, if ever. Of course, at age 13, she was sleeping more, had difficulty hearing, and sometimes had joint pain issues, but we often remarked that for the most part, she still acted like a wild puppy!
After our trip back overseas, Sadie continued to enjoy wonderful health. We moved back home in the summer of 2006, purchased another house, and Sadie enjoyed herself getting adjusted to her new home. Having Sadie as part of our everyday life was just great. Everything about her was filled with life and sweetness. It didn’t matter what would happen in a day, one look at those big eyes and your heart melted!
Just 3 months after moving back, we got a bad report again. During a routine exam, one of Sadie’s lymph nodes was swollen. A cytology sample (needle) was taken and the report was suspicious of low-grade lymphoma. These reports aren't the final word, and further testing has to be done to confirm a diagnosis. Of course, we immediately took Sadie in to have the lymph node removed. I had it combined with her annual dental cleaning. She did not recover well from the surgery, as was her custom. When the lab report was returned, the pathologist noted that the sample contained no lymph tissue --- only salivary gland tissue. I was stunned that this could happen. Now we were getting several sets of advice on what to do: one vet said Sadie needed to get back for another surgery as soon as she recovered from this one, but her regular vet insisted that she removed the area that was swollen (i.e., the same area that was reflected in the cytology report). We were confused. In hindsight, I would have taken Sadie back in for a second surgery (although there was never another issue with that gland). But for the moment in which I was living, all I could see was how weak Sadie was after surgery. We didn’t want to play games with her life, but we wanted to do what was best for her. The risk of anesthesia scared me at Sadie's age. We decided against a second surgery, trusting that her vet had removed a sample from the previously affected area. After her usual recovery time, Sadie returned to life as normal and gave us no cause for concern. Never would that particular area give us cause for concern again. I now know that there are some dogs that have cancer cells in their body, but they are in an “indolent” (i.e., relatively inactive) stage, not causing problems for years, if ever. Of course, at age 13, she was sleeping more, had difficulty hearing, and sometimes had joint pain issues, but we often remarked that for the most part, she still acted like a wild puppy!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Dreaded Word: Cancer
We had been gone 9 months, and we received a phone call that Sadie was sick. She had not been acting like herself lately, and it was discovered that she was suffering from bladder stones. Surgery was scheduled and my husband and I waited to hear the latest news. When the call came in, we were not prepared for what we would be told. A mass had been discovered in Sadie’s throat when inserting the anesthesia tube. The veterinarian removed the mass and had it immediately sent to the lab. As terrible as the bladder stones were, this mass could be much worse. Her surgery would prove to be a blessing in disguise.
A couple of days later we received very bad news: Sadie’s tonsil tumor was squamous cell carcinoma. She was given only 6 months to live, and we were told that even if we tried to treat her cancer, the chances were very bleak, as it was one of the most aggressive types of cancer. She would have a better quality of life if we did nothing. I’m not the type to just “do nothing” but in this case we were given no hope for survival. To hear this news was devastating emotionally. Yet, my husband and I believe in the power of prayer and knew that if God had orchestrated Sadie’s path to be with us, then He was big enough to heal her. We knew He cared about even the smallest of His creatures. And so we asked all our friends to pray for Sadie. And they did.
Our course of action with the veterinarian was to monitor her condition, getting blood work and X-rays on a regular basis. We were taking one day at a time, believing and knowing that nothing was too hard for God.
This occurred in March 2003, and we already had plans to visit home in July. We weren’t quite sure what to do. Would leaving her again harm her? Or would seeing us cheer her up? We would take one step at a time and see how things panned out. Sadie was never good about recovering quickly from surgery, but after a while she returned to her usual self, behaving like a puppy. As the days turned into months, Sadie was not exhibiting symptoms of the cancer. Her X-rays were clear and her blood work normal. We decided to make the trip home, after all. It had been 13 months since we last saw our little girl and just like the first time we saw her . . . . we had butterflies again!
A couple of days later we received very bad news: Sadie’s tonsil tumor was squamous cell carcinoma. She was given only 6 months to live, and we were told that even if we tried to treat her cancer, the chances were very bleak, as it was one of the most aggressive types of cancer. She would have a better quality of life if we did nothing. I’m not the type to just “do nothing” but in this case we were given no hope for survival. To hear this news was devastating emotionally. Yet, my husband and I believe in the power of prayer and knew that if God had orchestrated Sadie’s path to be with us, then He was big enough to heal her. We knew He cared about even the smallest of His creatures. And so we asked all our friends to pray for Sadie. And they did.
