I haven’t posted in a while as we have been weighing our options and searching for the right answers for Ollie. I think I posted that we received confirmation of osteosarcoma. Ollie is doing amazingly well in his recovery and hopping around and going farther each day. He is able to go in the backyard on his own now and made it over to his beloved “pit” under the lilacs for a snooze. His personality is different, more subdued and when he looks at me, I see a somewhat different dog, a little confused as to what has happened to him. Maybe this will pass as his recovery progresses. It’s only been 3 weeks post-op. He has no desire to chase the bunnies or squirrels, which before seemed to be his reason for existence.
As I said, we have been considering how to proceed. When we took Ollie to have his stitches out, we’d pretty much decided not to do chemo. We wanted his remaining time to be without the trauma of regular visits to the vet and the pain and side effects of chemo. After talking to the surgeon and oncology vet, we’ve decided to do 2 rounds of chemo and then possibly metronomic chemotherapy. Our thinking is that hopefully, we’ve caught the cancer early and 2 rounds may do the trick. Then proceed with metronomic chemotherapy treatments which can be administered orally at home. Our only (not only, but one) concern is the gastro upset with this kind of treatment. Unfortunately, the cost of chemo is also a factor in our decision. Trying to come to terms with this as a factor has been difficult. Ollie is part of our family, but we also have to be realistic. We are not rolling in dough and have a child entering college this fall and another in 2 years.
We will do everything in our power to keep Ollie healthy and happy for his remaining time with us and we are praying it will be as long as possible. Diet, limited chemo and just being “our boy”. We are hoping that when his time comes, he will let us know.
Ollie you are looking great. Sassy is doing metronomics. There are a lot of dogs doing them. We use diamondback drugs for our compounding company and its pretty resonable. if you do a search there is an article about knowing where your drugs are coming from by Jackson’s mom Katy. Sassy uses Carprofen as the NSAID with her metronomics. We make sure to give it with food. Of course I always make sure my babies get foods with meds unless told not too. Its less harsh on their tummies.
Sassy did 4 chemo treatments and got mets in her lungs but mets are not a death sentence. We are 4 months with mets and going strong. We just remember each day is a Blessing.
Michelle & Sassy
Yeah, that Sassy is quite an inspiration , all. with her momma!!
And I tell ya’ what!! Looking at those GLORIOUSLY happy pictures of Ollie…HA…..he’s not planning on going g anywhere anytime soon!! That is one happy boy!!
Three weeks is still early in recovery. I actually had m Happy Hannah on old pain meds goi g I to her fourth week! She’s four no the from amputation and co to use to be o e of the nappiest dogs on the planet!!
Does she walk as. us? No. She prefers rolling around in the grass….laying in the shade…..laying in the sun……sniffing all the great scents on the breeze!
Does she chase the cats as. much? No. She’s just as happy giving them a “WOOF” if they invade her space!
Does she still wag her tail all oste nonstop if you just say her. name or look her way and say “good girl”? You betcha’
Don’t k ow if you’ve started the chemo yet ……is it carboplatin? That can zap her energy a touch momentarily too. I just want to state again, Ollie is early in his recovery and is a big boy and so etimes it does take a little more energy to get around at first!
Please keep us posted and more photos!! Your pups are soooooo handsome!! You are great advocates for Ollie!!
Best to you!
Sally and Happy Hannah
PS. His surgery site looks great!
Ollie looks beautiful!!! 3 weeks out is not very much. We really started seeing the old Shooter about a month and half out. It takes more energy to hop so they have to build up to their old energy level.
Whatever choices you make they will be the best ones for Ollie and yourself.
Take care-
Luanne & Shooter
There’s Ollie! Look at that face!
I agree, 3 weeks is not a long time. He’ll get there, you’ll see.
As for treatment decisions, we all understand the difficulty in choosing how much or how little we will proceed with. It sucks that money plays into it. If only our resources were infinite!
Whatever you decide to do, know that it’s the right decision because you’ve given it so much thought. I do like the idea of what your docs have proposed, it sounds like it could be very helpful and kick that cancer away. Many dogs (including me) have been though metronomics so if you’re looking for some info/experiences hop on over to the forums OK?
Give that boy a big old hug from all of us. He is so sweet.