Hi all,

It’s been several months since I first posted about my dog Penny Lane. We have been soaking up all the snuggles we can with COVID since the cancer diagnosis. Penny Lane continues to be a light in our life despite the trying times. It has NOT always been an easy or positive journey (of course we knew it wouldn’t be) since amputation but we have had 6 more months of love that is invaluable to us.

We had to stop chemo early due to life-threatening thrombocytopenia, GI bleed, and anemia requiring transfusions, 2 ICU hospitalizations, and immune suppressive therapy. We still don’t know exactly what has been causing the persistent and non-regenerative cytopenias. She was also diagnosed with a partial acl tear in her back knee, dilated cardiomyopathy, and more recently has new uveitis in the right eye. She has had 2 bone marrow biopsies, several ct scans, several echocardiograms, and countless blood draws. We now follow 3 specialists (onc, internal med, and ortho) in addition to our regular vet and will be adding ophthalmology to the list as we try to figure out if there are cancer mets to the eye causing uveitis. We continue to try to balance our desire to know what’s going on with what’s beat for Penny Lane and it is not always been an easy decision. 

Throughout it all, Penny Lane has remained so incredibly strong and wakes up every morning with a smile on her face and a healthy appetite. Our walks have become much shorter (really they are a ride in her stroller which is now her favorite) but we would absolutely make the same decision to proceed with amputation if we had to do it all over again. 

Please keep our girl in your thoughts and prayers as we all know cancer is an ongoing battle in our canines.  I hope our story provides some hope for those facing a similar decision without sugarcoating the struggles we continue to face. 

Take care and stay healthy,

Julia and Penny Lane