Rabu, 27 Agustus 2014
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Raleighs Cancer
Until recently, Raleigh has always been adamant that she would only do "her business" in her own yard. When she began urinating on our walks and having prolonged periods of diarrhea, we immediately visited our veterinarian. Treatment resolved the diarrhea for a while but Raleigh continued urinating on walks with an increased frequency, sometimes eight to ten times on a 20 minute walk. A second round of both blood and urine results came back
clean and it was suggested that Raleighs behavior was psychological. "I know my dogs, theres something wrong," I countered. Then I added the capper that made me sound like a lunatic, "Our other dog Flynn keeps smelling her backside with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension." The veterinarian didnt flinch, laugh or roll her eyes. Instead she outlined a plan: wed acidify Raleighs time with cranberry tablets and if symptoms didnt lessen in two weeks wed do an ultrasound on her abdomen.
May is Canine Cancer Awareness Month, and were all to well aware of how it has filled the month for us. Fifty percent of the dogs over the age of ten are diagnosed with a form of cancer. Thats a statistic that is far to high in my opinion. Were donating to cancer research so that we work towards finding ways to prevent other pets and their guardians from the same devastating news. I would encourage you to make a donation if at all possible.
Until we know more why cancer is so prevalent, we can just do our best to reduce the risk. A few years ago we switched to natural flea treatments, eliminated chemicals in our garden and in our housecleaning products. And then of course, there is the one thing you can do inside your dogs body that will make a difference: Feed Your Best Friend Better.
Thank you to all the readers who have offered their well wishes, thoughts and prayers. You are in ours as well.
Rick & Raleigh
Raleighs Cancer
Early this year I noticed that Raleigh was sporting a gray whisker in her muzzle. My girl is getting older and I wondered how she would fare in old age. Sadly, weve found she wont be getting much older, she has an aggressive form of intestinal carcinoma.
Until recently, Raleigh has always been adamant that she would only do "her business" in her own yard. When she began urinating on our walks and having prolonged periods of diarrhea, we immediately visited our veterinarian. Treatment resolved the diarrhea for a while but Raleigh continued urinating on walks with an increased frequency, sometimes eight to ten times on a 20 minute walk. A second round of both blood and urine results came back clean and it was suggested that Raleighs behavior was psychological. "I know my dogs, theres something wrong," I countered. Then I added the capper that made me sound like a lunatic, "Our other dog Flynn keeps smelling her backside with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension." The veterinarian didnt flinch, laugh or roll her eyes. Instead she outlined a plan: wed acidify Raleighs time with cranberry tablets and if symptoms didnt lessen in two weeks wed do an ultrasound on her abdomen.
Three weeks later an ultrasound revealed a mass in Raleighs bladder and another in her small intestine. It was most likely cancer. Aspirations confirmed the diagnosis and we scheduled surgery to remove the offending part of the intestine and the section of the bladder that is infected. Biopsies of these plus one of the lymph nodes revealed that its much worse than we could have imagined and Raleighs prognosis is 3-4 months. Were weighing the options of chemotherapy, but whats most important right now is quality of life. The mass in her intestine had almost blocked off her entire digestive tract. Without the surgery, we most likely would have lost her by now. Im grateful that we have at least the few months ahead.
Raleigh is bouncing back from surgery, feeling better every day and more like her old self. She may be unaware of what lies ahead, but as her guardian, Ill endeavor to make every day count.
In the first few days of learning that cancer had once again darkened our lives, I wanted a reason why, but its cancer and it happens for its own reason. Was it the dog food I fed her as a puppy? Flea treatments? Fertilizers on the green neighborhood lawns that she likes to roll in? Or was it just in her genes, and bound to happen? I will never know for sure, but I do know that we gave her every advantage through nutrition and whos to say that we didnt delay the onset of this disease.
May is Canine Cancer Awareness Month, and were all to well aware of how it has filled the month for us. Fifty percent of the dogs over the age of ten are diagnosed with a form of cancer. Thats a statistic that is far to high in my opinion. Were donating to cancer research so that we work towards finding ways to prevent other pets and their guardians from the same devastating news. I would encourage you to make a donation if at all possible.
Until we know more why cancer is so prevalent, we can just do our best to reduce the risk. A few years ago we switched to natural flea treatments, eliminated chemicals in our garden and in our housecleaning products. And then of course, there is the one thing you can do inside your dogs body that will make a difference: Feed Your Best Friend Better.
Thank you to all the readers who have offered their well wishes, thoughts and prayers. You are in ours as well.
Rick & Raleigh
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