Our course of action with the veterinarian was to monitor her condition, getting blood work and X-rays on a regular basis. We were taking one day at a time, believing and knowing that nothing was too hard for God.
This occurred in March 2003, and we already had plans to visit home in July. We weren’t quite sure what to do. Would leaving her again harm her? Or would seeing us cheer her up? We would take one step at a time and see how things panned out. Sadie was never good about recovering quickly from surgery, but after a while she returned to her usual self, behaving like a puppy. As the days turned into months, Sadie was not exhibiting symptoms of the cancer. Her X-rays were clear and her blood work normal. We decided to make the trip home, after all. It had been 13 months since we last saw our little girl and just like the first time we saw her . . . . we had butterflies again!
Moving Overseas . . . Without our Sadie
Life was good with Sadie. She was the best little dog anyone could ever ask for, and in the truest sense, she made us very happy (and vice-versa). She was just right for us. In early 2003, however, we made a decision that would forever shape our lives. After ten years in the same position, we decided that the time was right for a transition. The irony of it all is that we were at our happiest, most fulfilling season in our lives. Yet for us, we knew this was God’s will. This transition would include a long-term plan at our workplace in our hometown, but for the short-term it required us moving overseas to finish graduate school for 3 years. Because it is a volatile region and our schedules would keep us so busy, we knew it was not in Sadie’s best interest to live with us. Our biggest concern was her ability to handle the stress of the flight, as she was unbearable in foreign environments with people she did not know. We didn’t want her to stress out under the seat, but if she acted up there in the cabin area, she almost certainly would not be able to stay calm by herself in the cargo hold. We also were cautious about sedation, as she never handled it well. This broke our hearts, yet we knew it was the right thing to do. We knew she would be well cared for in my in-laws’ home. They loved her so much, and Sadie was wild about them, too. She frequently stayed the night at their house and it was already her 2nd home. I’ve often thought how interesting it was that her first 2 homes mirrored our situation.
Leaving her was harder than I could ever say. Thankfully, we had a webcam and could see her often. She even knew what “webcam” meant! I’ll be honest and say that it really bothered me to see her, knowing I could not hold her and take care of her. Nearly every time I saw her, it would break my heart all over again. We were grateful that Sadie did not react adversely to this major transition. Being that we traveled often, she probably thought this was just another long trip. My in-laws took excellent care of her and she loved every minute of it. Hard as it was to live without her, we knew she was well cared for, and that in the not too distant future, we’d be together again.
Leaving her was harder than I could ever say. Thankfully, we had a webcam and could see her often. She even knew what “webcam” meant! I’ll be honest and say that it really bothered me to see her, knowing I could not hold her and take care of her. Nearly every time I saw her, it would break my heart all over again. We were grateful that Sadie did not react adversely to this major transition. Being that we traveled often, she probably thought this was just another long trip. My in-laws took excellent care of her and she loved every minute of it. Hard as it was to live without her, we knew she was well cared for, and that in the not too distant future, we’d be together again.
A New Life for Sadie
With our decision to keep Sadie, we wanted to make sure she felt loved and secure in her new home. Being that we traveled frequently due to our work, we knew it would be important that Sadie also have a good relationship with our families. In fact, just a couple of weeks after we got Sadie, we were scheduled to go on a use it or lose it vacation. We worked out a system between our 2 families where they would share custody of her while we were away. It worked like a charm. She really brought needed comfort and healing to my parents who were still grieving Misty’s loss. When we returned home after a couple of weeks, she was just as excited as ever to welcome us back! This was some special dog!
Sadie loved car rides and ice cream cones. She loved playing with my husband’s hand, her favorite toy! She loved late-night snacks. She loved dancing on the floor. She loved running around the house like a wild horse after she got bathed. She also loved getting as dirty as possible right after haviing a bath! Did she like baths? About half the time. She loved her soccer ball toys and candy cane toy. But more than anything in the world, she loved my husband. And my, how he loved her. She hated seeing him leave every morning! She’d bark and throw a fit and beg him to play with her before he left each day. It was quite the routine. Then, she would sit for hours if I let her on the arm of our loveseat, looking out the window, counting the seconds ‘til she saw him again. They had a bond that I cannot fully articulate. But you dog lovers don’t need words to understand what I’m saying.
