My baby, Nevada

I’m sad to report that we had to put Nevada down yesterday.  Things were going so well, and then everything took a sudden left turn.  She went in for her 9 month post-amputation visit with no signs or symptoms.  They did lung x-rays and found it had spread to her lungs, and quite fast since her 6 month x-rays were clear.  It was heartbreaking to find this out.  We were hoping we’d be one of the lucky families.  Considering the size of the tumors that had grown within 3 months, the estimate was 1-2 months left.  It was so hard to comprehend, since she wasn’t coughing, not slowing down, nothing out of the ordinary.  After 4 weeks or so, we could tell she was having issues with her remaining rear leg.  We started a pain medication, which was very helpful.  She started showing more signs as she wanted to sit on our laps a lot (take note, she’s not a lap sized dog!), but we were happy to oblige.  It wasn’t long after that where she’d wait to be lifted onto or off of the couch, bed, etc.  Then the really odd walk started, where she was almost walking in an “S” shape.  We figured it must be in her spine.  After a couple days, we could see she was really having a hard time walking.  Her mind and spirit were just fine, so it was hard to see her suffering.  We decided we’d put her down on Friday (tomorrow).  Then Tuesday night, she threw up her food.  By morning, there was a whimper.  We hadn’t heard a peep out of her since all of this started, so we knew it was time.  We met our chemo vet Wednesday evening.  We have such an awesome vet’s office.  So many people came to say goodbye, give hugs, share tears, and laughter with us.  We’re so appreciative of them and all they’ve done for us.  It was awful to let her go, but we knew in our hearts it was the right thing to do.  It wouldn’t be right to make her go on as she was.  Still many tears have been shed by our family, but we need to keep reminding ourselves how lucky we were to have found her at the shelter 8 years ago.  She was the perfect dog for us, we will miss her greatly.

I feel the need to tell anyone who’s reading on this website and is unsure about doing amputation…In the end, it only gave us another 10.5 months, but those 10 months were pretty awesome!  We are so grateful we did it, have never thought once about it not being the right thing to do.  It gave her new life!  Granted we had a pretty easy transition for her compared to some others, but we’re so glad we did it.  We were able to spend more time with her, get in those fun things she loved to do.  She even got another cabin weekend in this summer that we weren’t sure we’d ever get.  I strongly feel it helped our ending process.  No one’s ever ready to say goodbye, but I’m so thankful we had those extra 10.5 months.  We’re so thankful to Jerry and his owners for having this website!  I don’t know how we would have made it through without this support group.  We wish all tripawds and their families the best!  Owning pets is such an awesome thing we can do in this world!  They’re never replaceable, but there’s more out there to give their unconditional love and ours in return!  I know we will honor Nevada and find another shelter dog to share our love with.  We can only hope he/she will be as great as our beloved “Wawa.”

It has officially been 6 months now since Nevada had her hind leg removed.  I’m so happy to report that she’s done with chemo and her x-rays are still clear!!!  I can recall when this all first started, we didn’t know if she’d still be here at this point.  It’s such a daunting and scary situation (as you all are aware).  There were many days filled with tears and we logically know those tearful days will return some day, but it’s nice to know it’s looking like that’s not any time soon.  Her only “issues” she has with the amputation is that she can’s scratch the right side of her face and the snow/ice outside bugs her remaining hind paw.  Minnesota has some tough winters (this one particularly), so it’s not easy when you can’t lift that paw up to give it a break from the cold ground.  Those are pretty simple adjustments to deal with.  But then who am I to say that when it’s not me dealing with it!  🙂  I’m including pictures from Nevada and Brutus’s daily wrestling match from yesterday.  She may be missing one leg, but she still has the stamina and agility of those old 4-legged years!

As always, I’m so thankful for this website and all the members for their postings.  This would have been an even harder 6 months if we didn’t have this access and support.  I encourage any new members to dig around and read other posts.  Everyone’s situations are different but linked with at least one common element.  We’ve been on the lucky side with a pretty easy recovery and successful continuation of life (knock on wood).  My heart aches for those who have lost their beloved pet and cheers on those who are struggling and fighting.  Remember you’re not alone.  Whatever plan you decide to do for your pet is the correct one as there’s no right answers in this journey (famous words from a fellow blogger).  Sending our love to all!

Nevada went in for her third chemo appointment today.  I was a bit nervous as it was also the day they wanted to do a lung X-ray to see if any spreading has occurred.  I’m happy to report they looked clear!  Of course they did mention that it’s entirely possible it has spread and it just can’t be seen yet, but it does lead us to think we’ll have more time with her yet.

I must add how sorry I am to read of some others who have already been lost.  A couple of them were so close with timing of amputation, etc, it’s heartbreaking to see their time is already over.  We’re very lucky to be where we are.  We thank you all for sharing your experiences and wish all you tripawds and owners the best!

