Today was FUN and other catch-ups

Amputation, CDSP, Chemo, Eggs, Nice people

My Momma says that her Dada had a saying when he had cancer.  The saying was “When you get up every morning and both feet hit the floor it is going to be a good day”.  Well I guess I can say the same thing when all THREE of my feet hit the floor!  You also know it is going to be a good fun day when your training bag is packed and Momma is cutting up a steak and cheese into little pieces at the kitchen counter and putting them into the doggie cooler.  You say Potato….I say Cheese.

Today WAS a good day.  Me & Momma did our first obedience trial as a Tripawd.  There is this venue called Companion Dog Sports Program (CDSP for short).  They allow for exercise modifications for dogs like us so we can still strut our stuff in the ring.  I could get an exercise modification for my slow pace, because that is harder for me to slow down now.  For the recall over the jump exercise the bar could be on the ground.  You know I can’t do everything as perfect as I could before, and some exercises are harder for me now.  But we don’t get fussed over crooked sits and perfect performances, we just like to have fun working as a team!  Momma says we weren’t going to care if we Q’d or not, just as long as we had a good time.  And I had a good time!  The Judges and other teams were super friendly and everyone didn’t smell all stressed out like they have at other obedience stuff I’ve been to when I had four legs. 

Let’s see…what else?  I had my fourth chemo treatment this past Friday.  Momma and Dada are not sure yet whether I will continue on for a fifth or sixth treatment.  They are a little weary of the cumulative effects of the chemo drug.  I get Adriamycin every 3 weeks.  My scans that were done just before my third treatment didn’t find any masses.  So that was good news, but it doesn’t mean that the hemangiosarcoma isn’t anywhere else in my body.  We go back again in 3 weeks and I get an ultrasound of my heart to make sure that is okay and then we will talk to the nice doctor who has great knees about how to proceed with treatment.

I’ve been having some problems with skin irritations and allergies, but we don’t know if that is chemo related or not.  I was on Benadryl, but now we are trying Hydroxyzine.  Dada had to get the Hydroxyzine prescription at the drugstore pharmacy.  It came with a warning to not operate heavy machinery or drive a car.  How can I drive a car with only 3 legs???  I won’t get into the details of my diarrhea on Friday either.  It is not a proud moment in a dog’s life when our person has to clean our bum…in public.

All in all, life has been good.  I enjoy playing ball in the backyard just like I used to.  Stairs have gotten easier for me now.  I’m a little afraid of walking too far from my own house, but we are working on that.  I always get excited when we turn around to walk back home.  Momma says pretty much that the only things I can’t do now that I could do before are scratch the right side of my face and mount my sister.  Somethings you do need 2 back legs for…

Momma says this Wednesday, September 14th will be my 3 month Ampuversary.  I’ll take her word on it, because I can’t read a calendar.  That should be a good day, too.  I bet I’ll get eggs for breakfast!

Busy busy fella

Chemo, Eggs, Hemangiosarcoma, Nice people, Physical Therapy

So I had a busy couple of days! 

Friday I had my second chemo appointment with the nice doctor whose knees I like to lick.  You can tell a lot about people by the way their feet smell.  This lady is busy busy busy and very nice.  So far, I have been feeling great after my treatment.  AND Momma is making me fried eggs again.  I am scheduled to back to NEVOG again in 3 weeks, and this time they will do an ultrasound and x-ray again.  Momma says she will be nervous.  I don’t like they way she smells when she’s nervous.  She also said I am going to have to get my belly shaved again for the ultrasounds.  Oh well….it is nice being cooler with no fur on my belly in the summer.

Then later that afternoon I went to see my holistic vet.  She is very nice and her feet have been very busy, too.  I had a good appointment, but the only thing was…..my little sister tagged along.  I like Lola, I do, but sometimes she gets in the middle of me trying to get my sweet on with somebody.  Always butting in…..I suppose she means well.  Anyway, the people there are very nice and I like to pee in the park next door.

On Saturday I went for my first Physical Therapy appointment (no Lola tag along, yeah!).  That was a lot of fun.  I met new people and they were very nice.  Their feet smelled busy as well, lots of dogs.  We did a lot of fun stuff!  Serpentines with cones (just like rally!) and jumps and ladders, oh my!  After I did all these activities, the nice lady gave me a rub down.  That felt really good.  Momma & Dada got me a balance disk that will help strengthen my back leg.  I get lots of treats when I get both front paws on it at the same time.  And guess what…this place has a pool!  Just for doggies!  But I can’t go in yet.  Momma says my sore needs to heal up completely before I can get in the pool.  My sore keeps getting smaller and smaller, but chemo slows the healing process down, so I still have to wait a little while.

So I’ve been a good boy, taking all my medications that Momma & Dada give me.  I’ve been eating all my suppers with all of my supplements.  They keep taking my temperature, which is not so much fun.  But Momma says it has to be done so they can tell if I am getting sick again.  I hope not, but at least I got eggs last time when I was at the ER Vet. 