The first December we had her, we thought she might enjoy a little trip with us. The mountains are a few hours away, and we were in the habit of breaking away to a cabin now and then. Finding a pet-friendly cabin was not the easiest thing in the world, but the one we found was just right for her. My how she was excited to go on a trip with us! She bounced around like a little puppy and “strut her stuff” around proudly! She knew she was loved, and that trip gave her a big emotional boost. “Going to the cabin” would prove to be an annual event. She even knew what the phrase meant.
Another thing Sadie loved was our 1967 Camaro convertible we acquired in the summer of 2000. My husband and I drove out of state to pick it up, but when we pulled in the driveway and brought her out, she claimed the car for herself! She loved that car and the many rides we took in it, the breeze blowing in our faces.
Sadie’s new life was certainly good. As good as the adoption was for her, I think it was an even better deal for the rest of us.
Sadie loved car rides and ice cream cones. She loved playing with my husband’s hand, her favorite toy! She loved late-night snacks. She loved dancing on the floor. She loved running around the house like a wild horse after she got bathed. She also loved getting as dirty as possible right after haviing a bath! Did she like baths? About half the time. She loved her soccer ball toys and candy cane toy. But more than anything in the world, she loved my husband. And my, how he loved her. She hated seeing him leave every morning! She’d bark and throw a fit and beg him to play with her before he left each day. It was quite the routine. Then, she would sit for hours if I let her on the arm of our loveseat, looking out the window, counting the seconds ‘til she saw him again. They had a bond that I cannot fully articulate. But you dog lovers don’t need words to understand what I’m saying.
The first December we had her, we thought she might enjoy a little trip with us. The mountains are a few hours away, and we were in the habit of breaking away to a cabin now and then. Finding a pet-friendly cabin was not the easiest thing in the world, but the one we found was just right for her. My how she was excited to go on a trip with us! She bounced around like a little puppy and “strut her stuff” around proudly! She knew she was loved, and that trip gave her a big emotional boost. “Going to the cabin” would prove to be an annual event. She even knew what the phrase meant.
Another thing Sadie loved was our 1967 Camaro convertible we acquired in the summer of 2000. My husband and I drove out of state to pick it up, but when we pulled in the driveway and brought her out, she claimed the car for herself! She loved that car and the many rides we took in it, the breeze blowing in our faces.
Sadie’s new life was certainly good. As good as the adoption was for her, I think it was an even better deal for the rest of us.
This Dog’s Not Going Anywhere . . . She’s Too Sweet!
Later that afternoon we took Sadie out for a car ride. Her previous owner had told me how much Sadie loved a drive and advised me if she ever got down, drive her around for a while. Well, Sadie was just fine, but we wanted her to meet some of the family. We stopped by my mother-in-law’s office. Since no clients were present at the time, we brought Sadie in to meet my husband’s mother and sister. Sadie immediately set off to sniffing out the building. My mother-in-law introduced herself to Sadie by giving her a piece of flour tortilla. You should have seen Sadie go wild! Laughter filled the building because Sadie was there. She was doing just fine and showed no signs of emotional scarring. It was nigh-impossible to think her previous owners were going to put her to sleep! What craziness!
We wanted Sadie to have a check-up, so we took her to Misty’s vet. This vet believed in Misty when none of the other vets did. He called her his miracle dog. We didn’t want Sadie to see anyone else. We brought the medical records, and they showed Sadie’s long history of allergies. Since she was a pup, she was given allergy shots on a regular basis and she desperately needed one right then. But overall, Sadie’s health was good. One thing we found out quick: she didn’t like visits to the vet! Her eyes bulged even more with all the prodding and picking!
The next day I introduced her to my side of the family. I could tell they were holding back tears due to her resemblance of Misty. I remember Sadie calmly sitting on my lap as my mother greeted her. She was so at ease and trusting of me.
After having her for 48 hours, the time had come for us to leave her alone in the house. Misty had never been left alone in our home, save once, when I was involved in a car accident. We knew Sadie was trained, and we just had to trust her while we were at church service. I was a bit nervous, but those fears were calmed when we returned home that evening. We were given the sweetest greeting. Sadie came into the foyer with her little “baby” toy in her mouth. She was so excited to see us. She plopped on the carpet and wanted us to rub her belly. I cannot convey just how excited she was that we were home. My husband and I were touched that she would already love us after such a short time. My husband made an emphatic statement, “This dog is not going anywhere. She’s too sweet!” When I checked the caller ID that evening, I noticed that her first owner had called, but did not leave a message. She never called again. And that was that. It was firm: Sadie was not going anywhere!
