Carly's Story

Hello. Well, today is a very hard day for my family…it’s Carly’s 8th birthday. We are still struggling at home, because she is literally everywhere. Still expect her to come hopping up to meet me when I get home. Still not used to holding a food bowl twice a day, I actually had the chair removed from the kitchen where I used to sit and hold her bowl for her. I didn’t want to look at it. Going to bed is so hard as well…she always slept right beside me, and I would hold her and rub her belly. Every time I stopped, she would move her leg as to say “keep going mom!” I haven’t been able to look up at the hill where she used to sit, and my husband has such a hard time mowing up there. I know it’s an adjustment, it’s life changing.  We still struggle every day, tears still fall every day. Our other dog seems to be slowly adjusting, although we can tell she is missing her too. I just wish that we could have had more time. Life is not fair. To give that horrible disease to an innocent animal who did nothing wrong but love us unconditionally and bring joy to us every day! I will never understand….

This is the hardest post that I’ve had to write thus far.  I don’t even know what to say. Carly is a great girl. She was sure one to envy. I envied her strength, her determination, and her unconditional love for all of us. I honestly thought we were in the clear. She beat all the odds, a year and a half!  But, I guess that is what cancer does best, tricks us.  Carly spiked a fever out of nowhere on Thursday, April 13th.  She seemed very lethargic, and just not herself. We also noticed some swelling in her paws, which is probably why she was not as active. She was still eating, drinking and going out to the restroom. We took her to the vet on Friday the 14th, and they drew blood and took an xray. It showed the spot on her lung had gotten bigger, so we knew the newest chemo drug Palladia was not working so we stopped it.  We waited for the blood work to come back, and they called us Saturday, the 15th at 7 am, letting us know there were no signs of infection in her blood, that it had to be a condition called HO which is related to metastasis in her lungs.  They said it is very painful, and even steroids would not ease the pain enough.  We had every intention of getting her the medicine, and spending more days with her, as long as she was not in pain. We were not prepared to make that decision, but we knew she was hurting, and we knew that was the one thing we did not want. So, called the vet and scheduled for us to take her in. We spent the afternoon with her, treasuring every tail wag, and ever cuddle we could.  I fed her her favorite chicken sandwich and fries from Wendy’s and Gatorade ice cubes, and my husband gave her some strawberry pie with whip cream. As you can see from the above pictures, she was still so happy.  As painful as it was for her to walk/hop, she still did, right out to the car. She loved her rides so much.  On Monday, April 17th, we took her on her last ride. I never want to go through that again. She was still wagging her tail and so happy as she drifted off to sleep.  It’s not fair. Our lives will never be the same. We spent the last 2 years, since her diagnosis, tending to her, babying her, changed things around the house so she could get around better.  Our world revolved around her. I held the bowl for her while she ate, every day, twice a day because I didn’t want her to have to lean over after her surgery.  Made sure she got the right medication, every day, 2-3 times a day. From the day she started limping, I have not slept without her, besides when she had her surgery and was at the vet. My husband made me a bed in the living room so I could be with her. She has been our life for so long. Everywhere at the house, everything we do, reminds us of her.  I know that she is happy, and pain free now, up in Heaven, with all 4 legs, playing with her mom and dad, but it is still so hard.  I’m not sure if I will be able to post again. Thank you all for your kind words, and support and advice throughout Carly’s journey.  It helped more than you know.

Well, wanted to update everyone on how Carly was doing. I know it’s been a while. We got the sad news on 03/20/17 that Carly’s osteosarcoma had metastasized, and there is a small spot on her lung that has grown. The first chemo pill, Chlorambucil, did not seem to be doing the trick, so once they had seen that it had grown, they gave us the option to try another chemo medication, Palladia, and although this was one more expensive, it was the better option versus surgery to remove the part of her lung that was affected. We did not want to put her through any more surgeries! You still cannot even tell that she has cancer. This dog amazes us every day. She is so full of life, playful, loving, and happy. We went to the vet and got her most recent blood work to see if she was doing okay on the WBC to continue the chemo, and she is, so we are going to continue this and we go back in a month to get chest Xray’s done and see how things looks. Looking back at her huge folder of paperwork, it’s amazing that she is almost 8 years old, had her amputation surgery 10/13/15, and is still doing amazing! The vet has told us many times she has beaten the odds by far, and we cannot be more thankful! If anyone has had any experience with Palladia, please share as I’m curious as to the different side effects! Thank you all again for continuing to follow Carly’s Story!

Until next time!
Carly Mia