It also seem that Nana comes and stays with me after I get chemo, too.  She likes to make sure I am doing okay and that I am feeling well.  She is good company and a very good ear massager, too.  My Mimi was here the other night, too.  She brought new toys for me and Lola, and there were hidden treats in them!!!  Mimi likes it when I lick her shins.  I like both my grandmommas a whole lot.

My cousin Kayla send me a nice note after I had my surgery.  She is only a few months older than I am, but she writes a lot better than I do.  Of course, she does have thumbs, and I don’t…..

 
Kayla's note to me =-)

 Kayla and her sister Tori are a lot of fun.  I like it when they come to visit me.  They like to feed me treats.

 Momma says we know lots of nice nice people.  I know I like the vet techs a whole lot.  They like to give me treats.  And some I know from the doggie gym, too.  The vets are very nice and even call to check on me.  One of them used to have the nickname Butch when he was younger, too!  Momma says that my doctors keep in better touch with me than her doctors do with her.  I think she needs new doctors!  I hope she at least gets treats when she goes to see them. 

The other doggie Mommas are nice too.  They sent this nice package with lots of toys and treats.  It even had Chuck-it balls!  My sister and I were playing with the armadillo today.  I remembered Momma cried the day it came.  I got very excited and wanted to sniff through the box.  I guess I hadn’t gotten up on my own in a couple of days until this package came.  That day I was catching balls in mid air again.  Momma cried.  She cries even when she is happy.  She says we are very lucky to know such nice nice people.

Momma says she hopes to type my blog for me more often now that I am doing better.  Maybe we can put up some pics of me on my new balance disk.

I can’t type, I don’t have thumbs

Amputation, Eggs, Hemangiosarcoma, Infection, Little sisters, Rally-O

It is Butchey Hudson here.  I haven’t updated in a while, but that is Momma’s fault.  I can’t type, I don’t have thumbs.  So Momma has to do it for me.

So I started chemo on July 8 and did very well after the treatment.  But then on day 11 I got real sick with something called like…sepsis?  I got a high temp of 104.something and was real tired and not hungry at all.  I ended up having to stay in the doggie ER overnight and the NICE LADY there (Momma called her a -vet tech-) made me an egg and it was very yummy and I ate it all up.  I guess Momma got worried about me.  She forgot my food smells funny bad icky when I am on antibiotics and I don’t like some of the stuff her and Dada put in there for me.  ICK on that stuff! 

Butchey at the Vet ER

But eggs are really good!!!!  My friend Maggie’s Mom gave Momma the egg idea.  I do like a runny yolk…..

This Friday I go back for chemo again.  Every 3 weeks.  Momma and Dada think they might change my dosage a little.  I hope I do OK, and I hope somebody makes me eggs afterwards.  I also start physical therapy on Saturday.  I wonder if there are any eggs in physical therapy.  Momma mentioned an egg and a ball together in the same sentence, but I think she’s talking about something different.

I am doing very well, though.  I LOVE my Tripawd harness that my Dada ordered from Jerry.  My seroma sore is nearly closed.  Chemo slowed it up, but slow and steady wins the race.  Getting around on 3 legs isn’t so bad.  The only things I can’t do is scratch one side of my face and <Momma’s edit HUG> my sister, Lola.  So I learned if I make a certain face at my people they come and scratch that side of my face.  And my sister….well I haven’t figured out how to <Momma’s edit HUG> her yet.  It seems some things you do need two rear legs for….hmmmmm

I had a REALLY special day on Sunday.  Momma is trying to upload the video to something called YouTube.  Maybe we will post that later.  This and me and my sister, Lola.  She is a pain in my tail most of the time.

 

Woofs and wags, Butchey Hudson

 

I’m a new Tripawd!

Amputation, Hemangiosarcoma, Infection

Hi everyone, my name is Butchey…Butchey Hudson.  I had my amputation surgery on June 14th.  I have hemangiosarcoma, and they found a tumor in my knee joint.  At first they thought I had torn my ACL, I think that might have been a better thing than having cancer.  =(

So my Momma & my Dada had a hard time with the amputation surgery.  But now that they see I am up and moving around and just about back to my normal Butcheyness self, they are doing much better with it.  They still fuss over me all the time, and I am still wearing THIS STUPID FLIPPIN’ CONE FUNNEL THINGY on my head!!!!  They always tell me sorry when they put it on.  I just wish I could gnaw at that big itch down where my leg used to be.

So after my surgery I got a baaaad infection.  I’ve been trying to fight that and heal up so I can start my chemo treatments.  Momma and Dada hover over me looking at my big hole near my incision where the skin got nectrotic.  It is healing up nicely, but they wish it would heal faster.

Momma is typing the blog for me because I don’t have thumbs (so I can’t type).  We are learning this new WordPress thingy, so we hope we don’t mess it up.

I already have a friend here on Tripawds.  Hi Medal Maggie!!!!!  Her Momma Tracy has been very helpful and supportive of my pawrents through this whole thing.  She is very nice, Tracy I mean, but Maggie’s butt smells good, too!!  They sent me this very cool bandana, and I’m happier about it than I look in the picture!