Hi all,
The good news: Milhouse’s recovery from his amputation is going really well. He even jumped on the couch this past week, which was a total shock to me! He also started playing a little- brought me a tennis ball a few times, and de-fluffed a stuffed puppy.
We are now 4 weeks out from surgery, and brother Charlie got to come home from Grandma’s house! We had a reunion celebration with some cheese and peanut butter frosty paws! Charlie came in and sniffed Milhouse’s leg nub. Milhouse stood very still and let him take as much time as he needed to figure it out. Charlie gave it a lick and then got to business cleaning Milhouse’s ears. He does this daily, and he takes his job very seriously 🙂 I’m so glad to have both pups back under my roof!
The bad news: Despite uncertainty last week and the possibility that Milhouse’s leg tumor wasn’t cancerous, it was confirmed on Friday that he does in fact have osteosarcoma. The vet called literally 5 minutes after I had hung up the phone with a friend who informed me that a former co-worker, friend, and all-around amazing lady had passed that morning. Talk about a 1-2 punch.
Initially I had assumed that I wouldn’t put Milhouse through chemo. He’s almost 13 and I want him to be comfy and happy this last little bit. I thought through friends and family members who were miserable through chemo, and just couldn’t see putting my buddy through that. I told the vet this, and he strongly encouraged me to make an oncology appointment anyway. He said that dogs tolerate chemo much differently than people do and generally feel fine through the treatments. He said if I didn’t do chemo, we could have as little as 4 months left due to the aggressive nature of osteosarcoma. 4 months felt like a punch in the stomach. That’s before the end of this year. I can’t do it.
So we have an appointment Wednesday with a veterinary oncologist. I’m going to at least listen to all of the options and pray that I can make the best choices to keep my buddy comfortable and happy.
Off to snuggle my boy. I have nine more days until I return to work, and want to soak up all the snuggles and play time that I can!
How adorable are Charlie and Milhouse? What a good brother you are Charlie, I’m sure you are very happy to have your boys together. I’m sorry about the osteo diagnosis but am so glad that you went ahead with an oncology appointment. My experience with IV chemo for my dog was very positive. She would be a bit lethargic and nauseous (metronidazole worked for this) for about a day and a half after a treatment and then she felt better. Lucy also did an oral chemo which had more stomach upset but once we got that remedied it went very well. She lived well past her prognosis and I was thankful for the time. I know everyone’s outcome is different but wanted to share her story.
You’ll make the best decision for you and your boy and are smart to gather the info.
Now back to the important stuff – Milhouse looks great and it sounds like you are having such a good time together. Have a great snuggle.
Love, Amy & Rusty