Artemis

Sorry to report, I had to say goodbye to Moose on July 16th. He’d been doing really well, then over the first 2 weeks of July his control over his hind end became less and less. We changed his acupuncture and his oral meds but in the span of a weekend he went from being able to walk on his own to not even being able to stand up on his own. Another trip back to the vet and x-rays showed more spondylosis and narrowing of disc spaces in multiple vertebrae, and by the next morning he had completely lost sensation and function from the bottom of his rib cage back. The changes in meds and acupuncture weren’t enough and the pressure on his spinal cord became too much. We discussed spinal surgery for him, but with him already missing the front leg we decided it wasn’t fair for any of us to go through another major surgery that may not be successful or where he may not be able to do the rehab. We discussed carts and the logistics of having a geriatric 115 lb one-legged dog in a cart, but he had lost bladder control and battling bladder expression, future urinary tract infections, catheters, and bed sores wouldn’t be fair to a dog that spent the majority of his life following me around and going places with me.

The kicker was that on the x-rays his lungs showed no evidence of cancer mets, though I know that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t there. When this all started I never thought paralysis would be the reason we had to say goodbye. I did, however, get to celebrate a full 9 years of having him and 8 months after his cancer diagnosis, which was more than I had hoped for.  If I had to do it all again I’m not sure that I would do anything different – I knew he wouldn’t live forever but now I just miss my friend.  I know with time the sadness will lessen and there will be other dogs, but there will never be another Moose.

We are almost at our 6 month amputee anniversary, and past 6 months since the cancer made its self known. So far Moose is still truckin’ along and I continue to cope.

We are still doing our acupuncture visits every other week and now we’ve added chiropractor to help his back more. We’ve only done one session so far and I’m happy with the results. I could see a difference within a couple of days after being adjusted and he LOVED being worked on. He tolerates the acupuncture, but having the vet work on his back and neck and kneed those muscles, he was in heaven. She also did B12 injections at his acupuncture sites with his adjustment to help his neurological functioning. The vet said we could come back and do a repeat adjustment if he needed it, and after falling down the stairs the other day he’ll go back for one more. She warned me he might be feeling good and not to let him do to much, but I didn’t have a good enough hold on him and he tried to take the stairs too fast…this kind of this has been part of the learning curve in the last 6 months. We seem to be going to cycles of where he feels really good then something small happens and he tweaks his back and we’re set back. Before the chiropractor session it was him trying to pee on a bush on an incline, and he lost his balance and fell. It’s frustrating for me because I’m right there with him and can’t seem to keep it from happening. He shakes it off and it’s forgotten, but man it’s hard on me. But, bottom line, when he had his amputation they told me 4 to 6 months and here we are. So I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and keep him as happy and healthy as I can with this time that I have.

And another picture of him and the puppy soaking up the rays. What you can’t see since his head is on the ground is that when he lifts his head he has dirt and leaf crusted drool hanging from his mouth to the ground. Ahh the joys of Mastiffs.

So, yea, I’m a poor blogger, but am happy to report that no news has been good news. Artemis is still going strong and getting around great on his three legs. We’ve been doing acupuncture for his back and hind legs and it seems to help. I didn’t see any great difference at first, but now we are stretching it out between visits and I sure can see the difference. He doesn’t relax at the visits quite as well as I’d like him to but he enjoys going anywhere in the truck so it works out.  We’re almost 5 months post-amp and still going strong so we’ll keep it up.

Not really much else to report – things have been incredibly busy and Moose takes everything in stride. Spring has sprung in Georgia so he’s back to napping outside in the grass and barking at the neighbors. Well, not quite the grass, more the dirt, but whatever.

Moose and Nell

Moose

So we are now about 2 months post-amp and it’s been interesting the last few weeks. We went home to the family again for the holiday and everything had been going great – eating great, back into his normal routines, mobile without assistance, and happy, happy, happy. That was, until the herniated disc.

Christmas day, Artemis slipped on my mother’s new hardwood floor. One thing I’m finding out about the amp dogs is that they adapt so well, they stop being cautious. He was truckin’ across the room on a turkey mission and slipped and down he went. I helped him get traction and get back up and onto the carpet and he went on without any problems. That evening though, when we were out for a potty break, he just collapsed and lost all control of his back legs. I freaked. I was sure that that was the end, that my fantastic companion for the last 8 years had battled cancer and amputation to now have to be put down because was literally left without a leg to stand on. So, we made a trip to the emergency vet and by the time we got there he was actually able to use his right hind leg again. The vet we saw was fantastic, and immediately made me feel better by telling me what an awesome dog he is and how great he looked. We all love to hear that kind of thing, and plus, vets don’t tell you that sort of thing right before they tell you have to make a tough decision like euthanasia. She had a couple of ideas as to why he lost sensation in his left hind leg, with a herniated disc being the most likely cause. At that point he still wasn’t able to walk, but her neuro exam showed he had sensation in his outside 2 toes but not his inside 2 toes. She wanted to try him on some meds to reduce inflammation and pain, and wanted a neurologist to examine him. I wanted to kiss her I was so happy that I wasn’t faced with saying goodbye to him yet. We made a late night trip to the pharmacy, planned our trip back to Atlanta and made a neurology exam appointment for the following day. The neurologist’s verdict was the same – it was most likely a herniated disc from the fall and/or the adjustments his body has had to make now that he has only three legs, but only an MRI would tell us exactly. We decided against the MRI because there wasn’t any point in my mind – I’m not willing to do another surgery on him if rest and meds might provide the same outcome. So that’s what we are doing, rest and meds. He’s supposed to have 6-8 weeks of “cage rest,” but he’s such a laid back boy a regular day for him is like cage rest for a normal dog. We are having to make a conscious effort to make him sleep on his right side, his amputation side, to help keep some extra pressure off of his left hip. But he continually amazes me with his adaptability and now he’s mobile on his own again. He doesn’t have complete control over that left leg – he sort of two-foots-it to get around in the yard and the house. We’re going to keep him on prednisone and gabapentin to manage and maintain and we have a re-check appointment in early February.  I never would have thought I’d have to deal with a herniated disc after all we’ve been through already, but at least it’s manageable and he’s happy, so I’m happy.

