I feel so blessed to have found (come back to) this site!  I can't imagine going through all this without this amazing support!

Chance has been getting excellent care at Blue Pearl Vet...the Drs and techs have been amazingly patient in explaining everything to me and walking me through the ups and downs of the last couple of days.  Good news...Chance is home!  I picked him up yesterday afternoon since he's showing enough improvement to release him.  His blood count is still low, only a 0.03 improvement in his white blood cell count so far...but it's an improvement!  His temp has been holding steady at 101.6 for a couple days so that really good!  I got to visit with him on Tuesday since the Dr was concerned that he wasn't eating and hoped that a visit would cheer him up a bit and he would eat.  I brought him lots of yummy treats but the only thing he showed interest in was bacon...just a few strips.  But that was something!  During my visit I relayed to the Dr that I was concerned about his semi-labored breathing and raspy sounds.  After I left, they checked and he was a little anemic.  

So he is home, but still definitely not out of the woods.  I tried just about everything in the fridge last night and even made a trip to HEB to pick up some baby food I thought he might like, but only thing I could get him to eat was about a half a strip of bacon and half a scrambled egg.  I needed him to eat something before giving him his meds.  My kitchen cabinet is turning into one heck of a medicine cabinet!  He's currently on Ondansetron (nausea), Clavamox (antibiotic), Enrofloxacin (antibiotic), and as needed, Metronidazole (diarrhea).  Plus he's still taking his Azodyl for his kidneys.  He's on strict bed rest, no walks, playing, etc which doesn't seem to bother him right now!  I slept with him on his beds last night and glad I did.  He was mostly restful but at one point he woke up and seemed like he was having trouble breathing.  I calmed him down and he was able to rest...scared the you-know-what outta me though!

I do think that this is a rare thing with these side effects and trying to focus on that. The Dr has been very reassuring that it's not anything I did (or didn't do), but it's still hard to see him like this.  

I need to do more reading on nutrition if anyone has suggestions.  I'm reading about Omega 3 & 6, other proteins and supplements but need to talk to the dr first.  He seems to have already lost some muscle mass so I'm really concerned about that.  PT is postponed until we can get this situation under control first.

I think we have a long road ahead of us but hopeful that he's going to be fine!  When I found him in the dog park in 2013 I named him Chance because I thought that him coming to live with me and Kenya was his "second chance".  How appropriate that name seems to be now...although I do think maybe he's part cat and working on those 9 lives!

Thanks again for all your support!  

Sandra, Chance & Kenya

Great advice...lots to read.  I confirmed with the oncologist that any supplements won't affect the meds he's on so I'll read the articles and try to find something that works for Chance.  I've seen the Fresh Pet food somewhere around here...will have to look again.  He's pretty picky anyway.  At training, my trainer suggests liverworts as a "high value" treat for any dog...except my dogs turn their noses at it! lol. At this point, whatever he wants to eat--he gets.  Kenya's a bit jealous seeing everything offered to her brother! 

Hmmm...paper plates!  Why didn't I think of that?!  Thanks!  I know it has to be something in the scent that he's not liking.  Heck we've all been sick and turned off by even our favorite foods!  Why would I expect anything different from him.  I've been keeping my attitude/feelings in check and I think it's really helped.  I have no doubt that his wbc, platelets, rbc counts still have a long way to go but he sure seems better today.  

One day at a time!

Ok you're way ahead of me Jerry!  I tried running his bowl through the dishwasher to get rid of any smells...didn't work!

But it's a fabulous Tuesday!  Last night Chance ate his regular food from HIS BOWL!  Same this morning!  His temp is stabilized and his energy is returning.  He even searched out his favorite toy this morning...something he usually does every morning, but hasn't for the last week or so!  I'm still going to research better food alternatives though...something maybe a little more nutritious for him (and Kenya).

We have an appointment this afternoon for a CBC to check his bloodwork.  I really feel that it's improved but the truth is in the results...I'm very optimistic.  Fingers crossed!

Like R's mom, after the bloodwork I'll have the discussion with his oncologist about continued chemo.  I'm still not sure if we'll continue with chemo.  I want to do everything I can to fight any metastasis but I also don't want him to go through this again!  I'm sure the dr will give me all the information I need to make an educated decision...and what's best for Chance.