6 February 2011 -- Back to Zen Dog

He's much better this AM after a rocky 48 hours or so. The new Fentanyl patch has kicked in and he's much more comfortable. The problem is that his appetite is fairly depressed. He did eat a can of chicken this morning, and some freeze dried lamb treats, but he's really not interested in eating. HOWEVER, good pain control is what we wanted and having achieved that we're HAPPY campers!!

Also gave him a Pepcid which may have helped settle him as well as he's prone to upset tummy anyway. Our pee and poo are a little down as well, but hey, nothing in the front means far less out the back (that's all technical talk by the way, send the kiddies to their rooms!).

He's still eating the K9 Immunity, seems to like a the taste a lot. He's figured out that peanut butter may hide "mysterious nasty tasting little white things" so we've had to resort to pill pockets to get our pills down. We have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow so hopefully we'll find out exactly where we are. To have an amputation and chemo the same week -- amazing he's made it with so few problems. We slept about five hours last night, which is a record for the last two weeks. And a mommy with more sleep is a lot more patient!

2 February 2011 -- Our First "Meal"

Just had a soft egg with lots of butter and three Etta treats (liver) mixed in. We had our first MEAL!!! HUZZAH! He's been eating the Etta treats and the K9 Immunity Plus (you'd think he wouldn't want anything that was good for him, would you, but he also ate a Pet Tab!). He had not been interested at all in food, except for about 5 tablespoons of peanut butter during the night, the Etta treats and the K9 Immunity Plus. So, this egg is a BIG victory (one does not live by peanut butter alone -- well, most people don't).

We took a trip outside again (the Cisplatin treatment really has diuretic aftershock, he's not going as much as they said, which was every 2 hours, but he needs to go every 3 1/2) He just went right down the ramp (thanks Mikey and Brad) and out the down stairs (4) like a pro! Could NOT be more impressed.

Was concerned between 0300 and 0630 this AM that he was having trouble with the Fentanyl patch. I found that if I held him and massaged the muscles of his foreleg and head that he calmed down and wouldn't enter the crying out phase of the reaction. Since they tell me that it's like having a hangover, the only thing I could think to do was massage -- after all, what do you want when you have a hangover? Dark, quiet, understanding and a good massage to ease that headache (his muscles were in knots).

1 February 2011 -- Chemo

Well, Razzle Mr. Dazzle started having the preparatory work for the Cisplatin chemotherapy today. He had an IV line that was used for the preparatory treatment begin to bleed and they've had to take steps, including an anti-coagulant to stop the bleeding (wonder what the impact that drug will have on the chemo?). Once they have that under control he'll have the chemo later today. Ghastly stuff. A platinum based drug? Just what we all need -- more heavy metal. This is barbaric, you know? We do this to humans, too.

This has been the first setback they've had with him. The surgeon said he was doing very well after the surgery and had been eating and looking around and looking for love and attention (sly boy!). Dr. Tripp said this would set him down and back, making him feel blue and bad. They're looking for 4-6 treatments depending on how his kidneys handle the drug.

Baby is having a rotten day so far. The sun is out and the mountains are shining -- hopefully a sign of a beautiful day to come.

24 January 2011 My sweet darling Greyhound ...

Some of you are old friends of Razzle’s and some of you have only met him a few times. I wanted you to know what is going on, as all of you know and love him. Yesterday, Razzle was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right foreleg. The bone is deeply involved.

The good news is his blood work returned today and he is otherwise in good shape, with none of the markers to indicate it has spread throughout his system, yet. We will be imaging the other three legs tomorrow, to see if he has developed lesions in any of the other three legs. His chest images were clear.

The medical among you know that the reason for this is that the only treatment for this disease is to amputate the leg at the shoulder and a course of chemotherapy. If the cancer is appearing in other limbs, the surgical option will not be followed, and he will not be with us very long at all, probably a few weeks at most.

The surgery is not to stem the course of the disease (this is not possible) but to alleviate pain and prevent the inevitable serious breaks that will occur in the weakened bone. While there is always hope, and I’ll do everything possible to try and effect a remission, the course of this cancer is always fatal; the survival times range from a minimum of 3-4 months, with amputation and chemotherapy up to a maximum of about 11 months.

I will be taking him to Moclips this weekend so he can enjoy one final, four-legged romp before he faces surgery, probably sometime next week.

I know you all wish him well and will keep you updated. He loves all of you, and I know you will send him good wishes and your best thoughts. If anyone wants to stop by for a hug and pet and a kiss, he’d love to see you