Please Pray for Josie
Josie is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, and she definitely is the sweetest doxie in the world, because that breed can be--well, a bit difficult at times--or barky, etc.
Josie is the 6-year-old pet of my friend Carmen, past president of the Humane Society. She now has three doxie's, all who have been adopted from a doxie rescue group. Lacey and Josie were the first, and they just recently adopted a third. Carmen also volunteers with the group and has fostered several.(One was a real cute guy, but he was determined to poop on the floor every chance he got!)
I used to house and pet sit for Carmen over a weekend ever so often, and I'd take care of "the girls." And the last time, the "poopster." Good thing his deposits were tiny! They are so SWEET and slept with me in the bed, burrowing down under the covers and snuggling up all night long. Don't tell Lacy, but Josie was my favorite. At the time she was a little chubby, and I'm partial to the chubby ones, and her little ears would always get stuck folded back. Did I tell you she is a sweet heart? I'd trade in Scooter in a minute! LOL. Seriously, I can't begin to tell you want a sweet, gentle dog she is. Lacy is the Scooter of the family, a bit more bossy and jealous. But nothing bothers Josie and she is always content to take a back seat.
The other day, Carmen noticed a huge, hard lump on Josie's neck. She freaked because it seemed to have grown over night. Ever the Google searcher, Carmen was worried, thinking it was a thyroid tumor which can be bad if cancerous.
So the first thing this morning she took Josie off the her vet, Dr. Loxly at Eastview. They operated to take the tumor out, and here is what Carmen said:
"She just got out of surgery...they sedated her before they even took her back she was so upset (she pooped on the floor while I was holding her...poor girl). He found a mass and he is 99.9% sure it was in the salivary gland area....it was wrapped around some nerves and things so it was a pretty intense surgery. She will come home today with a drain in her throat but at least the lump will be gone.
He said it was large. They are sending it out to the lab and it will take a stinking WEEK to find out results. I just have to ask for prayers that this is just an infection or inflammation. He said he has seen it all with Salivary gland masses so he won't say anything about what it might be....just don't say the C word I told him."
Carmen is a TRUE Pet People person, though with her hectic life she doesn't get to post here too often, but she is the best and so is little Josie. Please keep them in your prayers and that her tumor was begin. But even if it wasn't, please send words of support, because we all know that today's treatments for pets have come a long way, even for cancer. My coworker has a cat that is a cancer survivor.
Does anyone else have experienc with tumors of any kind? I know they are all different and all depend on location.
We all know too how hard it is to wait for test results. A week is torture, and Carmen will have a hard time waiting, as we all would. Alice, you know how this is since you've been waiting to hear of Amy Dog Princess has that autoimmune issue. Please keep us updated.
When my Yogi died, Carmen sent me a book on pet loss and it helped me so much, so I want to help her any way I can, even if that just means a prayer circle of Pet People!
Now, I'm tearing up, because I do love Josie, having gotten to know here during pet sitting. Quick funny story: When Carmen's cat Mystic was alive (she was old) Josie always used to tip toe down the hall and into the bedroom to try and sneak some of her food. She would SNEAK and tip toe...really, because she KNEW she wasn't supposed to eat the cats food. When I caught her she was so cute about it!
posted by Sandy at 9/17/2007 03:55:00 PM
Pet People
7 Comments:
What a precious baby you have described in Josie! I know it must be difficult to wait for a week for the news. I don’t understand why it takes so long but I guess some things take time. Hang in there Carmen… I will have a chat tonight on Josie and Carmen’s behave...
Josie sounds a lot like the little Jack Russell two doors down, Skeeter. She is so sweet that all she wants in life is to give kisses and get hugs in return! I have not seen her in a while now and need a good face licking from her! Maybe now that the weather is nicer, she will come running under the fence for a visit with us...
Every time we have had a dog with any type of tumor it always turns out to be cancer. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. We have had Lymphomia and bone cancer so far. All started out as a hard tumor. Typically what vets have told us in the past is that if it's semi soft and easily moved beneth the skin, than you usually don't have to worry about it, but should still get it checked and keep an eye on it. When they are hard and don't move is when you usually have a problem.
I do have this to say about cancer in dogs. DO NOT take the first treatment your vet offers. Resaerch the type of cancer your pet has before you deceide on a course of treatment. With lymphomia, a diet high in fats/low in protien is better and can provide your pet with a happier quality of life. As hard as it is for us, we should think about there quality of life not quantity of life. We did chemo with my golden TJ and he was miserable, in pain and only lived 2 months from the time he was diagonsed. Our other golden Breanne (who was TJ's mom), lived almost a year with it and died in her sleep. Breanne was on a high fat diet and mild pan meds, not chemo.
Cancer in pets is hard to deal with since they can't talk to us and tell us how they are feeling. But if we ever have to go through it again, I will not let them suffer the way TJ did because we thought about our feelings and not his. Yes I still feel guilty and I blame my mother for how he suffered since she was the one who insisted on the chemo.
I wish Carmen all the best and hope that all turns out well for for Josie.
That is exactly what the professor and I have decided for Aime, dog princess. Her quality of life is what is most important to us. She is getting cat food for her meals now. She loves cat food and she will eat it so that's what she gets. She is so very thin. She doesn'thave the strength now to jump up on the bed so I purchased some pet stairs for her. It should be delivered tomorrow. We will not allow her to suffer. She gets special walks in the front yard which she loves. And all the love she can handle. If she is only with us for a short time more, it will be a happy time for her and us.
Of course, our prayers are with little Josie and Carmen. One loss is a loss for all of us and every gain is a gain for all of us. Hang in there Carmen!
Adrienne,
please don't be too hard on your Mom as she was just hoping the chemo was going to cure your baby.
I have a dear friend who's cat had cancer and they debated about chemo but decided to go with it. Socks had a horrifiic year with the chemo and got really sick at times and they almost gave up at one point but decided to go the duration. Socks was 9 years old at the time. FInally one day he acted a bit normal and not sick and they realized something was working there. He then went on to live to be 17 years old. They were so glad they went through the bad year since Socks had another 8 years of a happy life.
I sure have Josie in my prayers to be healed and well! It's the same in humans with the tumors that move, are usually the benign ones ( nothing is 100% with CA )so let's pray Josie's is totally begign!
We will definitely be praying for Carmen and Josie. The waiting is so hard. It could be a multitude of other treatable things other than cancer. lets think great big positive thoughts for Josie.
I think deciding what treatment to pursue just depends on the pet and the illness. My Cody had chemo for over a year and a half and he was the picture of health and energy. I did the opposite diet for him. He was on a very low fat, high protein diet. The oncologist at UT Knoxville told me that research was being done that showed that high, fatty diets allowed the cancer to grow quicker, actually feeding the cancer. They gave me a very complex diet to experiment with and I adjusted it to what I could do at home.
Tell Carmen we are rooting for Josie!
Awww, prayers for Josie and Carmen, and you too Sandy, because I know how much you love her....I remember all the times you pet-sat and you always raved about Josie!
My beagle, Stormy's, lump popped up quickly like that, but hers was breast cancer. Once the quality of life was poor, I took her to the vet because I didn't want her to suffer. It's so hard in such a young dog like Josie!
Many prayers for Carmen and Josie. Nobody wants to see their little baby hurt.
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