simpple019

Something exciting is happening at The Writer's Dog...Friday I asked you to guess what it might be. Some of you guessed that I was under contract for a new series of dog books, and that my first book is being made into a movie. Wow I'd love that! Both of those would be awesome but it's not happening (yet!). Others guessed that Ernest got his TDI (therapy dog) certificate. Not yet, but he will be attending classes and  heading toward that goal. So the correct answer is....

Petey in a bucket

We got a puppy!
Can you believe it?
As you know we've been adopting senior dogs, and sadly, in March we lost both Ike and Kelly. Then two months ago we adopted 8 1/2 year old Ernest. He's an awesome sweet boy and we sure got lucky when our rescue group found him for us. Then, something totally surprising happened! We got a wonderful opportunity to bring an adorable golden retriever puppy into the family and...well, Ernest now has a little brother.

Our first day together.

Family portrait. Does Ernest look a little worried? Don't worry Ernest, it will be okay.

 After all the sadness we've gone through the last few months, we think a little puppy energy is just what we all need. Of course, we plan to keep on rescuing senior goldens, too. For sure for sure.

So please welcome Petey!

Welcome to the family, Petey!

Check back later to see how Petey is transitioning into the family, the first few days/nights, housetraining, and how Ernest is doing with the new addition.

p.s. Since no one guessed the correct answer, I will randomly draw a winner from all the guesses.

I never intended to adopt senior dogs. Never planned to have my heart broken over and over again. But then again, I wasn't prepared for the amazing joys either. I never sought out senior dogs. But they keep finding me.

First there was Brooks. He was 11 yrs old when we adopted him. Someone had apparently dumped the old guy and left him to survive on his own.
This was sad Brooks before we rescued him:

Brooks Before

This was Brooks a few months later, after a little love:

Brooks After

I thought I could never love a dog, or be loved by a dog, the way it was with Brooks. Then came Ike. Here's goofy Ike in the rescue group's photo:

Ike Before

  Here's Ike after we got him, and he became a certified therapy dog. He was so loving.

Ike After

 Recently my husband and I decided to rescue a younger dog. But a month ago Ernest found us. He's 8 1/2 years old. Here he is the day we adopted him. He was scared.

Ernest Before

And here he is one month later. He's happy, relaxed, full of energy and nonstop love.

Ernest After

Why do I love senior goldens? They fit my lifestyle. They're pretty mellow most of the time. And mostly, there is a gentle wisdom about senior dogs. They've learned about life, sometimes the hard way, and they understand what they need. Mostly, my senior goldens have just wanted to be loved. 

Other dogs may come into our life. But we'll always have a place for senior dogs. My husband told me recently that when he retires, he'd like to open a retirement home for senior goldens. I can't think of a better way to spend our golden years.

Saturday, my sweet dog Ike died of hemangiosarcoma. Tragically, we had no idea he was seriously ill.















In fact, he'd had his senior exam not long before this. We were constantly alert to Ike's daily health, and probably nothing would have changed the sad outcome. I'm sharing these details in the hopes it may help someone else...although sadly, there is very little that can be done to prevent or treat it. At the end I will list a few suggestions.

Ike's symptoms (*this may not be the way it is for all dogs):
1. Ike was 10 years old. Over the last several months he seemed excessively tired at night, preferring to remain on his pillow in the living room rather than climb the stairs to join us. We'd mentioned it to our vet who surmised multiple possibilities for this. Maybe it was joint pain. We even considered that he wanted to be downstairs to stay with our other dog, who had started sleeping downstairs as well. Maybe it was just part of aging. Looking back, it was the cancer we didn't know was in his body, making him so tired.

2. One day a couple weeks ago, Ike had diarrhea with a little blood in it. You never like to see blood in the stools. In the past, I've taken my dogs to the vet the moment I see this, and almost always it has turned out to be something benign that improves in a few days. We decided to bring him to the vet the next day...but the next day the stools seemed okay so we figured it was nothing serious.

3. Over the course of a few weeks, Ike vomited twice. Maybe he ate too fast. Once was in the car. Maybe he ate too close to riding and the motion made him sick. He had a sensitive stomach. I wasn't overly worried.

4. A few times, Ike refused his breakfast. Once we had started mixing in a new food. Maybe he didn't like the food. And he always readily ate treats, and ate fine by dinner time.

5. This up and down pattern of feeling off and then feeling better, eating then not eating, gave us a false sense that he was getting better. Looking at his overall trend, however, we had decided that he should be checked out soon to find out what was going on.

6. Saturday he came upstairs to wake us up, as had been his pattern. He then trotted downstairs and we let him outside and he seemed fine. When he came inside, he refused his food. I called the vet and made an appointment.

Moments later--and I mean just moments--he was lying on the front porch, very still. I got his leash and asked him if he wanted to go for a walk--something that usually elicits elation--and nothing. He didn't respond at all. Immediately, we rushed him to the emergency vet.

There, in a very short time, the doctors did bloodwork, xrays and ultrasounds and gave us the diagnosis-- hemangiosarcoma. A tumor on his spleen. And blood in his stomach. It had ruptured. The vet was very, very clear. Ike was in bad shape. Surgery to remove the spleen could be done, and was the only way to tell for sure if the tumor was benign or malignant. But of all the cases she's seen that presented themselves like Ike's, and had ruptured like Ike's, they were almost always malignant. And if she removed the spleen, the cancer came back in a very short time. One time it was only 10 days. Other times it was a couple weeks to two months. Even with chemotherapy after surgery, the prognosis was poor. And the surgery would be around $5000. I don't have $5000, but I would have done it. I would have, for Ike. We asked the vet if there was any chance it was benign. She said no. Given that there was really no hope, we had no choice but to do the one very difficult almost impossible thing that we were totally unprepared to do. I won't go into details about that, and many of you know from your own experiences how devastating it is to go through. We held him, loved him, cuddled him, told him he was a good boy, kissed him and said goodbye, run free, see you at the bridge.


Here are some facts ***not intended to substitute for your veterinarian's opinion***
1. Not all masses on the spleen are cancerous.
2. Hemangiosarcoma is very invasive and there may be no clinical signs until the dog suddenly dies.
3. Golden retrievers, along with other breeds such as German shepherds, Boxers, English setters, Labrador retrievers are more likely to get hemangiosarcoma.
4. The up and down symptoms we observed are due to the fact that the mass is bleeding, and then the dog recovers temporarily as new blood cells are made.
5. Symptoms include:
slight lethargy
loss of appetite
weakness
nose bleeds
mild anemia


6. Upon rupture, symptoms include:
pale tongue and gums
panting
weakness
rapid heart rate
collapse

7. Treatment options include:
blood transfusion
splenectomy
chemotherapy
but prognosis is poor and life expectancy even with treatment is about 3 months.

8. Prevention includes:
Breeds that are predisposed to this may benefit from yearly ultrasounds.
The vet may routinely palpate the abdomen to check for masses.
Routine bloodwork in predisposed breeds may help identify possibility of tumor.

http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/animal-lovers/hemangiosarcoma.html
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cancer/c_dg_cancer_spleen_liver

We recently attended a therapy dog event at a local university, and 4 out of 5 dogs working there were goldens! Ike was very happy to meet his fellow golden pals! And the students found that patting and hugging the dogs helped make their transition into their freshman year away from home a little less stressful.

















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"After a busy day of scooting around in my pink and purple car, it's time to get out and play with my dog and his favorite green ball. Nothing makes a girl's day better than having a furry best friend. He takes care of me so I need to take care of him."

















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