Saturday, December 24, 2011

Twas' the day before Christmas..........

Lily soaks up some rays waiting for Santa.
 She won't get many presents with a scowl like that!
There's that big Rottie grin....and she has a lot to grin about.  A week ago her Vet was worried because she was very anemic when she came in for her chemo treatment and we were having trouble getting her to eat. They postponed the session and suggested we take her back to her surgeon for an ultrasound and a possible bone marrow biopsy. Uh oh, had the cancer spread? Her lungs were clear but it could have spread elsewhere.
Well, The Husband and I did a little thinking and put together a timeline scenario to see when she started not eating.  The week before she had punctured her stump and opened a wound.  They put her on an antibiotic called 'Baytril' which is good for wounds like hers. Soon after that she started getting really fussy about eating. So The Husband did a little internet research and found out in very rare cases this drug can cause anemia. 
The Vet wasn't convinced but we all thought it best to remove her from it.  Just 24hours after stopping it she was a NEW dog! Eating, running, talking up a storm and just being Lily.
The Husband still took her for the ultrasound which was negative and had her blood retest.  The red count went from 23 to 33 in just 3 days! No bone marrow biopsy needed.
We all know our pets best and when they start acting different at home we can provide a timeline of events leading up to issues with them.  If you have a good vet they will listen (we do) and take this into consideration.  It also pays to do research on your own. Your vet can't know everything about food and drug interactions.
Our little princess  had her last chemo treatment yesterday.  Her wound is finally healing and she got the wreath off her head.  She goes back once a month for checkups now.
We know not everyone chooses this route with their pets and sometimes you can't, but we are very glad we did and hope Lily makes it well past her 10th birthday (Jan 26th).
 We wish Eddy's treatment had been more successful and  miss him very much this holiday season but are grateful for what we have.

To you and yours a very...........................


from Fabric, Food and Fido.

2 comments:

  1. What a wonderful Christmas present Lily's good vet report and response to being taken off Baytril would have been for you! Well done on going the extra mile for Lily and doing your own research. Looking forward to reading all about her birthday celebrations!

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  2. I am rooting for Lily too. I've gone back through your archives to follow Lily's story. She's an amazing dog, and you're amazing dog guardians. I hope that she has a wonderful birthday in January.

    As I am starting down this osteosarcoma road with my dog K, I have started to realize that I'm going to feel like we're walking on eggshells, just waiting for the other shoe to drop, after she is treated. I hope that I can get over that feeling as well as you have.

    Thanks for your comments over at our blog.

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