hugapitbull said:

Our sincere wish is to never have another cancer member, but reality dictates that isn't going to happen any time soon.

Heather & Kenzie,

I believe that Shanna has also said that this is the group that no one wants to be a part of. I personally hate that anyone who loves their conpanion like you obviously do, would ever have to join. However, given the diagnosis – WELCOME!!

Gayle & Charon are right that Kenzie will amaze you and teach you so very much. They show so much courage and fight so hard to stay with us. This journey will test you patience at times, but you will learn so very much and the bond that you share will only grow stronger. Cherry also was a left fore-leg amputee. Luckily, she never was heavy and in fact during the chemotherapy she lost all her appetite and we had a real fight to keep weight on her. However, many have absolutely no problems with chemotherapy, so we will not look for problems until they arrive. Emily's Mom also has an excellent suggestion of raising the feeding and water bowls. This will help with their balance and is especially important for front leg amputees.

Miss Cherry and her family may not be on as often as usual for the next month (traveling), but you will be in great hands. Our prayers and thoughts WILL be with you and we wish you the very best.

Spirit Cherry & Dad (Bob)

A belated welcome to the family. Gus and myself joined almost eight weeks ago, and I must say this is the best place to be. Don't be afraid to ask ANYTHING.I have mentioned before that experience gives the best answers, I have asked our vet about a couple things I read about in the forums and have actually exposed him to a couple things he wasn't aware of before, but he has been all ears with whatever I ask and is actually quite interested in what I have asked about. A couple things that you might experience once Kenzer has the surgery, as most have said, that first 2 weeks, I call them the terrible 2's is not much fun, alot of up and downs, not much sleep, acting a little differnt sometimes. Gus had spells of phantom pain, that started about 5 days post surgery, and if Kenzer has it, hold on the first few times, they usually all of a sudden sound like they were hit by a car, the spells don't last long but will tear your heart out. A drug called Gabapentin will help, it won't  take away the pain but I think might ease it a little, that lasted about 4 weeks, but the last week or so they were more like little whimpers. Gus didn't get along with a drug called Tramadol, he was restless at night, not much appetite and sort of in la-la land, so we took him off and noticed a nice change in about a day, he was on Rimidyl and Gabapentin, but  Kenzer might do well with it if that is what your vet prescribes. It sucks to have to make these decisions, but you will be amazed at how fast Kenzer will bounce back and be herself( i hope I guessed right). I never felt guilty about doing it and whatever decisions I have made since because I knew I was giving Gus the best life he can have and if I hadn't done it he wouldn't be here right now, so regardless of the future, he has been one happy dude, after those terrible 2's. Paws up and welcome, Gus and Dan  

Hi Heather,

I'm so glad to hear that Kenzie loves to swim -  I'm sure she'll do just great the first time she gets in the water like Mackenzie did.  It comes so naturally to them –  that's the amazing part.  I also wanted to mention that our girls have something else in common…..I'm originally from Portsmouth NH and lived in and out of Boston for many years – until I moved to LA several years ago.  My family and some of my closest friends are all in the Boston area too.  I still root for the Celtics (even though my husband is a die-hard Lakers fan) and you can bet we'll be watching Thursday's game!

You mention that Kenzie's limping pretty badly.  Is she taking any pain meds? Before Mackenzie's surgery, she was in a lot of pain and limping pretty badly too.  She was taking Tramadol and Garbapatin for her pain.   Managing the pain can be very challenging both pre and post-surgery as you'll discover. There's lots of information on this website about this so just wanted to let you know.   

Let us know how things are going.  Keeping our paws crossed for Kenzie!

Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)