Chance's health report

 Chance got an excellent report from the vet yesterday!  I'm still beaming!  We took him for a heartworm test and an overall assessment.  He did so good, I still can't believe it!

My-must-wear-a-muzzle-dog-because-he-hates-to-be-touched, got a blood draw for the heartworm test, as well as a blood count.  He was checked over.  Heart and lungs good.  Weight is steady.  All good signs.  He's been having a reoccurring nose bleed after a fall a couple of weeks ago.  It happened to be bleeding during the exam, and when our vet checked him over, she concurred that it was just a broken blood vessel in his snout that may come and go intermittently.  Then he had his nails trimmed, something he's NEVER had done before EVER and was she said he just stood the while they did it and was excellent for the procedure. The vet even took off his muzzle!  WOW!!  So cool!

And I was a nervous wreck about taking Chance to the vet.  I didn't think it was a good idea and was completely against it.  I didn't want to put Chance through the anxiety and pain, especially with a muzzle.  But now I'm glad we did because not only did Chance pass with flying colors, it show he's in better health than we thought he was or could be at this point in time.  Something must be working!  Now we just need to get more weight on him.  Chance is allowed to eat anything he wants (as long as it is safe for dogs) and as much as he wants. 

I would have never guessed we would be this far into Chance's cancer with him doing and basically feeling so well.  I have been blown away how physically well he is and believe me, every night we thank God he is still here!

Have a fantastic weekend! 

How is Chance doing?

And the boy likes his space.  I'm surprised Chance lasted this long and this close to Mark, so I could get a pic.  lol  He jumped off after I snapped!
 

Chance is doing pretty good, considering he has liver cancer.  He seems to be in some sort of remission as he isn't getting better or worse.  He hasn't lost any more weight.  He's thin but looks like he gained some muscle.   We started walking him every day, as opposed to every other day like we were, to help with his high anxiety.  He's been eating his meals in full and all necessary business is good.  

We started giving Chance CoQ10 a few months back.  I had read that it may help in shrinking the tumor and was also good for his mental and emotional state.  Maybe it's working.  He is quite alert and responsive.  Definitely can't hurt him and maybe it is why he's in remission.  Who knows!?

Chance has always been like a race horse coming out of the gate when we used to go for walks.  And was still pulling me along up until about three weeks ago.  I used to have to speed up to stay behind him and now I have to slow down to walk beside him.  I don't think he likes me sharing the lead with him, he is used to being the lead dog.  So sometimes he turns his head towards me telling me to get back.  

For those who may be curious what we are feeding Chance, really, anything he will eat.  For meals, he finally settled on cooked chicken and his prescription canned food, because he won't eat the dry anymore.  My Mr. Veggie lover, will hardly eat vegetables any more.  He used to love almost all veggies.  I don't know what cancer is doing to him, but he will hardly eat them any more.  The good news is that he will eat almost anything else, so we haven't hit that stage of not eating yet. 

Chance does have some bad times, in the morning and in the mid-evenings.  He isn't a morning dog and can look pretty beaten down.  Like he's lost all hope.  He mostly sleeps through the morning.  In the evening he tends to be very unsettled, has a hard time lying down and paces quite a bit.  Like he can't get comfortable.  I don't know if it is the tumor or his arthritis in his hips and back, or if he has anxiety about something I don't know.  It really tends to ramp up after dinner, and may or may not settle down by bedtime.

When we had the ultrasound done in September 2020, and discovered the cancer/tumor, Chance was doing really good at that time.  Our vet said that he might live for 6 months to a year.  March 24 will be 6 months since she made that prediction.  So far, so good.  We are just grateful for every day with him.  

And then there is Blaze

On January 29, 2021, a Friday, we took Blaze to the vet.  She had fluid in her abdomen that had gone down and I was hoping to get an x-ray, looking for tumors. I had suspicions when  I noticed Blaze had begun mimicking Chance's behavior.  I don't know how to explain it, but they were like carbon copies of each other.  Unfortunately I was right.  A HUGE mass in her abdomen, coming from the liver, that is pushing her intestines forward. 

Our second dog to currently have cancer, next to Chance.  

Blaze at the moment is doing pretty good under her conditions.  She's doing all the normal doggy things: eating, drinking, walking, sleeping...so for that we are grateful. 

Any prayers or well wishes would be greatly appreciated.  

