I received my blessing this week! The local paper was even there. I have a very special bond with father Mike. He is also my neighbor and he has visited me many times during my recovery.
http://newsok.com/gallery/articleid/5349033/3414633
Author: c1nicolei
Sarge has been the the love of my life since we rescued him in 2007. He was thought to be a carcass on the side of the road in our community park. As I walked over to look at the pitiful dead dog, I soon realized he was still breathing, barely. We rushed him to the vet and although severely malnourished and in a terrible state, with TLC he miraculously pulled through. Snap shot ahead to 6/2014, we decide to go outside to play fetch, he was so excited and full of energy, doing his typical bouncy boxer pelvic shuffle. He took a nasty tumble and the sounds that followed was nothing short of heart piercing. My heart stopped, because I knew it was bad, very bad. I am a PA, not a veterinarian, but I knew instantly the leg was broken badly. I splinted him and rushed him to the vet. What initially was going to be an orthopedic surgery to repair a broken radius and ulna, quickly turned into, "Your dog sustained a pathological cancer, we think he has osteosarcoma". I could not even hear what I was being told. How could this seemingly happy, healthy, FULL of life dog have CANCER?? The BX confirmed my worst fears. This whole process took over a week. In that time I researched every aspect of canine osteosarcoma I could find and I had already made up my mind, we were going to fight this, not for me, but I knew he was not done living!!! Making the decision to amputate was not one taken lightly. We ensured there were no macro mets and that his blood work looked stable. I also decided if we amputated we would also do chemo. Sarge had his leg amputated 2 days ago and I am amazed at his hour by hour improvement. We start chemo in 2 weeks. I will keep everyone updated and love reading stories on here that give me hope that he will be able to be a happy, pain free normal Sarge!!! This is when we joined TRIPAWDS! What a wonderful, reassuring supportive community! I love you TRIPAWDS!
Beautiful Fall day
Sarge has always had an infatuation with fire and the little ashy embers that fly up. This is his idea of a good time.
Today’s a normal day
To say today is normal, seems, well ordinary. But for a dog who has been through as much as I have the last few months, ordinary becomes EXTRAordinary. By that I mean; today was a day I didn’t think about “only” having 3 legs, I didn’t think about pain, today I had no side effects of a chemo treatment. Today my day was totally normal, I ate my breakfast, went for a short jog, went for a car ride ( my personal favorite) and I relaxed. Sometimes I think humans get to carried away with the desire for things to be more than just normal. But normal feels pretty great to me!
Chemo round 3; carbo
Well here goes another round of carbo. I was thrilled as usual to go for a ride and didn’t even stress out when I got the the vet. There was a super pretty dog there this morning and she did NOT want to be there. All she wanted to do was leave. The only time I even hesitate is when they take me back and I stop to give my mom one last glance. She has always come back to get me, so today should be no different. I’ll let you all know how I feel later. Don’t think I want the medication I had last time, I sure got sick with that one!!
Feeling good enough to keep Mama from cleaning.
People just don’t get it. Life is about relaxing, stopping to smell butts, um I mean the roses and enjoying life. Why people spend time running this annoying loud thing across the ground seems pointless to me… I must make it stop!
Sarge cracks me up every time he does this, but he seriously will not allow me to vacuum! I have to put him up to get cleaning done or he will completely terrorize my Dyson!! He does this as well with our leaf blower and edger. This has gone on since he was first brought into our home as a puppy. I am actually thrilled to see his energy is back enough to chase the vacuum, even though it still drives me crazy, I love him so much and it makes my heart so happy to see him bouncing around.
My favorite sunning location.
Baby it’s hot outside, but I still love getting my rays on.
Sarge wishes you a beautiful Sunday.
I felt like sleeping in today. Mom and Dad were up at 6:30 to feed the rest of the pack, but I just didn’t want to muster the energy to get up till almost 11. Sundays are for relaxing after all. My plans are to chill outside in the beautiful sunshine, until it gets too hot, then inside for more R&R. Hope your Sunday is beautiful too. Tomorrow is no guarantee but the present looks pretty amazing.
Look what a meal can do
Once my Mom figured out something that I wanted to eat, I started feeling much better. My energy was surging just hours after I gobbled up that chicken earlier. She also threw in a turkey hot dog. Yum yum!! I really could eat my grain free dog food, but I learned if I refuse to eat that, she gives me WAY better stuff. Boy do I have her fooled. http://youtu.be/bNSj_ykFtNA
Desperate times call for….
Well, the vomiting has resolved but the appetite is still MIA. The go to eggs did not work, tried the chicken broth warmed over food, no go! Finally decided to open a can of chicken breast, that got his attention. He ate 1/2 a can last night and another 1/2 this am. Poor guy has never been a big eater, so hard to watch him push his food away and refuse to eat. At least he is drinking plenty of water.
Long night
Poor Sarge had a rough evening/night/morning. I called the vet and went and picked up an injection of Cerenia. Sure hope this helps! Also starting Metronidazole for diarrhea. Carbo was way easier than this. Sarge was so brave and didnt even flinch with his injection. Such a brave boy.