So I have some bad news to post today.
For those of you who have known me a very long time, you will, of course, kno
w my Sammy. AKA Sam, Samson, Ransom For A Song, Sambo, etc
Sammy was diagnosed in Feb with Mouth cancer. He had surgery and they removed as much of it as they could and sent it to the lab to figure out what it was. Unfortunately they could only limit it down to two different types. One was melanoma which is fatal within 3 to 12months and the other fibrosarcoma which is curable only with full removal which is impossible in Sam's case. In neither case did the vet specialist feel it was a "normal" cancer behavior.
We have mourned and kept moving and Sam has been doing really really well. 8months later and we were doing great. He's had some very bad days when he has trouble breathing (the next step for melanoma is moving to the lungs) and discomfort. I have controlled the pain with medication and he's been doing very very well.
This weekend I noticed that the lesions in his mouth have greatly reduced in size! It was amazing to see his beautiful gums back to normal except for some reddness! Then Monday we went jogging and I started hearing drag click drag click. I look over and my poor boy is dragging his toes. Dogs don't drag their feet like people do when they are tired. They only drag them when they can't feel them anymore.
So I tested him and sure enough, he has no clue where his back feet are. No idea where to place them. His walking is spastic and his hind limbs are weak. I plan to put him on some steroids to see what happens but it doesn't look good long term. As a vet, I would tell his owner to enjoy their time together and let him tell them when he was done. So that as the owner is what I will look for. The time when he says he has loved being here but it is time to return home.
For those of you who have known me a very long time, you will, of course, kno
w my Sammy. AKA Sam, Samson, Ransom For A Song, Sambo, etcSammy was diagnosed in Feb with Mouth cancer. He had surgery and they removed as much of it as they could and sent it to the lab to figure out what it was. Unfortunately they could only limit it down to two different types. One was melanoma which is fatal within 3 to 12months and the other fibrosarcoma which is curable only with full removal which is impossible in Sam's case. In neither case did the vet specialist feel it was a "normal" cancer behavior.
We have mourned and kept moving and Sam has been doing really really well. 8months later and we were doing great. He's had some very bad days when he has trouble breathing (the next step for melanoma is moving to the lungs) and discomfort. I have controlled the pain with medication and he's been doing very very well.
This weekend I noticed that the lesions in his mouth have greatly reduced in size! It was amazing to see his beautiful gums back to normal except for some reddness! Then Monday we went jogging and I started hearing drag click drag click. I look over and my poor boy is dragging his toes. Dogs don't drag their feet like people do when they are tired. They only drag them when they can't feel them anymore.
So I tested him and sure enough, he has no clue where his back feet are. No idea where to place them. His walking is spastic and his hind limbs are weak. I plan to put him on some steroids to see what happens but it doesn't look good long term. As a vet, I would tell his owner to enjoy their time together and let him tell them when he was done. So that as the owner is what I will look for. The time when he says he has loved being here but it is time to return home.
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