Well I’m sorry it’s been awhile since the last post but Louie wasn’t feeling so good for a few days and it was scary. He had his expected 3-5 day post chemo blahs where he didn’t want to eat his usual food and was very tired and sleeping a lot. But then he came out of it in grand fashion, eating and running around. Then 9 days post chemo he became very quiet. He did not want to eat, even boars head turkey and roast beef did nothing for him.  I tried all his favorites. He didn’t want to interact and just wanted to be left alone. This went on for 4 days! I was getting very worried. During this time the vet called to let me know that Louie’s blood work came back excellent! He said his platelets were a little low but so little that it wasn’t even worth mentioning. I explained to him what was going on with Lou and how I was so worried. He said it definitely wasn’t caused by the chemo because the blood work was fine. He said he didn’t believe it was the cancer because it came on too suddenly and he was fine before that. So we went over everything that happened prior to his feeling so bad and came up with macaroni and cheese 🙂  Sunday night my husband and I had given Louie about a cup of macaroni and cheese left over from dinner not thinking anything of it and I guess it just didn’t agree with him 🙂 So no more mac and cheese for the big Lou!  No one was ever happier or more thankful than I when Wednesday night Louie ate his normal dinner and Thursday morning the spark was back in his eyes! Today he was 100% back to his old self and I couldn’t be more relieved! Next Thursday is our 2nd chemo. Why do the days seem to be flying by so fast? I wish I could slow every precious one down to a mere crawl.

Ugh! Trying to get Louie in the car is just not getting any easier! He just doesn’t want to get in! I believe he is just so done with the vet and wants nothing to do with the place at all. I did manage to get him in the car after a bit of a struggle and he went into the office ok (as long as he knew I was going with him)  and he gave  up his blood for testing like he’d done it all his life even though the tech had to stick him 3 times before she finally got the vein. I had a fleeting thought in the car on the way there………..maybe I should cut out the chemo, and the vet visits…….is it too much stress for him?………..should I just let the remainder of his days (how ever many that may be) be happy and stress free?  But then I think that would be like amputating his leg for nothing……he deserves the chance of having more days,weeks,months that chemo might gift him with. This is an emotional winding path we are walking.  I feel as if I lose my dog every time I read a post where someone had to say goodbye. It is so real and I am right there almost like I am rehearsing for the final act. I am sorry for the crappy attitude today but sometimes I can almost fool myself into believing that Louie is fine and nothing is wrong. And then comes the vet appointments for chemo and blood work and I almost get angry that they are bursting my perfect bubble if that makes any sense. I really am trying to be positive and upbeat for Louie’s sake. He isn’t thinking or bothered about anything 🙂  but some days are just harder then others and today is one of them. Happy post tomorrow, I promise 🙂 I love this picture when Louie was a bit younger and had all 4’s and was running through the yard ears flying!

Well all that worrying and as of yesterday Louie is back to his normal self! He is eating his dog food both breakfast and dinner and all snacks and is full of energy again! Whenever I let him out to potty he loves to sit at the fence and bark at all the people passing by. His job after all has always been and always will be to guard me, the house,the grass,the car,etc,etc 🙂  It is funny how he has developed a new game. When I call him to come inside he ignores me and I have to walk outside to find him. He is never far, but when I call him again he will roll over on his back 3 feet in the air and not budge. When I walk over to him ,his tail is going a mile a minute but he just won’t move. It has developed into a special game between us two 🙂  Me saying in my devious voice….I’m gonna get you Louie, while I creep over and him wagging his tail faster as I get closer.Then when I reach him I have to rub his belly and grab his front paw and bribe him to come inside with promises of cookies and toys……finally him jumping up and hopping ahead of me up the ramp and into the house! It is really a pain when I am in a hurry to get somewhere, but it seems so important to him somehow,that I can’t help but play along. Maybe I will get a video of it soon.

Well I guess I spoke too soon because as of Saturday night Louie does not want to eat his normal food. He came back to the barn to help me with the horses on Saturday morning and I really think it took a lot out of him. He didn’t drink much yesterday but today he is drinking a lot. I am feeding him out of a plastic dish since his treatment on Thursday because I have heard some don’t like eating or drinking out of metal. Oh he WILL eat donuts 🙂  and has eaten 2 pretzels and even Boars Head Turkey and Roast beef when offered. But not his normal food which I put his k9 immunity chews in. I might have to sneak them into some roast beef. He is also very quiet and sleeping a lot the last 2 days. I am hoping this is all normal post chemo treatment reactions. I was so hoping he would sail through. And this was only the first one. They will check blood work on Thursday. So that is all I have to write about today. Hopefully he is his old self tomorrow.

Well Louie had his first chemo treatment of carboplatin <sp> on Thursday the 17th of September. I have beat myself up over waiting so long (6 weeks since his amputation) but he just was not ready or strong enough before then. Hopefully no harm done, but we will charge ahead as planned and hope for the best. The day I brought him for his treatment was the first time he has been back to the vet since his amputation. I had to remove his stitches myself as he was not strong enough and would not get into the car. He was quite scared……could he have remembered? He did not want to go in the door and when we did get in he immediately left a nice present on the floor 🙂   He refused to walk to the back with the vet tech when she came for his leash so I had to walk with them. He wrapped his head around my leg as if to make sure I wasn’t going anywhere. After he settled……the vet tech was on the floor with him with his head in her lap and the other tech was shaving his leg (all the while his eyes were on me) I was talking to the vet who was very pleased with how he looked. I kissed his head and told him I would be back very soon. It was so hard to leave him. I picked him up 3 hours or so later and he was so happy to see me! He has been a little more tired, in the morning he eats about 1/2 of his normal food but eats all his treats,takes his anti nausea and anti diarrhea meds and cleans up his dinner. The biggest thing I have noticed is he seems a bit weaker……his front leg buckles out on him again and he has occasionally resumed his downward dog yoga position to pee. But all in all so far we are heading towards day 3 and he has sailed through like a trooper. He goes back on Thursday for a blood draw. So far so good. It has been almost 10 weeks since he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Every day is a blessing.