We wanted Sadie to have a check-up, so we took her to Misty’s vet. This vet believed in Misty when none of the other vets did. He called her his miracle dog. We didn’t want Sadie to see anyone else. We brought the medical records, and they showed Sadie’s long history of allergies. Since she was a pup, she was given allergy shots on a regular basis and she desperately needed one right then. But overall, Sadie’s health was good. One thing we found out quick: she didn’t like visits to the vet! Her eyes bulged even more with all the prodding and picking!
The next day I introduced her to my side of the family. I could tell they were holding back tears due to her resemblance of Misty. I remember Sadie calmly sitting on my lap as my mother greeted her. She was so at ease and trusting of me.
After having her for 48 hours, the time had come for us to leave her alone in the house. Misty had never been left alone in our home, save once, when I was involved in a car accident. We knew Sadie was trained, and we just had to trust her while we were at church service. I was a bit nervous, but those fears were calmed when we returned home that evening. We were given the sweetest greeting. Sadie came into the foyer with her little “baby” toy in her mouth. She was so excited to see us. She plopped on the carpet and wanted us to rub her belly. I cannot convey just how excited she was that we were home. My husband and I were touched that she would already love us after such a short time. My husband made an emphatic statement, “This dog is not going anywhere. She’s too sweet!” When I checked the caller ID that evening, I noticed that her first owner had called, but did not leave a message. She never called again. And that was that. It was firm: Sadie was not going anywhere!
Pet Detective Work
The next day thankfully was our day off, so we were able to spend the entire day with Sadie. While the first night went better than expected, the next morning Sadie kept on barking at my husband. My husband is a dog-lover. There’s just something about him that dogs love and he bonds with them very easily. Sadie’s persistence in barking at him left us a bit bewildered. Since we were cautious and slow in our movement when approaching her, we had yet to “play” with her. But eventually my husband made the move to play with her and Sadie went wild! Her barking wasn’t trying to keep him away, she was begging for a playmate! And boy, could she go wild! He got down on the floor and played with her and there was no doubt: she liked him!
I spent part of the day doing some investigative work on Sadie’s history. I was determined to find out more about her. I was not convinced she was a Lhasa because her eyes were so big. I wanted to find out more about the spot Sadie had chewed on her mane. I mentioned in a previous post that I was told it was 2 or 3 inches, but the reality was more like 8! The only shards of evidence I possessed from Sadie’s past were 2 invoices: 1 vaccination receipt from the last owner and 1 boarding receipt from another owner. The latter receipt was from a veterinarian’s clinic in a town about an hour away. I attempted to phone the owner listed on the vet receipt I had in hand, but got the answering machine. I left word that I had Sadie and was hoping to find out more of her history. Then, I decided to call the clinic, not knowing if they would give me any info at all. Happened that I spoke with a woman who knew Sadie quite well, and most of her life at that! I soon realized that Sadie had quite the spunky reputation! The lady immediately knew who Sadie was, and when I pressed to know more of her history remarked, “Sadie’s one of those dogs who never lost her ‘puppy’!” She said Sadie was known around the office as very hyper when it came to shots and grooming. She also revealed a bit of Sadie’s history: Sadie was originally the puppy of a young couple. When the couple had a baby, it was emotionally stressful for Sadie. Since she was already close with the husband’s mother, she went to live with her. So she had the best of both worlds, a home where she was the queen without losing contact with her first parents. About the spot on Sadie’s back: it was because Sadie needed allergy medication! There was so much to learn about this complex little creature! I had been so curious about Sadie’s eyes that I just had to ask. The woman assured me she was a Lhasa, but said anytime Sadie was excited, her eyes bulged! The woman agreed to fax me all of Sadie’s medical records that day. I was thrilled!
The fax came in and was a complete record of Sadie’s medical history from a pup ‘til 6 months before. In a previous post I spoke of Sadie’s whirlwind life from March – August 1999. But I knew nothing of her original owners. And here in my hands were her medical records with her owners’ names listed. Eureka! I would start at the beginning and my plan was to hunt down every owner to find out as much as possible! I made the call to Sadie’s first owners and I spoke with a very nice lady. She was very concerned about Sadie’s well-being and I could tell she loved her. She told me that “Sadie was all we ever wanted in a dog.” After the birth of their first child, they were concerned because Sadie was depressed now that she was no longer the center of attention. They agreed the best thing for her would be to live with her mother-in-law, just as the vet’s office had told me. For the sake of clarity, we’ll call her grandma. Apparently Sadie had lived a very happy life and was a well cared for family dog. But then tragedy struck the family: Grandma’s daughter in Florida became very ill. Grandma had to make many trips back and forth to Florida, and sometimes Sadie would go. But the situation became so serious that Sadie could no longer go to FL with Grandma and since Grandpa was a truck driver, Sadie was boarded for long periods of time. Sadie was not the kind of dog that liked boarding. This upset her psyche. So, Grandma decided that the best thing for Sadie would be to live with her aged friend. Their agreement was such that if it didn’t work out, Sadie would be returned to Grandma. The woman with whom I was speaking had a quiver in her voice when she told me she had told Grandma that she didn’t want to know all the details, because she wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything happened to Sadie. I hoped I wasn’t stirring up any negative emotions, but she reassured me she was so glad to hear Sadie was in a good home. She even offered to send me Sadie’s AKC registration.
