An update on Fritz - we have been in the process of getting a prosthetic - made by a company in Virginia.  It is a long process - today it just got sent back for the second time due to fitting issues so we have not really been able to use it yet.  It has been about 2 months since the surgery.  He is still getting around great on 3 legs in the house.  No issues with his stump.  His endurance on walks off leash continues to be about the same - after 5-15 minutes he is worn out.  I have pretty much given up leash walks - it is just much easier to go somewhere where he can stop when he wants and then catch up - it just means less walks for him - which makes me feel bad.  I am hoping that by the end of the summer he can be using his prostehtic leg to a point he can go on longer walks with us - otherwise we have to leave him home or cut short our activities. 

I uploaded one picture to my profile.  I have not spent enough time figuring out how to attach more pictures to this blog. 

Despite a variety of adjustments, the prosthetic still won't stay on his leg for more than a few minutes.  We even went to a human orthopedic clinic locally and they added some additional cushioning to help it cling to his upper leg.  The maker is now supposed to consult with the local clinic but they seem to be very busy and this is not their normal work.  So a few weeks has gone by with no progress on that front. 

Last week we found out that Fritz now has lung mets.  He was not feeling well at all - watering eyes, high temp, very tired, occasional wheezing.  The oncologist gave me the options of more chemo - either IV or palladia but her prognosis on chemo versus no chemo was not that encouraging.  Therefore my husband and I have decided to not pursue the additional chemo but instead just do holistic treatment and comfort measures.  He just got started yesterday on Dexamethasone, a steroid, to help relieve his discomfort in the short term.  I also ordered a compound called Salvestrol which my holistic vet learned about as being used effectively in some human cancers.  It is supposed to make up for the fact that modern day food sources have had the bitter aspect bred out and thereby loose important compounds that can help to destroy the bad cells.  It was expensive, but I guess compared to another round of chemo I thought I would give it a try since it at least won't hurt him.  He has been on a mushroom supplement and now we are adding back Hoxsey-Boneset and Catalyn (a vitamin supplement).  I am also going to try to arrange for him to get some acupunture at home.  Just the past couple of days (before starting the new meds) he has been constipated and had diarrhea so I think I need to get some more fiber for him.  We have been trying to make sure he gets enough fluids.

Of course we are now disappointed and sad that this has happened but we are just going to try to love him and comfort hiim and try to be perceptive about how he is feeling.  I know many of you out there have gone through this stage.  I am just hoping he can feel a little bit better with the new meds for a while as we have 2 little vacations planned with our dogs in the next 6 weeks and we think he would get a lot of enoyment from these trips.        

Someone local was selling a used big dog stroller and we went to look at it.  I liked it -but Fritz did not - we thrrw all kinds of yummy treats in but he did not want to go in, so I decided not to buy it.