Big News

A message from Gracie_the_bichon:
 

Happy Friday Friends!

Do you ever look at the calendar and realize it’s Friday when you thought it was only Thursday? Neither do I. I feel like most people know when Friday is going to arrive; perhaps it’s just our human that was caught by surprise at midnight. I digress. Let’s update you on some fun news!

Wait for it…..

Wait for it….

Please welcome Willow as the newest addition to the Knight Pack!!

Look at those floppy ears!

Ta-DA!

She’s a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. The breed my humans have been doing rescue and foster work with for many years. Dad surprised us for their anniversary. Apparently I’m only getting older and potentially grumpier, so they better get a puppy now and hopefully we’ll be friends? Lol we’ll see about that.

Willow Bean, as my girl human refers to her, is literally the worst. If any of you are Hamilton fans think of her as Aaron Burr and I’m Alexander Hamilton. Sometimes we’re sort of friends, more like mildly tolerating each other really. Most of the time we wish the other would find somewhere else to live.

The humans all seem to adore her.  Awesome, Wow! (heavy sarcasm)  Anyway, there you have it, our exciting announcement.

This is what happens when I pretend she doesn't exist.

Disclaimer: We’ve had her a while now, but I haven’t allowed the announcement because I was hoping the humans would change their mind and take her back or something.  She is now 4months old and it looks like she’ll be staying indefinitely. Sigh. 

So I guess in the coming weeks we’ll show you some of the adventures she’s been on since we acquired her.

 Stay tuned. Also, we’ll be hearing more about Tucker and some other friend journeys in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading.
 

Happy Friday!

Canine Cancer

 Last post you met our treasured friend Tucker. Later on in Tucker’s life he was diagnosed with Hemagiosarcoma, which according to caninecancer.com is an aggressive, malignant tumor of blood vessel cells.

Before we delve into the journey that cancer led Tucker on, we wanted to first share with you some facts on cancer in canines.

Tucker

The following facts are from:

Chemotherapy Overview from Mid-Atlantic Veterinary Hospital

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy drugs are serious compounds that are toxic to cancer cells.  Chemotherapy drugs may be administered orally, or by intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (under the skin) injection.

How does chemotherapy work?

Cancer cells typically multiply very rapidly, so most chemotherapy drugs target those rapidly growing cells to damage their ability to divide, eventually killing them.

Why chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy can be most effective single treatment for some types of cancer, by offering the best chance for remission while maintaining a good quality of life for your pet.

Chemotherapy is often recommended after surgical removal of a malignant cancer.  The purpose of chemotherapy in this application is not only to try to prevent recurrence of the cancer at the original sit, but also to try to prevent metastasis.

Occasionally, chemotherapy will be used alone for the treatment of cancers that are inoperable, or are not good candidates for radiation therapy, or have already metastasized.  In most of these cases, the goal of treatment will not be to cure the cancer, but rather to improve your pet’s quality of life temporarily by reducing pressure, bleeding or pain.

What about side effects?

Compared to people, pets suffer fewer and less severe side effects from chemotherapy.  This is primarily because veterinary oncologists use lower doses of drugs, and do not combine as many drugs as do human.  All rapidly dividing cells in the body are sensitive to chemotherapy, and while cancer cells fall into that category, so do cells that are found in the intestinal tract, bone marrow, and hair follicles.  Chemotherapy, therefore, may result in gastrointestinal upset, immune suppression, and hair loss in some pets.

Possible gastrointestinal effects include decreased appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea which, if untreated, can lead to weight loss and

Dehydration.

Immune-suppressive effects result when the bone marrow is no longer able to make as many white blood cells, which in turn leads to an increased susceptibility to infection.

Some pets, just like some people, may lose their hair during chemotherapy treatment.  While this is less common in pets, it does happen.  Hair generally begins to grow back within a few weeks to a month after treatment ends.

How Will My Pet Be Monitored?

At each chemotherapy visit, your pet will be physically examined by the veterinarian, and blood will be taken for a blood test to monitor white blood cells and other parameters.  Additional diagnostic tests, such as ultrasonography, may be scheduled as needed.  Once the tests are reviewed and your pet is cleared for the next round of chemotherapy, an appointment will be scheduled.

Next, we’ll take a look at the chronological vet visits to treat Tucker’s cancer.

I hope this will help any of you dealing with or who may deal with canine cancer.

Until then…

***Edited to correct Cancer Diagnosis. Tucker was diagnosed with Hemagiosarcoma not Spindle Cell**

A Journey with Tucker

Hello dear readers! It's been quite a while hasn't it? We have a lot to catch up on, but that'll have to wait...er, I guess I'll have to wait even longer.

What we have for you today is a special treat that we're really excited about!

We have a dear dear family that we've come to know and love through Instagram (No big surprise there is it?). We are going to take you on the journey of one of their dogs over the next couple of weeks.

So let's dive right in and meet Tucker.
The following was written by Diane (Tucker's girl human):

TUCKER’S JOURNEY

THE BEGINNING

            I remember the day we brought Tucker home like it was yesterday!

            My husband and I went to the Mall to do some shopping.  I needed to go to the pet store to buy doggie toothpaste.  While I was paying for my items, my hubby, Lee, walked up behind me with a rather large 4 month old puppy and said “I just bought him”.

            On the way home, Lee asked me if I was mad at him?  Of course, I wasn’t mad but I was thinking to myself “Great!  Now I have a sick dog, Casey, and Sophie, Peppy and a 4 month old rambunctious puppy, Tucker.

