Oh yeah Jo Ann and Tasha…I sure hope the treats can be treats too someday!!  but with 10 K9 immunity, one wafer, five fish oil (the wafer and fish oil he likes), 2 of the dasuquin,one rimadyl,  now four a day antibiotics…it always has SOMETHING in it!!!  Today I'm cutting back cuz he just seems listless/depressed so only the antibiotics and rim. (and something is giving him AWFUL gas……..I think it is the liver or liverwurst…even tho he has ALWAYS had that problem…seems a little worse)

Magic got hincky about getting in the truck some years back when I took Echo for a routine vet visit and he didn't return.  It was totally unexpected and it seems like he started getting weird then.  THEN, he fell off the tailgate.  His regular procedure was to run, jump in the truck and immediately try to jump OUT making me muscle him in, get his feet out of the crack and slam the tailgate.  Since he started this at 114 pounds and has lost considerable weight…he is now 98, which is really much better for him, he is still way too heavy for me to actually LIFT…I have no idea how I got his rear quarters in on Sat….but because of the weather right now we can do NOTHING.  No walks, no get in truck, no steps, no park…everytime it lightens up and I think…short walk to corner….I don't even get to the kitchen to get his leash and it is pouring and blowing so I think it isn't going to happen today.  I am chanting to myself "patience you impatient B, patience patience pa….."

Well we went in today for blood test to see if tomorrow will be Magic's  second chemo...it would be three weeks from his first and I have my fingers crossed not because I want to have poison pumped into him but because I understand 2-3 weeks is optimum....the doc is just pleased pleased pleased with him....he had the blood draw without even looking at the nurse, even as some squirted on the floor (hey, don't waste it!!), she took the bandage off and the place that had like a heat rash swollen two lip like things last week is a tiny little scab and the only evidence that he ever had surgery...I CANNOT find the incision....how weird is that...looks like he never even HAD a fourth leg...

We are conquering the truck enter/exit thing but not in the way I anticipated!!!  I mentioned in the post about his blood work that he had hopped in the truck BEHIND my seat...well I have modified that area, got a piece of wood cut to size, put foam on either side of the hump and laid the board wrapped in a huge bath towel on top and moved the passenger seat all the way up to give more room...I did have the driver's seat moved way up too, but realized if I ran into anything the steering wheel would be imbedded in my chest so had to move it back a titch.  The worst trouble we have is the initial getting in here at home where he gets his left back foot (same side as amputation) hooked behind my foot, making it very awkward to hoist, but we are getting SO much better at it...if we are anywhere else, no problem, especially if we have a curb that gives him that little extra step up (no, I don't think the steps would work there).  That is the foot that seems to REALLY turn out and was the foot that continually stepped off the steps of the Petloader (which I still maintain is an absolutely wonderful product).  I cannot even express how I feel now that we are becoming self-sufficient and I no longer have to go to a neighbor or call the friend who had been helping me (bless him).  It works better if he sits or lays down (the best) because he likes to stand and even going really slow he does tend to get off balance (not to mention everyone flipping me off)....Not quite sure what to do about that just yet.

We have been to a park three times this week where Magic made friends with a chihuahua (the only kind of a dog that has ever bitten me and not my favorite breed) that is the cutest nicest sweetest little thing....and Magic is romping with this little dog like he is a youngster...he may be more active now than before!  The owner does have to wipe him off cuz Magic likes to lick him and sometimes he drips spit on him (gee, he isn't supposed to slobber!!) and the owner thought maybe little Pepper was being molested yesterday when Magic decided to hump him!!  I WAS SO EXCITED...he could hump with three legs...I explained to the guy that Magic really wasn't trying to have his way with little Pepper, just sort of saying, hey I'm still boss and of course I didn't let him continue...but I'm sure there are folks out there that know exactly what I mean...it may be a bad habit that I won't let him do (didn't before either, except for our poor kitty, who could just walk out from under Magic) but boy was I excited to see he could do it with three legs!   (shame on me)

So now we are just waiting for the results of the blood work to see if tomorrow is the next chemo and whether we need to change the rimadyl to mobic...Still having some black on the outside poop that is kinda loose but the liver function will tell the story and I think the looseness may be from the fish oil.  THEN we will try to tackle the gas problem (this predates the surgery!) but I hate to add yet ANOTHER supplement.

Appetite is still iffy, we are now down to 97.2 so weight loss is slowing down, and he ate much better after his romps, most likely because he had an appetite!!

For anyone who is in the Sonoma County, California area, I had gotten some homeopathic vets' names from a link Rene sent me, and my vet really likes one of them, but at today's visit she gave me the name and number of a vet's office that has a trained physical therapist and they also have a pool and do water therapy.....I am going to check into that after we get through this weekend.  I would love to at least get a consult to find out what I can do to help him at home.....But I do have the name and number of this person and apparently she has gone through whatever training is necessary to become "certified" or whatever they get.  She is not a vet, but does the PT.  For those of you familiar with this area, this gal is in Rohnert Park.

For those of you just starting this journey, a month ago I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and now we are in it...especially the loading up part and the active part and and and and......Hang in there because it truly truly does get better.  And OJ the chemokitty with kidney failure turned 17 on Friday and is eating better and putting on weight so life is really really good at this moment.