My husband & I were both sad that Sadie had lived through at least 5 bad experiences in just a few short months. He asked if I would stop making calls, now that I had found the original owner. He didn’t want to know about any of the negative things that had happened. And I agreed.
I now knew how many homes Sadie had lived in: 1) original couple 2) 1st owner’s mother 3) aged friend 4) niece of aged friend 5) camping buddy of niece 6) co-worker of camping buddy 7) co-worker of #6 8) us! That’s a lot of homes for a 6 year old dog! But I was reassured that the majority of her life was spent in a loving environment. Hopefully, she would forget about the 5 negative experiences soon, if we had anything to do with it!
I spent part of the day doing some investigative work on Sadie’s history. I was determined to find out more about her. I was not convinced she was a Lhasa because her eyes were so big. I wanted to find out more about the spot Sadie had chewed on her mane. I mentioned in a previous post that I was told it was 2 or 3 inches, but the reality was more like 8! The only shards of evidence I possessed from Sadie’s past were 2 invoices: 1 vaccination receipt from the last owner and 1 boarding receipt from another owner. The latter receipt was from a veterinarian’s clinic in a town about an hour away. I attempted to phone the owner listed on the vet receipt I had in hand, but got the answering machine. I left word that I had Sadie and was hoping to find out more of her history. Then, I decided to call the clinic, not knowing if they would give me any info at all. Happened that I spoke with a woman who knew Sadie quite well, and most of her life at that! I soon realized that Sadie had quite the spunky reputation! The lady immediately knew who Sadie was, and when I pressed to know more of her history remarked, “Sadie’s one of those dogs who never lost her ‘puppy’!” She said Sadie was known around the office as very hyper when it came to shots and grooming. She also revealed a bit of Sadie’s history: Sadie was originally the puppy of a young couple. When the couple had a baby, it was emotionally stressful for Sadie. Since she was already close with the husband’s mother, she went to live with her. So she had the best of both worlds, a home where she was the queen without losing contact with her first parents. About the spot on Sadie’s back: it was because Sadie needed allergy medication! There was so much to learn about this complex little creature! I had been so curious about Sadie’s eyes that I just had to ask. The woman assured me she was a Lhasa, but said anytime Sadie was excited, her eyes bulged! The woman agreed to fax me all of Sadie’s medical records that day. I was thrilled!
The fax came in and was a complete record of Sadie’s medical history from a pup ‘til 6 months before. In a previous post I spoke of Sadie’s whirlwind life from March – August 1999. But I knew nothing of her original owners. And here in my hands were her medical records with her owners’ names listed. Eureka! I would start at the beginning and my plan was to hunt down every owner to find out as much as possible! I made the call to Sadie’s first owners and I spoke with a very nice lady. She was very concerned about Sadie’s well-being and I could tell she loved her. She told me that “Sadie was all we ever wanted in a dog.” After the birth of their first child, they were concerned because Sadie was depressed now that she was no longer the center of attention. They agreed the best thing for her would be to live with her mother-in-law, just as the vet’s office had told me. For the sake of clarity, we’ll call her grandma. Apparently Sadie had lived a very happy life and was a well cared for family dog. But then tragedy struck the family: Grandma’s daughter in Florida became very ill. Grandma had to make many trips back and forth to Florida, and sometimes Sadie would go. But the situation became so serious that Sadie could no longer go to FL with Grandma and since Grandpa was a truck driver, Sadie was boarded for long periods of time. Sadie was not the kind of dog that liked boarding. This upset her psyche. So, Grandma decided that the best thing for Sadie would be to live with her aged friend. Their agreement was such that if it didn’t work out, Sadie would be returned to Grandma. The woman with whom I was speaking had a quiver in her voice when she told me she had told Grandma that she didn’t want to know all the details, because she wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything happened to Sadie. I hoped I wasn’t stirring up any negative emotions, but she reassured me she was so glad to hear Sadie was in a good home. She even offered to send me Sadie’s AKC registration.
