Month: November 2011

Spencer has finished 10 of his 15 chemo treatments.  Yay for being 2/3 done!    If we were still doing the adria/cytox combo we would actually only have 2 more treatments to go; but with the swap to mitox we went up to 15 weeks.  I’m ready to be done.  I think Spencer is definitely ready to be done.  I noticed a sore on his leg.  Since doing an IV in the front leg is easier position wise than a rear leg, that is where he has had it each week and I think it was just too much.  So this week they did one of his back legs.  Poor guy.  And he is starting to not like going.  For a while now he has walked in to the the vet’s office willingly; but has obviously preferred if we would walk right back out.  But he has dealt with it.  Well, this week he REALLY wanted to go back home.  Poor guy, he was actually shaking and his teeth were chattering.  It made me feel so bad.  And to make it worse, this was a mitox week, which means he is there for several hours.

I think it is a very good thing that we have the cabin that we go to every week.  Spencer LOVES going up there.  And I think that each time we get in the car he is optimistic that he is going to the cabin, so he gets in the car willingly.  But then when he realizes we are at the vet, he starts to get nervous.

Has anyone else dealt with a dog who seemed to have some anxiety about the chemo treatments?  Did you do anything other than try to comfort your pet?  In the past we have given Spencer “Happy Travler” pills when we had lots of company; I’m thinking about asking if it would be OK to give him a couple of these before we head out for the vet’s office…

Spencer went in for chemo treatment number 9.  This was a Vincristine week.  Only 6 treatments to go – 2 more of his mitox doses and 4 more vincristines.  I have never noticed much of a difference in how Spencer acts after a treatment.  Maybe he sleeps a tiny bit more that day; but nothing big.  Today he seems much more tired.  When my husband got home with our son tonight Spencer just hung out on his bed, no going to say hello.  🙁   He seems to be just worn out today.  Does anyone know if this is normal?  For a dog who has normally had little to no reaction from chemo to suddenly seem more tired?  Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t lethargic.  When I fed him tonight he came with tail wagging.  And when we went down to the school bus stop he was happy to go; but he also seems very happy to sleep today…

And other questions… Are there many grade 3 soft tissue sarcoma folks out there reading this?  If so, did you do chemo?  And… if yes to that, how did things go once the chemo ended?  How soon after did you do anything to see if the cancer was still around?  Today our oncologist said that we would probably wait 8-12  weeks after chemo is done before doing an x-ray or ultrasound as long as Spencer shows no symptoms.  Is this how your doctor handled things?  After chemo was over, did your dog have more energy, or did things just seem the same?  Not saying that Spencer doesn’t have energy now, just wondering if things are different after chemo…

And on to the next questions… has anyone out there gotten their dog certified (is that the right term) to be a therapy dog?  I’m not talking about a service dog, rather just a dog who visits hospitals and nursing homes.  Spencer is very friendly and social, so I was thinking about looking into this once he is done with chemo.  It is my understanding that he has to do a canine good citizen test.  It looks like there might be more than one organization out there to get certified through.  Which one is best?  Also, when out and about, Spencer is VERY social and sweet.  BUT… on his home turf (at our house, our cabin and in our car) he is protective.  he will bark at people until he has been introduced to them and given the OK.  He doesn’t do this at all when out and about though.  They don’t do home visits for certification do they?  Any other advice on getting your dog certified as a therapy dog?

Thanks for any advice on any of my many questions!!

Spencer is kicking butt.  He is.  And I know it.  I don’t regret the amputation at.all!  But… when we first decided to do it I felt sad at the thought of his amputated leg being thrown away in the trash.  And since the surgery, I have had little flashes of the same thing.  Not like I’m *crazy* sad about it; but a little twinge of sadness about the thought of his cute paw being thrown away.  I know that along with it went that NASTY tumor; but anyway.  Like I said.  Just my crazy coming out.

On a not so crazy note… Spencer walks down to the bus stop with me each day.  I generally don’t have him on the leash for this walk (though I do carry one in case we encounter other dogs or something and I need to get it on him).  On our way back from the school bus a squirrel ran by and Spencer TOOK OFF after it.  I seriously thought he was going to try to climb the tree!  At least for sprints, he has his speed back for sure!!

(ok, edited my CRAZY type-o!!!)

Spencer is still trucking along.  Yesterday he had his 8th cancer treatment.  He still has a sick stomach occasionally, but for the most part he has had very few side effects.  No signs of his infection coming back, so that is great.  Still no signs of cancer.  YAY!

This week was Halloween.  Not Spencer’s favorite holiday since he really thinks he needs to approve anyone who comes to our door.  He also seems to think that our fall wreath is a person on our porch, which means he is constantly alerting me to an intruder.

Today Spencer and I walked down to the bus stop to find that there were some guys there digging up some sort of utility access.  I didn’t even have Spencer’s leash with me and I could tell 2 of the guys were none to sure about this dog running towards them.  One said, “hey, um, is he cool?”  I assured them he was, called Spencer to come back to me, which he did reluctantly.  The we got to our normal spot and I told him to lay down, which he did.  The guys were quite impressed with how well behaved he was.  Then we had the normal questions about if he had been hit by a car (no) and comments about how great he seems to have adjusted.