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…
we are so happy that moose is doing so well. don’t ever doubt your decisions about chemo – you know your pup better than anyone. whatever you decide, as long as you make your decision out of love for your boy, then it’s the right decision.
charon & spirit gayle
Glad that he is doing so well! We went a bit lax with our rules and Chili Dawg as well 😉
Jenna & Spirit Chili Dawg