My husband & I were both sad that Sadie had lived through at least 5 bad experiences in just a few short months. He asked if I would stop making calls, now that I had found the original owner. He didn’t want to know about any of the negative things that had happened. And I agreed.
I now knew how many homes Sadie had lived in: 1) original couple 2) 1st owner’s mother 3) aged friend 4) niece of aged friend 5) camping buddy of niece 6) co-worker of camping buddy 7) co-worker of #6 8) us! That’s a lot of homes for a 6 year old dog! But I was reassured that the majority of her life was spent in a loving environment. Hopefully, she would forget about the 5 negative experiences soon, if we had anything to do with it!
House Rules . . . . Yeah, Right!
When we brought Sadie into the house she seemed to adjust quite well. We were expecting at least a little culture shock, but Sadie handled the transition like a champ. We did not observe any negative behavior whatsoever, just a little dog trying to find her way around, peering at us with those big eyes in wonder. We were in no way thinking of our home as a permanent solution; just a good place to stay for a few days while we found her the perfect family.
We had already decided that we would not allow her to beg for food nor jump on the bed. You see, Misty was actually trained to beg by my older sister; whelping, whining and carrying on quite the show with each and every meal. Misty also had her own way of playing on the bed, digging feverishly, throwing off the pillows, until she reached the sheets. She had quite the predictable nightly routine. While irresistibly cute, we didn’t think we’d be able to handle similar behavior coming from another animal.
Sadie smelled the house out, and we put her little mat and bowls in the kitchen. I prepared dinner and without even waiting for the prayer to be finished . . . Sadie was already begging! Rather than whine and howl like Misty, Sadie’s begging consisted of jumping up on her hind legs and waving at us! I had never seen a dog do that and immediately my husband and I burst into laughter! “What is this?” we thought, “she’s already so comfortable with us!” Sadie persisted asking for food throughout the meal by waving and also tapping us on the thighs. She was capturing our hearts by the minute. (I know we weren’t exactly strict, but hey…it’s our house!).
Later in the evening Sadie made her way to our room and jumped right up on the bed! We had been warned to move very slowly around her, so as not to startle her. When I approached her, rather than fear me, she rolled over so that I could rub her belly! Once more, my husband & I just looked at one another. He remarked how unusual it was that she already trusted us. It was as if she was unfazed by being uprooted from her former home mere hours before. Now she was asking for more attention. Later on . . . wouldn’t you know it? The playful routine Misty used to enjoy, Sadie repeated. It was uncanny that 2 dogs could behave so similarly.
The two things we vowed we wouldn’t allow were nixed within a few short hours! We were so relieved that Sadie felt safe, we really didn’t care.
We had already decided that we would not allow her to beg for food nor jump on the bed. You see, Misty was actually trained to beg by my older sister; whelping, whining and carrying on quite the show with each and every meal. Misty also had her own way of playing on the bed, digging feverishly, throwing off the pillows, until she reached the sheets. She had quite the predictable nightly routine. While irresistibly cute, we didn’t think we’d be able to handle similar behavior coming from another animal.
Sadie smelled the house out, and we put her little mat and bowls in the kitchen. I prepared dinner and without even waiting for the prayer to be finished . . . Sadie was already begging! Rather than whine and howl like Misty, Sadie’s begging consisted of jumping up on her hind legs and waving at us! I had never seen a dog do that and immediately my husband and I burst into laughter! “What is this?” we thought, “she’s already so comfortable with us!” Sadie persisted asking for food throughout the meal by waving and also tapping us on the thighs. She was capturing our hearts by the minute. (I know we weren’t exactly strict, but hey…it’s our house!).
Later in the evening Sadie made her way to our room and jumped right up on the bed! We had been warned to move very slowly around her, so as not to startle her. When I approached her, rather than fear me, she rolled over so that I could rub her belly! Once more, my husband & I just looked at one another. He remarked how unusual it was that she already trusted us. It was as if she was unfazed by being uprooted from her former home mere hours before. Now she was asking for more attention. Later on . . . wouldn’t you know it? The playful routine Misty used to enjoy, Sadie repeated. It was uncanny that 2 dogs could behave so similarly.
The two things we vowed we wouldn’t allow were nixed within a few short hours! We were so relieved that Sadie felt safe, we really didn’t care.
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