Tonight I went to Heaven

I am getting weaker. It's hard to walk, jump, and run. I don't do much anymore except lay around. My tumor has outgrown everything that my family has bought to cover it up and it continues to grow. It's gross - even to me. I'm not very hungry anymore. I don't eat much in the morning but I eat a lot at night when I'm feeling a little better (once my medicine kicks in).

Last night mom gave me a rawhide to chew on. I LOVE rawhides. But even that is too much work. I got tired very quickly and gave up on it. I lost another tooth too. I had a hard time going upstairs to bed. I got sick - twice in the middle of the night. Mom got up and brought me downstairs to sleep in the laundry room. I didn't mind. I like the cool floor better than the carpet.

Mom took me for a ride tonight. I couldn't jump in the truck so she had to help me up. I laid down during the ride. I can sit up and ride in a bumpy truck anymore either. We got to the vet (I could tell by the smell). I've been to the vet a lot lately. I still don't like it. Dad showed up too. The nurse took me to the back and put a catheter in my leg. It's a plastic tube to put medicine in. It didn't hurt. Then she brought me back to my family in the exam room. Mom kissed me and hugged me a lot. I kissed her a lot too. Then the doctor came in. He put some medicine in my catheter in my leg and that's about all I remember.

Butch went very quickly and very peacefully. They tell you to expect anything from gasping for air, to twitching, to stiffening. Every dog is different. Luckily for Butch (and for us), Butch just went to sleep. He didn't gasp, he didn't twitch, he just went to sleep within about 3 seconds of the injection. We owe a HUGE thank you to the doctor and staff at Animal Hospital Jones Road. http://www.animalhospitaljonesroad.vetsourceweb.com/index.pml They were truly AMAZING. They were very kind and gentle and treated Butch with the utmost respect and dignity. Butch will be cremated and his ashes scattered.

Butch had a great life and gave us much joy and happiness. For that we are forever grateful. We hope we did the same for him - even in the end. We will truly miss him. Good-bye Butch - We love you!

Labor Day

My Labor Day was pretty uneventful. No BBQ. No party. My family just sat around and watched Netflix movies all day. I'm not feeling so great anymore. I can't seem to make it to the door before I have an accident in the house. It just happens and I can't control it. I know my family is tired of mopping but there's nothing I can do.

My tumor has really grown a lot. I went to the doctor with daddy today. The doctor gave me antibiotics because my tumor has an infection. The doctor says it's grown to the size of a grapefruit. I don't like grapefruit. I like green beans. I've been eating a lot of green beans. They're better than my dog food. I've lost 3 pounds. I just don't feel much like eating anymore - except for green beans. And rice. I like rice.

Today I had a hard time standing up. My back leg was shaking. I had to lay back down for a few minutes. But then I got up and was okay. Mostly I just lay down. I don't have much energy. I'm tired. I don't know how much time I have left. I wonder what it's like in Heaven. I wonder if there are other dogs like me...

Diapers

I feel sorry for babies. These diapers are really uncomfortable. After trying large baby diapers and then small adult diapers, someone finally realized that they actually make DOG diapers! Hellooooo? I AM a dog ya know... At least I don't have a tail to worry about. Anyway... I have to wear a diaper every day and they are really annoying. I can't lick where I want to lick or scratch where I want to scratch. It's humiliating to say the least.

On top of that, the medicine I'm taking is starting to affect me. It makes me really sleepy so that's what I do most of the day. Well, besides pee. I do that a LOT. I can't help it. Mom says it's a good thing we don't have carpet downstairs because I keep making messes in the kitchen. She doesn't get mad at me though. She just gets the mop bucket and mops up my mess. Then the kitchen smells like bleach - gross... I would prefer if it smelled a little less "clean". I don't understand humans. What's wrong with the smell of rotting corpses and poop anyway? Sometimes I find a tiny dead snake in the yard and roll in it just to make myself smell good. Mmmm... nature's perfume!

My tumor has continued to grow very quickly. The prednisone is not slowing it down at all. I can finally reach it to lick it but then I get in trouble. Someone mentioned getting me a new collar. Somehow I don't think they're talking about a regular collar though. Hey, I absolutely do NOT want one of those stupid looking lampshades on my neck! No way! I'll learn to lick when nobody's watching!

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to take a nap...

Dog Park!

I got to go to Bear Creek Dog Park on Saturday! I swam in the doggie pool. I love to swim! Allie, Lilly, and Maggie got to go too. We ran around and met some other dogs too. It was very hot and I got tired so we left after about an hour. I hope I get to go back soon.

What's an Oncologist?

Last Wednesday, August 11, 2010 my family took me to another doctor. He's called an Oncologist. That's a doctor that specializes in cancer. I have cancer. He looked at my tumor and felt all around it. He says there's no way to remove it because it's so big. He says we have to try to shrink it. He took me in the back and took some of my blood. It didn't hurt. I'm a big boy you know...

He sent us home with some medicine. I have to take Prednisone to try to shrink my tumor and to make me feel better. I also have to take Benadryl (for itching) and Pepcid so my tummy doesn't hurt. Prednisone is a steroid. It makes me very thirsty and very hungry and I have to go pee a lot.

Canine Mast Cell Tumors - What I've learned...

In the last 5 weeks or so, I've learned more about Canine Mast Cell Tumors than I ever wanted to know. I was diagnosed with a tumor (on or about July 10, 2010). I didn't know what that meant at the time. The itching was driving me crazy! Sometimes I would just cry because I couldn't reach the tumor to scratch it. You see, it's on my behind - what the doctor calls the "perineal" area. I can't reach it to scratch, or lick, or anything! It's so annoying!

The doctor told us it is probably cancer. I don't think this is a good thing because it made my family cry. They took me back to the doctor and they made me go to sleep so that they could cut a piece of the tumor out and send it to the lab. I didn't like being left at the doctor all day while my family is at work.

We found out that my tumor is cancer. It is a Grade II Malignant Mast Cell Tumor. It is growing - very fast. It is also bleeding. My family sometimes puts a diaper on me. I don't like this either, but it keeps me from making a mess on the floor.