Archive for the ‘Dog Health’ Category

Ugh. Those are two ugly little words no one wants to use in a sentence.

But here we are. The news of lymphoma in Teva, a very healthy 4-year old dog, came as a shock.

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph cells of the blood. The most common sign is enlarged lymph nodes. This is not painful, but very tiring. You could argue that chemo is a good word – after all, chemo is what we kill cancer with, but it isn’t something we readily sign up for.

A little background

Teva’s human is my dear friend Heather. Teva is the Dog of Her Life. My Sophie and her Teva are great buddies, especially when Sophie needs a Greyhound break – when she needs to hang with one of her own kind. We all needed a day or two to let this news sink in. But we didn’t sit immobilized, we got a plan in place.

First stop: WSU veterinary oncology. The first appointment was 4 weeks ago, when the Madison-Wisconsin chemotherapy protocol was started for Teva.

This week was week #4, and we traveled back to WSU for a re-check and to get the drug doxorubicin, which is in extremely short supply now and only available at the university.

The journey

As horrible as it is for us humans to grapple with, dogs still live happily in the moment. Walk?! Cookie?! Ball?! All good things that Teva gets in extra doses right now. She has no idea she has cancer – she might want to take a nap rather than hike on the day after chemo, but hey – naps are good too.

The goal of chemo is to shrink those lymph nodes, put this cancer in remission, and have life be as normal as possible for Teva. Lots of hiking, swimming, tennis balls and yummy food.

Here is a mini photo story of our trip to WSU this week

Teva bursts into WSU just like the first time – eager to greet anyone who will say ‘hi’ – no fear here. She, like all Goldens, adores balls. We let her take in this ball while she had her treatment. For her, it is like those squishy balls humans can squeeze to relieve stress. Pleasantly comforting and distracting.

Dr. Choy told us that Teva enjoyed lots of cookies while she was getting her chemo (administered slowly over the course of an hour with IV fluids) and warned Heather that Teva might not be as hungry for dinner later. An unnecessary warning, as Teva’s appetite has remained very good. Even extra-extra good, thanks to prednisone, one of the drugs used in fighting lymphoma.

Give this dog a treat and a ball, and she is all set. Living in the moment is a good lesson that I must learn over and over from my pets.

The next morning, we met for a coffee break. Doxorubicin is a strong chemo agent, and Teva was feeling a little quiet. As Heather and I sipped coffee, we looked down to find the girls hanging out on their own together.

Argos cares. So does Purl. But wow! Check out this uber-comfy special bed that Teva has! Argos notices that it way more deluxe than our beds at home. But again … dogs live in the moment. He did not retain any feelings of envy. It’s all good.

And now for some good news!

Teva’s lymph nodes have shrunk to almost normal size. Something great to celebrate.

Continuing onward

I am thinking of writing up Teva’s continuing story and more about lymphoma and chemo on About.com, including interviewing oncologists at WSU. What are your questions about Teva-cancer-lymphoma-chemo? Feel free to post them as comments here as I gather up info and ideas to write more.

As I wrote in the previous post, our best buddy Teva is undergoing treatment for lymphoma. I am hitting the road with Teva the Wunderdog and Heather tomorrow to revisit the WSU oncology team for more cancer-fighting fun.

We have snacks. We have fresh water. Lots of chat time. And dog cookies – must have dog cookies.

My pet clan is staying home, but we’ll be back soon.

As much as I want to pack you, Quincy, not gonna happen.

I do love the celebration atmosphere. The noise… oye. That can be annoying. Maybe I am  just getting old or maybe it is because I have lived with noise-phobic dogs for so long. It is still a fun holiday though, and I am wishing you all fun and safe this holiday weekend! Leave the dogs inside.

More (lots more) info on my About.com Veterinary Medicine site here: fireworks and thunderstorms.

Don’t forget about dogs and summer heat – burnned pads, heatstroke, and noise. Be sure to check out the Hot Dog Checklist to keep your best friend safe this summer.

Encouraging news for dogs (and humans) with this new vaccine-based cancer therapy. This method utilizes the host’s immune system to find and kill cancer cells.

The canine melanoma vaccine, ONCEPT ™, by Merial, was granted a conditional license approval by the USDA in March 2007. Today, CNNMoney reported that the USDA has granted full licensure for this anti-tumor vaccine.

Enter the operating room and see a canine castration, more commonly known as dog neuter surgery. This procedure utilizes sterile technique and requires general anesthesia, most often maintained with inhalation (gas) anesthetic.

Photo: Dog neuter surgery © Janet Tobiassen Crosby DVM

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Has your dog experienced anal sac problems (i.e. “scooting”) or other diseases of the anal area? If so, one of my Twitter pals, Edie Jarolim, also known as @WillMyDogHateMe, needs your help.

What she is looking for:
For an article about diseases of the anal area for Your Dog magazine, the newsletter of the Tufts University veterinary school, journalist Edie Jarolim is looking to interview owners of dogs who:

a) have been trained to express their dog’s anal glands by their vet and do it regularly
b) have had their dog’s anal sacs removed because they got infected regularly
c) have had their dog successfully treated for  perineal hernias
d) have had their dog successfully treated for perianal fistulas

Please contact Edie at ejarolim at mac.com if you fall into any of these categories and would be willing to discuss  either via email or phone.

Edie’s contact info:
Edie Jarolim
Pet Travel Correspondent, KVOA TV
Author: AM I BORING MY DOG (Alpha/Penguin, 2009)
http://willmydoghateme.com
http://ediejarolim.com

This is my dog, Sophie. She is calm, cool, collected. She loves people (especially kids), pets, hikes, and hanging out. Until a firework goes off or a thunderstorm hits. Then she  is a pacing, panting, trembling, got-to-hide-in-small-spaces dog. She is terrified. Nothing will calm her down. In fact, trying to “calm” a dog like this only reinforces the fearful behavior. She has a noise phobia.

I recently tried the DAP Collar – a pheromone-releasing collar designed to provide a “sense of well-being” for dogs. Did it work? Learn about our two week trial in this new review.