Let it Snow!

Gus LOVES playing in the snow! He did great, and was careful of his leg. Happy New Year to all!!!

Feeding time!

Gus is doing well, and enjoying feeding time! Yes, we hand feed him now, and he won't eat any other way! He is pretty funny, very spoiled! We talked to Dr. J. Young at Planned Pethood, and he suggested we start using Decaffeinated Green Tea in his diet. I think Gus understands that his leg is not to be used. He is being very careful, but not acting like he is in severe pain. Dr. Young explained how pain killers work; they make Gus not care about the pain. He also said Cancer is difficult to predict. He could go into remission, or he could just go. Well, today was a good day, but very cold. Maybe tomorrow I will get some pics of Gus "attacking" the snow!

Christmas morning!!!

Happy Christmas to all! Gus is so funny about his squeaky toys! He does NOT want to share!!!

Playing again!

While Gus is still limping, he is finding play fun again!

Iggy loves to antagonize Gus, but he absolutely loves him. This was such a great night for all, Iggy has missed playing with Gus.

Christmas Pictures!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, whatever you celebrate! We are living everyday to the fullest! Merry Christmas Gus! We love you with all our hearts!

Acceptance

1. Gus, Andee, and Nixie

2. Gus

We have not maxed out on our pain meds, we are only on tramadol and rimadyl. There are still options left, just with stronger side effects. Gus carries his leg up, and seems to be happy to see us, eat, and play a bit. we love him very much, and it is difficult. I ordered a book about helping your dog fight cancer, that should be here any day. It was one of the FEW books I found that didn't say "cure." I have been hit by a lot of folks who want $149 or so for me to buy their books that "cure" canine cancer. Dr. Withrow at CSU told me to beware. There are no studies to back up their claims. I did buy an order of Arteminisin, and figured what can it hurt?
I know this is the curse of having any living being in my life. I have lost many critters over my lifetime. Gus is one of the hardest. Zeus RIP (Harlequin Great Dane pictured here) was another difficult loss. Some of our pets have been just that, pets, but some have been my friends, and Gus and Zeus are in that category. I just wish I had a magic wand, but I do not want this to become a fight between me and cancer, as I have read on other sites. I just want Gus to be comfortable, and happy for the rest of the time I have with him.

Gus Pictured above, a picture of a picture of 1. Gus, Andee, and friend Nixie when he first came to live with us, and 2. Gus 6 months after he moved in.

What do we do?

Mikey got Gus a "buddy" today (pictured.) This is very stressful to us. We love him so much, I just wish we could know what is the best decision. Planned Pethood will do the amputation for between $500- $600, but it really isn't about the money. I do have Care Credit http://www.carecredit.com/ , which is a "credit card" for veterinary service. They offer a no-interest time period, and is a great card to have during these trying times.
I am asking myself if I am wanting to go through with an amputation, chemo, possibly radiation for Gus, or is it us being selfish, and not wanting him to go? Everyone who has ever met Gus knows how special he is, and such a soulful dog. He is like no other I have ever met. Gus is not my "pet," he is my homeboy! We chill together, we play together, we used to hike together...

Our Visit to Colorado State University

Let me start by saying that the staff, and volunteers at CSU are WONDERFUL. I have a lot to process, so this post will be short.

Options we have:

1. Medicate for comfort (1-2 months) cheap

2. Palliative- Radiation (1-3 months) @ $1000

3. Amputation (*alone- @4 months) *$2000-3000

4. Allograft - replace parts and fusion (not really an option for moving parts)

5. *Stereotactic Radiosurgery SRS- high doses of irradiation (1 year, or more?) *$5000

*joined with Chemotherapy (50% 1 year, 30% 2 years, and down from there, about 15%) $2000

the ( ) are life expectancy.

CSU staff are positive, informative, caring, the best, I couldn't have asked for better care. They answered all my questions honestly. My thanks, and gratitude goes to them, as well as Planned Pethood in Denver, who originally diagnosed our boy.

This is all I can handle tonight. I am going to snuggle with Gus, and rest.

These are the x-rays. You can see the tumor bursting out of his bone.

Tough Day

Twas the night before the Oncologist visit... Poor Gus, he didn't feel good today. He was really limping. I could tell the pain was bothering him. We got up a little late, so I think we didn't medicate him quick enough, and it threw off his whole day.

I have been researching everything I can find, getting advice from the http://www.rottweiler.net/ group. I have been reading the http://www.bonecancerdogs.org/ website, and others. I am overwhelmed with all the information I have discovered. I made a list of questions to ask tomorrow.

1. How does diet affect healing?

2. Amputation complications?

- What if another leg goes?

3. Why do dogs get lower doses of Chemo/radiation?

4. What about Holistic treatment?

5. What pharmaceuticals, vitamins, teas, herbal remedies can we use, if any?

- Artemisinin

- Immugen

- Hoxey

- Boneset

- Fosamax

- Gabapentin

- Doxycycline

- Tramadol

- Rimadyl

- etc.

6. What do they know of the "Dog Cancer Vet," Dr. Demian Dressler, or Ted Schneck, who claims he can cure canine cancer?

7. What should we be reading?

8. What is realistic treatment without crossing the line of animal testing?

I am sure I will have more questions tomorrow, but making a list now is helping me cope, I assume, it gives me "control."

Gus is doing well on the diet we started, and loves getting spoon fed!

Wish us luck tomorrow, or at least, wish us strength...

Getting Better- "He's beating Cancer!"

At least that is what my daughter exclaimed the other day. How do you explain that it is not the case? Even I got slightly swept up in the moment of it, and took him for a little walk today to get bagels. He has been limping worse again after our short jaunt. Today brought me back to reality. The pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds are helping, but Gus still has Cancer. I talked to a member of www.rottieaid.org today, and she was wonderful, full of information, answered my questions, but he still has Cancer. He is going to leave us, this is so hard, and not fair. He loves us, and we love him, what are we going to do?

Pictures of Gus

Thought I should post pre-amputation pictures, in case we decide to go that route...

Started Raw

Gus started eating Stella and Chewy's Freeze-Dried RAW food tonight, no problems so far. I have been feeding him like a baby, and he is LOVING it! He is such a spoiled boy. We love him so much. This is extremely difficult. Monday seems so far away. I have been researching Rottie amputations, it seems pretty common. I am wondering what we can do to prevent this in our other critters. I had no idea how common it was for dogs to be afflicted with Cancer.

Pictured here is Gus with friend JuJu.

Osteosarcoma- Dog Cancer

Our beloved Gus, a Rottie, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his shoulder last week. We started him on Grandma Lucy's Dehydrated food last weekend, and we start Raw (not factory farmed) this weekend, we are doing a combo diet. He goes to Colorado State University December 13th, 2010 to discuss our options. He has 6 months to two years. He is only 8. Was it vaccinations? Was it improper kibble diet with factory farmed meat? Was it our fault? Was it just- meant to be?

Gus pictured above with Iggy as a pup!