During this time Casey was very sick with Pancreatitis. Our Vet at the time did not give us very good odds if he would survive. I think this is the reason Lee bought this puppy.  He thought a puppy would distract me, if in fact we lost Casey.  Within a few weeks Casey recovered and we became a family of six.

            Tucker was a very high energy dog and due to the weather in Mass. (where we lived at the time) I decided to see if I could train him to walk on the treadmill.  I got his leash and we went to the basement to see if this would work.  I was praying this would help with his anxiety issues.  Every morning we went to the basement to walk on the treadmill.  I turned on the TV and sat with him while he walked on the treadmill.   It turned out that he loved it!  And it turned out he loved watching TV.  This was a win win situation!

            One morning Tucker was walking on the treadmill and everything seemed to be going well.  When all of a sudden Tucker moved all the back to the end of the treadmill and decided to take a poo.  At the moment I think I was in shock and at the same time it was really funny.  I immediately started training him so that he could jump off and on the treadmill and go outside to do his business.  On future treadmill walks he would jump off and on the treadmill.  Sometimes just for fun and other times he just had to take care of business.

            Tucker waited by the basement door every morning to walk on the treadmill.  As a puppy he walked with Peppy but quickly outpaced him.

I walked with Tucker on the treadmill at a slower pace but he always stayed with me.  As Tucker got older he could go faster for longer periods of time but he always wanted me to be with him.

EXERCISE AND TRAINING

I’m not sure when I discovered or decided that Tucker was “Fear Aggressive” but I needed to help him and myself because I was afraid to take him anywhere.   He was out of control with barking, bearing his teeth, jumping and it became a huge ordeal to take him anywhere.   At the time I felt I should rename him “Cujo” because I was afraid he would bite someone.

I was very fortunate to meet a wonderful dog trainer, Shari-Ann Morin Murphy, The Paws Training Group in Mass.  I met with Shari and explained our issues and just started crying because I knew Tucker could be a great dog but his fear aggression was holding him back. 

Time for Tucker to attend Shari’s training classes.  Tucker spent a lot of time in training classes and in the “time out room” due to barking and behavior issues.  The “time out room” was a quiet office where he was placed so he could calm down and stop barking.  Going to the training classes with Shari gave us both what we needed.  Tucker became a better behaved dog, we reached our goal and she used Tucker in some of her Puppy training classes.  However, he still liked to bark!  We never quite got the command “Quiet” under control.  But I learned so much about Tucker and myself.  I had an awesome loving boy!

• Now that you've met sweet Tucker continue on this journey with us next week. We're going learn about his battle with cancer, and chemotherapy treatments. We'll also meet his amazing family and share some of the delightful memories we have of him. 

 

Hawliday Hazards

Happy Happy Howlidays!

Thanksgiving is upon us. My girl human is busy baking while I scavenge for items that have fallen off the counter. It’s a wonderful time of year!

Since many of you are doing this same thing as you prepare for Thanksgiving festivities. So we thought it would be a good time to remind our friends about a few food hazards that are most common around this time of year.

In our house, specifically, we remind houseguests of these no-no’s for dogs:

•        Bones from food- these can break or fragment and get caught which can puncture internal organs.

•        Human food with any form on spice or sauce. i.e. not a “whole” food. Left overs are not a good idea for pets.

•        Xylitol- an artificial sweetener in many treats and most gum. Can cause seizures and even sudden liver failure.
•     Grapes and raisins- can cause liver failure.

•         Chocolate- the “darker” the more dangerous.

•        Poinsettias and mistletoe- these are toxic.
•     Yeast dough-can raise and cause pain and discomfort to your pet. More serious emergency issues can also arise if ingested.

Now, we recognize that not every household is the same as ours. These are hazards that could pose serious dangers to the canine types in our home.  Your holiday food and decor may be very different than ours, so we wanted to link an article that has a more extensive listing of dangers that may be more relevant to your holiday activities.

We found this very helpful article on rover.com

They discuss dog safe décor, props for ambiance that can be dangerous, plants, food, unsuspecting houseguests, and more. Not only do they point out so many potential hazards that we need to be aware of, but they have tips how to help. Keep your pet safe this holiday season by being informed. For more

If you suspect you pet has ingested something he/she should not have, then call your vet.

Pet Poison Helpline (855-746-7661)

A Canine Feast

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

And I don’t mean Christmas.

We love, and I mean LOVE Thanksgiving!

My girl human is no amateur to baking deliciousness for the canine types. In fact anytime a member of her family, both immediate and extended, see her in the kitchen they ask if it’s dog food or human food she’s making.  Luckily for her four legged children my human pretty much only steps foot in the kitchen to bake for us.

Thanksgiving pies have married the love of doing crazy dog things with the creativity my girl human lives for. The result…scrumptious! Honestly, I don’t care about what it looks like. Between you and me, she spends way too much time cutting out perfect little shapes and rolling out dough.  Does she think I care about aesthetics? I DO NOT. But hey whatever she needs to psych her up for days of baking. 

Here’s a photo of the pies the human made last year. Stay tuned to our instagram page next Thursday for this year’s edition.

The best thing about it (after eating my delicious food) is that we always bake a few extras to take to my doggie friends.  We don’t eat table scraps, we eat gourmet!

Do any of you have yummy thanksgiving traditions or recipes you'd like to share? 

Comment here or on our other social media outlets.  

Remember to check us out next week for a refresher on holiday hazards.