The dogs and the tree

handsome man

Moose with all the toys

My father, feeding Moose from the carcass, yet again

scouting around in the yard last week

 

Sorry I haven’t been able to update since Thanksgiving, things have been crazy busy. But, here we are at 5 weeks post-amp and Moose is doing beautifully. His hair is even almost all grown back!  We carpeted the steps so now he can get up and down them without slipping and does it completely by himself. It took a little clicker training to build up his courage but true to form he’ll do just about anything for some chicken. He’d dropped to about 105 lbs right after the surgery and has gained back about 5 and it seems to be a good weight for him. Now he makes hopping play bows and he’s back to body-checking the puppy. He has started to have what I guess are phantom limb pains in the last week, so now he’s on a low dose of gabapentin. So far they seem to be decreasing in frequency, so we’ll see.

We did finally get the results back from the pathologist and yes, it was as expected, osteosarcoma. We decided not to do chemo for a few reasons including the cost, but for me there were too many ifs. He could live a year after chemo, he could die after the first session. He could live a year after amputation alone, he could only make it the average, 4-6 months post amp. He could also only make it 6 months after chemo too. Cancer is such a crap-shoot, treatment or not, especially when your treating for cancer in the lungs. He would also stress out with the clinic visits and this way he gets to do what he wants, when he wants. He’s back to being my shadow in full effect and abusing the new-found leniency he gets. I’ve always been a stickler for manners with the dogs but suddenly if Artemis wants to put his face on the table while we eat, sure, why not. The more drool the better. And have some of my dinner from my plate while you’re at it, fed to you on a fork (only after I’m done eating, I promise. I do still have some boundaries 🙂 ). My father is no better – this was the scene at Thanksgiving and it will likely be the same when we go home for Christmas (that’s the bird carcass on the counter behind them). It’s also a good thing we have a king-sized bed, because the former “no dogs on the bed policy except for Sunday mornings” is now void for Moose.  He keeps us toasty warm.

Other pics…

 

 

 

Today is two weeks since the amputation. He’s still doing great and is celebrating by spending the day sleeping, as usual.

Our dogs have never been very fond of each other but since the surgery the puppy has gotten much more buddy-buddy with Moose. (I don’t know why we still call her the puppy because she’s 5 now. Some things just stick.) It’s probably because he used to beat the crap out of her and that has since stopped. The surgery has actually made Moose a lot more tolerant of new things and people, which is a huge bonus because he was always a bit of a big bully male we had to keep an eye on. He’s now enjoying all the attention that comes from being a three-legged dog. We’re still waiting on the pathology report but they told me it might take several weeks – I’m just not a terribly patient person.

Been super busy so I haven’t had time to post, but am glad to report that Artemis continues to improve daily. I’m surprised and thankful for his resiliency and the way he’s coped with having to relearn everything since losing his leg. The night before last we finally made it up the big set of stairs and got to sleep in our own beds for the first time since 4 days before his amputation. He’s getting up and down the short set of steps on his own and his appetite is back to normal. The edema is finally almost completely gone except for the very bottom of the incision site and the top only has a few scabby parts left.

We are home with the family for Thanksgiving and he took the 8 hour drive in stride and is getting back to being a pro getting into and out of our SUV. The harness helps A LOT in maneuvering him around – he and I are pretty close in weight and with it I can get him up and down the steps and in and out of the truck by myself. He’s also loving all the attention by the family and all the smells and acres of land he can explore at my in-laws’ house.

I’ll try to get back on and post some pictures for his progress.

Today we finally took the bandage off – it hasn’t been needed but it made me feel better having it while having to help Moose around the yard. The bruising is almost gone except for one spot at the bottom where he lays.

Today he decided to tackle the short set of steps in the house on his own and did them well before I could get to him to help spot. His balance is improving, his attitude is great and his appetite is almost back to normal. Of course steak always helps. He’s still sleeping a lot but he’s always been a bit of a lazy boy. I got this shot of him in the yard – always on the look out for potential intruders or squirrels. Hopefully we’ll keep going in this direction.