We closed up our cabin over the weekend.  It was kind of bittersweet, partially as that means colder weather is coming, partially because it means the kids go back to school, but what struck me most is that we don’t know if Nevada will be able to come back next year.  With how she looks now, she could stop the world, but we know it’s not going to last forever.  We made sure she got in her favorite activities as you can see in the pictures.  There’s a picture of me and her in our boat for the last ride of the year.  She LOVES all the smells during boat rides.  She’ll stand there with her nose up in the air getting every last sniff she can get.  We also went for a couple walks with my daughter.  It’s another favorite as we’re on a dead-end dirt road, so we don’t have her on a leash and she can run to her heart’s content!  We found the first day’s walk was a bit too long, she was wiped out.  So the next couple were shortened, but she still ran like the wind!  Most of my pictures were too blurry from her speed!  Or maybe it’s my camera skills.  🙂

I know I’ve said it before, but I really appreciate this website!  All the information and being able to read everyone’s experiences is wonderful.  I smile and cheer for those of you with exciting updates and my heart aches for those of you having problems or are near/at the end.  We’re so lucky to be able to have these wonderful pets in our lives.  We wish it could last forever!

Had to share a couple of pics of Nevada making herself at home on the couch!  She pretty much gets dibs on where to sit or lay.  We think she’s 100% back to normal (minus one leg).  There’s so many things we’re seeing her do again that we had forgotten about.  Just a lot of little things like playing tug with our other dog, chewing on bones, etc.  She’s even jumping up on our bed to sleep (we finally took the gate down from our stairs).  Although I’m not a huge fan of this as we have a high bed so my husband’s going to come up with something for her to step on first instead of just making the big leap.  Our other dog is just a little guy, and considering his size, he’s not supposed to jump up that high either, so hopefully we can get both of them using it.  Although it will probably be something my husband and I will continuously trip over and curse at in the middle of the night.  🙂

Wishing everyone healing and happiness!

Nevada had her first IV chemo on Tuesday morning.  It was pretty uneventful other than after a couple minutes she decided she had enough of laying down and wanted to get up.  The tech was pretty much hugging her to try to keep her still as I spoke to her and petted her head.  Both Tuesday night and Wednesday night there was a point where she “smiled.”  Her lips curled up and we thought for sure she was going to throw up, but she never did.  We’ve been slowly backing off her Rimadyl and changing over to a grain-free diet.  So a lot of changes going on with her body, but so far (knock on wood) everything is going very well.  It’s nice to get one round of chemo under our belts and know we have a 3 week wait before needing to go back to the vet.  Sometimes I feel we’ve lived there over the last couple months!

It was so great to take Nevada out to our cabin (her favorite place to be).  As soon as I lifted her out of the back of my SUV, she bolted and ran in circles like she used to.  If you didn’t look closely, you’d never know she was running on three legs! 15 days post-op and she was able to run like it was nothing!  As you can see in the photo, she claimed my lawn chair to be her own.  Of course she got her way.  But it only lasted a few minutes before she retreated out to the dock where she can be in the shade of the boat.  She zonked out by early evening though!  That’s more activity in a matter of minutes than she’s had in a long time, it wore her out!  It was so fun to see her run like that, I had to let her go full-bore!  Things will likely change as her first chemo appointment is tomorrow morning.  One day at a time, celebrating the great moments like you’ve all suggested!  🙂

Stitches are out and our tummy is almost purple-less!  It’s been a long 2 weeks.  Nevada was really acting tired and depressed so the vet had us stop one of her pain medications to see how it went.  It made a huge difference in her demeanor when we stopped the Tramadol.  She’s still tired and not as active as usual, but it’s much better.  When she’s up and about, she’s really good, but when she’s laying down, she often prefers to stay there.  Like when we come home, normally she’d run to greet the new arrival, but now she only occasionally checks to see who’s here.  She’ll just stay where she’s laying and watch to see who comes around the corner before she decides if she wants to get up.  I assume it’s tiring to get up when there’s only one back leg to help you get there.  I’m hoping this will improve with time, but I can’t help wondering if we were too late.  I’m trying to be optimistic about everything, but it’s hard.  I’ll be calling the other vet today to set up our first chemo appointment for next week.  On a happy note, she will be so happy to see where we’re going this weekend.  She LOVES going to our cabin, but we haven’t gone for a couple weeks as it would be too hard for her.  With stitches out, we’re thinking it’s time to go again.  We’ll need to be careful with how much activity she does as normally she’d run around the yard for long periods of time.  We’ll need to make her take it easy, but she’ll be so happy to be there again so we’re excited for her!

Wishing all other tripawds and owners a great weekend!

Got the confirmation this morning that Nevada does have osteosarcoma.  I’m heartbroken and crying.  I haven’t called my husband yet as I know he had a really packed day and I don’t want to ruin it for him.  I’m trying to think optimistically, but am having a hard time doing that right now.  I’ve read so many of your stories and how well the chemo and everything goes, but yet I still can’t stop thinking this is the end.  We knew whatever it was grew incredibly fast over the last couple months, so it leads me to believe we won’t be on the lucky end of a timeline.  I need to stop crying too before a migraine sets in!  I don’t need to end up in bed puking besides dealing with this.  Not a good day.  🙁

Well, we had a good couple days of happiness and activity.  Things started downhill when the pain patches came off.  Today we’re just laying around, which I guess is good for recovery. Just a little sad to see when she’s been so active and excited.  Another reason I’m happy to have found this website as without reading other’s input, I would have thought something was wrong.  We’re only 6 days in from amputation, so we still have some recovery to go through.  She’s still on oral pain meds of course, but obviously they’re not the strength of those patches.  Still waiting for results of what was wrong with the leg, crossing all my fingers and toes that it’s not something we’ll still have to worry about.