Love, Mark, Patty and the 24 Paws of Love 

Frozen Yogurt Night with Chance

 

The best unlaid plans

 It was a new morning.  The clouds were parting for the first time in weeks, showing a faint blue sky and some hazy sunshine.  It was mild again today, the temps in the 30's.  Fantastic weather for mid-January in Northern Michigan.  

Hubby and I had our morning ritual, talking about all we could do on this nice winter day and what we'd like to get done.  For the most part our minds were content.  The dogs were doing well and we couldn't ask for more.  

Despite our excitement over our plans for the day, we moved slowly through the morning hours.  Taking our time with the dogs, when we noticed Fiona in pain.  That darn torn tendon in her right shoulder.   We'd been lucky so far with walks on ice and snow and in the yard, but she most have strained it somehow.  

Watching her pace back and forth is difficult to watch.  Or she stands, then lays, then is back up again, only to walk to another spot and do it again.  

And that was all it took for our day to crash to the floor.  Between Silver's anniversary yesterday, Brut Thursday (today) and Chance, our emotional plate was full, only to have it toppled over now that our little girl was hurting.  It became a day of hugging the dogs and spending time with them.  Which isn't a bad way to spend the day, it was just hard under those circumstances.  It just makes for more tears when you are sad and scared. 

By the end of the afternoon Fiona was doing much better and moving without pain or extra pain medicine.  Mark walked Chance, Blaze was at my feet and Zappa was comfortable in his chair.  

And it turned into a great day after all.  Even with all our plans being squashed and the daylight fading away, we spent the day with the ones we love most, which was the best unlaid plan we could have had.  ♥   

Love you Silver!

 Four years ago today, we lost our sweet Momma Dog Silver.  It still feels like it has been an eternity since she left us.  It doesn't feel like she died, but just faded away.  She was a spunky girl who had a gentle life force and a nurturing soul.  Silver was the counter balance to Brut's aggressive ways.  Her genes softened the rough edges in their kids.  I see Silver the most in Fiona and Zappa, probably because Silver rubbed off on them being part of their pack.  

Silver was our first puppy together who started this whole journey we are on with her kids;
who are now as old as she was when she died.  It doesn't seem possible.  

She was a good first-time mom.  She already had the mothering down by practicing on me.  lol  She really was a natural.  We were so blessed that she took good care of her puppies.

And when those  puppies grew up she took a backseat to her own needs and made sure they got the care they needed.  She was amazing that way.  I always felt so guilty that she was always last compared to Brut and the kids, not realizing, that is what a mother does.  

 

All those years I didn't understand.  I thought she just didn't fit in with the rest of them and she didn't.  She was a mother first and a dog second.  She'd been that way from almost the start of our relationship.  I thought I understood the true mother Silver was to me when she was here, now I'm finding a deeper root of what
her mothering has meant to me.  Silver was exactly the mother I needed and still do.  

So on this day, I honor my girl, who taught me the true meaning of what it means to be loved unconditionally and forever.

                                                   Love you Silver!

Chance is stable

 So far, so good with Chance.  Stable is the best word for his condition right now and we will take it.  He's lost weight over the last couple of weeks, but that seems to have balanced out at this point.  We made some changes to his diet and he is now eating all his breakfast. It is a nice sweet spot to be in and we are all getting a little respite out of it.  Just enough to take a few breaths and savor the moments.  A little God-given peace to enjoy that extra time with our special boy.  

Chance thanks you for thinking of us.

Bittersweet 13th Birthday

Woke up in tears this bittersweet day of January 2, 2021.  Crying about Silver and the day she gave birth 13 years ago to 10 healthy puppies.  There, in our master bedroom where we were part of the beginning.  Squeaks, oohs and ahs filled the room as we reveled at the miracle that was before us.  So many wonderful memories on that day and so many more that came that are still with us now.  

13 years later and the puppies are all considerably older.  Each with their own set of ailments.  How fast time has changed them, even with the difference from a year ago.  

So, while this will be a day of celebration, it will also be a somber one for hubby and I.  Our babies are old dogs and the inevitable is waiting.  It has been a tough year for the Power of Ten litter, as I wonder about the other homed puppies and how they are doing now that they've hit the 13 year mark.  If any of them are still alive?  What ailments they may have?  Questions, we may never know.  I just hope there was a lot of love in their lives and to let them know how much we still love them.