Chance, our walking miracle

Chance is our walking miracle.  This journey with him through his liver cancer and hip dysplasia is one I will never forget.  

In September 2020, Chance was diagnosed with a fist-size tumor on his liver.  Which means it had been there for a while before being discovered.  By my guesstiment, I'd say it has been almost year since the tumor started.  

I woke up today with Mark whispering Chance's name and for me to come quick.  Chance's back legs had collapsed and he couldn't stand up on his own.  Luckily we had a lift harness that we had bought for Blaze, that we were able to get underneath and around him.  

He had a very hard time walking, but with our assistance, we did get him outside to take care of business.  Chance was exhausted and couldn't stand on his own, so he was laying there in the grass and my first thought was, "This is it."  And my second thought was we haven't dug the grave yet.  My mind was whirling with having to go to the vet, the grave, and that we were here, at the end of the road.  I thought that because I didn't know if the weakness in his legs was generated by his hip dysplasia or his liver finally giving out.  And the whole thing triggered off Blaze and when she died.

  

At the time of our little emergency, I wasn't thinking about how Chance would handle the lift harness, because for the last 10 years he still cringes when I put on his walking harness.  Under the circumstances, he was OK with it, and by the end of the day, he didn't seemed bothered by it at all.  Which is good because he is stuck with it.

As the day wore on, Chance was feeling better, walking by himself and getting up on his own.  Even by bedtime, he was still moving just fine on his own.  I finally felt relieved and like I could breathe again when we said our prayers tonight.  The scare was over for now.  Chance had made it through the day.  

We made the choice to ride out Chance's life to the end.  Whatever that means and how ever it comes.  I have grappled with this decision since Blaze died, until today.  Today made the turnaround for me when it comes to ending his life.  We'd never let him suffer and he is not suffering.  There is a whole lot of dog left in him.  And for that I am grateful.  So very, very grateful.  He is not ready to die and I am respecting his wishes.  Blaze was a hard loss.  Out of the blue she went downhill fast and we were nowhere ready for it, but we learned so much from our little girl.  Knowledge that will save Chance's life for as long as he is here.

Tough night with Fiona

 Was up all night with Fiona a few night ago.  She was acting like she was in pain and it came on all the sudden.  Gave her a Tramadol.  Did nothing.  She was pacing and panting and acting like she was going to puke.  She'd been eating rabbit poop that day, so I thought she was feeling sick.  Gave her two Pepto Bismol tablets.  Nothing.  Then I thought it was her liver.  None of her symptoms matched with liver failure.  Back to the pain theory when I watched her try to lay down, after pacing for hours and hours.  She couldn't extend her front legs.  She was so anxious that I gave her a couple of Inositol, which may have slightly helped.  The only thing that calmed her down was going outside and sitting in the rain.  She was actually quiet and sitting down.  We were under the pine tree near duck fence, where we talked.  She told me her secrets, I told her mine.  By the time we went in it was 6:30am and we'd been out for an hour.  By 7:30am I woke up Mark to get ready to go to vet.  Thank God it was Friday and our vet was there.  Just before Fiona's 9:30 appt. she finally laid down while Mark stroked her head and started to fall asleep.  She was exhausted from pacing, panting and being in extreme pain.  The vet gave her a new pain pill to use for 3 days along with her Galaprant and she slept all day on and off, as did I and Fiona is looking so much better.  

Thank God for our vet and modern meds and thank you for taking care of our girl and all our dogs.  We are so grateful her life isn't over yet.

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**Update** 

Fiona is doing great and back to her bubbly diva self.  

No more pain makes for a big smile!

24 Paws Senior Health update

Prognosis of Overall health of the 24 Paws of Love Seniors:

Blaze's incision is healing up very nicely after the removal of a cancerous mammary tumor.  Her fur is slowly coming in, where she was shaved.  Hopefully it won't take too long or she is going to have a cold belly for the winter.  She gets her stitches out on Friday and can finally ditch the cone.  Not to mention as of now she is cancer free!  Yay!

 With Zappa we were confirmed that his hearing is starting to go.  While a little sad, it's also a little interesting as we learn how to deal with him being a little on the deaf side.  The vet says that it's his normal range goes first, but he can still hear high and low pitches.  I've noticed a difference in that he is more clingy than usual, but who wouldn't take extra cuddles from such a cutie pie?

Also Zappa had blood work done and it all came back positive.  The vet said he had the blood work of a two year old!  Zappa is almost 12 years old!!

Chance is still on the fence with the pH levels in his urine.  Last time we checked, a couple of months ago, they were high, as we got a little carried away with treats.  Something he is eating is raising his levels, so were back to the strict diet with him.  Hopefully this will work, or it will mean there is something more serious going on.




Fiona has started on Dasuquin Advanced for her hip dysplasia and it has made a world of difference from just the MSM version.  She hardly needs any pain pills anymore, which is fantastic!  We also bought some tumeric to give to the dogs to help relieve pain and inflammation.  We believe the tumeric in the Dasuquin Advanced is giving her such relief that we want to have it on hand for all the dogs.

Fiona is also on supplement of milk thistle and SAM-e for keeping her liver levels down.  So far, so good.  She will be tested again at the beginning of the year, to see that they are staying down.

So other than some minor tweaking adjustments, the dogs are in great health for their age.  (All dogs are 12 years old)  They do not look like senior dogs and really don't act like it.

Like flipping a paw to Mother Nature!  lol