Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Been awhile since our last post. We've been extremely busy. Coco is set to have her 6th and final chemo treatment next week. Her liver values really shot up for the 4th and 5th shot. Went from 160 on the 3rd treatment to 360 on her fourth which was very stressful and on her 5th only up to 380. Their limit is 625. Other than that the oncologist has said her visits were unremarkable and that she looks great. So I will take what I can get. Praying for good numbers for her last treatment and with any luck, she maybe able to recieve a maintenance dose in the future. I have still decided not to go with the needle aspiration of her liver and such as it does not change the course of treatment. I will possibly reconsider if she continues to do well in the next several months. Coco continues to be a happy girl and we are going to attempt to go to the shore this weekend. Again, thank you for all your support and advice. I have been following your facebook page and So many inspirational posts. What would a post be if we can't have a happy dog video.
Coco says "Rake me to da' shore NOW!! I'm ready to frolic on the sand and in the surf!"
Your path forward, what to do it and when or never.....makes good sense!👍
Keep showing good numbers Coco! And even IF yiu jave to forgo the sixth treatment, four is the recommendation of many Oncos. So having five under the belt is ahead of the game as far as some think,
Yiu know we need pictures of the week end adve ture, right? Cannot get enough of this gorgeous happy gal!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Happy hoppy Coco! I hope at this very minute she is splashing in the water and basking in the sunshine. What a very amazing, adorable, and inspawrational girl!
Hard to believe she's almost done with chemo but here it comes 🙂 An "unremarkable" vet check-up is the best there is with this situation, cheers to MANY more!
And I can't blame you for not wanting to do the liver FNA. You're right, if it's not changing the treatment then why disrupt Coco's happy, loving self right now? She's doing great, run with it! YEAH! 
Thank you for the update. P.S. so glad to know that you're seeing our Facebook updates!
Unfortunately, i would like to say this checkup was unremarkable. She had a lump where her old lymph node they removed was and in March they drew from it with a needle and it was what appeared to be fat cells. This time around th lump was larger and they stuck a needle in and this time there was some blood mixed in, so i agreed to send it to pathology. She is thinking the cancer has come back, but wont not say until pathology comes back. That and she has lost 3 lbs since last visit. If thats the case there may be a different kind of chemo they could try, but at this point I think it is just delaying the inevitable. She's still a happy dog and I am holding out hope at least until the results come back and then I will decide our course action. I want to thank everyone for kind words and support.
Coco IS beautiful and IS happy and completely oblivious to any test results, etc. The bliss of being dog right?
'And no, it's not fair. And it's a kick in the gut IF she does have rhis piece of crap return.
As far as the weight loss, she really does look good and fit and strong.
Try not to jump to worse case scenario. Regardless, depending on what's going on, their may be further treatments that continue to keep things stable or completely at bay. So many cutting edge options are always in the works, especially course of action involving holistically and alternatively. Turkey Tail, mushroom therapies, just a couple of examples.
In the meantime, continue to spoil, continue to LIVE IN THE MOMENT just like Coco is!!! And from the looks of her videos, Coco is continuing to live life to the fullest and that's all that matters in her world.
So enjoying seeing Coco's videos. Did you get to go to the Shore?
Extra hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
We did get the shore. Unfortunately, I am remodeling down there so we never made it to the beach. She did get to go for some short walks and hang out and watch me work. Lol.
Sweet Coco, look at her propeller tail! I love watching her, she's just all about the joy of every moment.
I'm really sorry about the news. Yes, stay cool until you know what you're dealing with, it's the only thing you can do to keep from going batty. Otherwise your mind will run away with all sorts of things that may not happen. And as Sally mentioned, Coco is still the same ol' hoppy girl she ever was. She is all that we could ever hope to be, I'm in awe of your sweet pup.
Please keep us posted.
Well they confirmed today the lump had cancerous cells in there. To say i am heart broken is an under statement. Her only option is an injectable chemotherapy or we are looking into possibly an experimental tablet. The shot is 600 every 3 weeks and is really just a poke and hope as there is no significant data supporting its effectiveness. Waiting on a cost for the experimental tablet. I think i have exhausted all possibilites at this point as far as medically and I think I going to try the turkey tail route and let her life out to the fullest. I feel i have done all i can do for her. Thanks for your support.
Ugh! Stupid cancer! 
This hurts so much. The only consolation at a time like this is knowing that our dogs are still doing what they love and enjoying their days. It's painful for us to know they can't interpret the results, and also a blessing of sorts that we have to try to remember when we get mad. Our dogs get to experience the best of life and we bear the burden of knowing what they don't know. We do it for them, so they can continue living in a state of bliss that we will never truly experience.
By all accounts I'm guessing that Miss Propeller Tail is still being herself right?
If you get a chance, would you mind dropping the names of the chemo and the tablet, just so we could all learn about what the vet presented? no pressure of course, I'd rather you stay busy enjoying the day with Coco.
If you feel like you want to take another path, that's totally OK and understandable. Sometimes when you drop all of the vet visits, medicine, side effects etc., there is real freedom you discover that helps you enjoy the time you have left together. We felt like that when we stopped Jerry's metronomics . And whatever you decide, in her heart, Coco knows that her favorite human is doing everything to give her a great life. That's all that matters. Cancer can never take that away.
(((hugs)))
Thank you for the kind words. In all honesty all the vets words kinda ran together after she told me it has spread. I will ask her when I talk to her again what the injectable would have been and will certainly share whatever information she gives me regarding the tablet. At this point she also agreed that there is no wrong answer in which path I chose to go. I even discussed a holistic method using Turkey tail and it sounded like she pretty come up with the same findings as I did. The Upenn study where with turkey tail capsule that were extremely expensive, but seemed to produce fairly decent results etc. I do believe Im going to try the turkey tail if I can find a brand to settle on. Also, open for suggestion or reccomendation on a brand if anyone has preference or experience with a particular product. At this point it seems like a cheaper alternative and will if anything improve her quality of life however long that may be. My understanding is this is a fast moving fatal cancer and I wanna keep her quality as long as I can.
Coco knows that her favorite human is doing everything to give her a great life. That's all that matters. Cancer can never take that away.
And there is some comfort knowing yu have done everything possible for Coco without compromising the quality she has now.
There comes a time when we have to draw a line in the sand as to what lengths our dogs would want us to go in their "treatment". Especially if it interferes with their daily joy, their naps, their belly runs their spoiling and just being with you!
Your assessment as to what you want to proceed with or not, makes perfectly good sense. Glad you are checking into Turkey Tail. and the other "alternatives".
I'm going to make a post ro a member named Ingrid who has used TurkeyTail akķnd see what brand she recommends .
And we wand more videos of that Happy girl!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I used this brand for HSA. I didn't get the same results as the study but I did get 9 months from when the tumor presented in his wrist until it spread to his spleen. We might have gotten more time but I lived so far from an emergency vet that I didn't want to have the big bleed at home or in the car. I had HSA in the bone, did not amputate and did not remove the spleen. I just couldn't see abdominal surgery on a dog that was on three legs.
Dosage is 100 mg/kg. Each pill is 500 mg so 1 pill for every 5 kg or 11 pounds. Allen gets 8 pills a day so I split it up half in the morning and half at night.
Thank you for redponding.Yes she has been on and still continues denamarin at this time. Thank you and i will look into thar brand. I just bought some canine Matrix i think to get her started, but would rather have capsule form. Do you think the turkey tail helped?
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