Life and Death.
So...the last month, with Baby. Early in the month, she began to get picky about food, as she does from time to time. She was eating smaller portions, and begging a lot. So, we tried switching out her food. I also began to notice an awful amount of plaque on her teeth, and thought maybe she was having a hard time eating, so a teeth cleaning from the vet was forthcoming. So food changes included mixing some moist food and a little water to soften the food for ease of eating. That worked for about 3 days, she was gobbling an entire bowl of it down no problem. On the 4th day, she went back to picking, little nibbles and she was done. So at this point I'm very concerned, as she is dropping weight rapidly, and those of you that know her, know she doesn't have much weight to spare. So we try a food change again, this time, we use a puppy food that is a chewy kibble, and mix it with puppy soft food. So she now has a TON of vitamins, protein and all the good stuff to put the weight back on. She won't touch it. So I quickly blend it, and bulb syringe it down her throat. At this point she also wouldn't even touch table scraps, turned her nose away at any food in front of her face. So a trip to the vet reveals my worst fear. She has lymphoma.
Baby has always had kind of large lymph nodes, nothing huge, but a little on the big side. She's always been a vomiter as well. She usually vomits once a day on average. Every vet I've seen just tells me it's a sensitive stomach thing, not to worry, as long as she eats and maintains a healthy weight she's ok. She weighed in at 7 lbs yesterday, her average is 17. She is vomiting several times a day, a milky substance, that smells awful. She hasn't used the bathroom in 24 hours, and her nictitating membranes are covering half her eyes at all times. She shudders frequently, and has small tremors, and sometimes a hard time breathing. Even if she were to eat, she would still look like a bag of bones, her digestive tract cannot absorb the protein and nutrients in food anymore. Imagine the worst abuse case you've ever seen where the dog was starved...that's Baby, you can see every bone, every vertebrae, every indention. And picking her up is a delicate process so that you don't break any of her bones. Her superficial lymphatics are about the size of golf balls. And all she does is sleep. So I continue to mono inject puppy formula, and meal replacements into her throat several times a day. Our options are bleak.
I can euthanize her...just give up, and let go.
Go through months of excruciating and evasive rounds of chemotherapy. That isn't even guaranteed to work, and best case scenario has been known to only put lymphoma in the canine into remission for 30 to 60 days. And can cost upwards of $15,000.00 for one round into remission.
Or I can make her feel comfortable, feed her to the best of my ability, and let her die at home, which I fear isn't far off...as I write this, I've had to stop several times to hold her ears up to let her vomit on some paper towels, this last point, it was all blood.
Her 3rd birthday is on the 15th.
Baby has always had kind of large lymph nodes, nothing huge, but a little on the big side. She's always been a vomiter as well. She usually vomits once a day on average. Every vet I've seen just tells me it's a sensitive stomach thing, not to worry, as long as she eats and maintains a healthy weight she's ok. She weighed in at 7 lbs yesterday, her average is 17. She is vomiting several times a day, a milky substance, that smells awful. She hasn't used the bathroom in 24 hours, and her nictitating membranes are covering half her eyes at all times. She shudders frequently, and has small tremors, and sometimes a hard time breathing. Even if she were to eat, she would still look like a bag of bones, her digestive tract cannot absorb the protein and nutrients in food anymore. Imagine the worst abuse case you've ever seen where the dog was starved...that's Baby, you can see every bone, every vertebrae, every indention. And picking her up is a delicate process so that you don't break any of her bones. Her superficial lymphatics are about the size of golf balls. And all she does is sleep. So I continue to mono inject puppy formula, and meal replacements into her throat several times a day. Our options are bleak.
I can euthanize her...just give up, and let go.
Go through months of excruciating and evasive rounds of chemotherapy. That isn't even guaranteed to work, and best case scenario has been known to only put lymphoma in the canine into remission for 30 to 60 days. And can cost upwards of $15,000.00 for one round into remission.
Or I can make her feel comfortable, feed her to the best of my ability, and let her die at home, which I fear isn't far off...as I write this, I've had to stop several times to hold her ears up to let her vomit on some paper towels, this last point, it was all blood.
Her 3rd birthday is on the 15th.