Hello all! Thought I would update on our girl and see if anyone has had any similar situations. The last couple days, Carly has been very, very restless during the night.  Through the day, she has been following the family around, whichever member is there at the time. Very clingy and cuddly. I finally got her to lay down for a few hours and sleep, but it was out on the couch, with her face to mine, and I was petting her. She loves kisses and to know she is in contact with someone, which I love! What worries me is the fact that she might be suffering, and that is the one thing we do not want. Her body is going through so much, and I can’t even imagine how she is feeling. So, not sure if she is hurting, or if her tummy is bothering her, or if it is a medicine she is on. Her current regimen is Carprofen twice a day (it was once a day but we are going to start it twice a day to see if it helps), her Omeprazole twice a day (we have also recently increased this from 1 a day because we heard a lot of noise going on in her belly), and the chemo Chlorambucil every other day at 8 pm. We had a scare last week when she was getting rowdy with our other dog, and appeared to have twisted one of her back legs, but, she seems to have gotten better from that. There are times she will just jump up on the couch no problem and other times she will go slow like she is hurting. Cancer is so complicated, and this is the first actual encounter that I have ever had with it in an animal, so I just want to do the right thing. Has anyone had any restlessness at night with their pooches? What did you try that helped? Thank you for all the input!

Well, was trying to add a new picture of our girl, but that will have to wait. Had another 2 month check up, and we are still blessed to have her clear of any of that nasty stuff. We can’t be any more thankful to continue to enjoy life with our Tripawd! I will admit, she has had some moments that scared me, like stumbling…but then she gets outside on her hill and will just run and play like she has all of her legs. It continues to amaze me how she had adjusted and most importantly how happy she is. That’s the most important thing to us….we want her to enjoy life and that is exactly what she has been doing. We will continue to have 2 month check ups and pray they continue to be clear! I love all the care and attention she gets at the vet, and she loves all her people too! Well, that’s all for now. Will work on getting that picture up! Thank you all for following our girl’s story!

I’m sorry it has been a while since I’ve posted, but, been busy with the holiday’s, working, and spending lots of cuddle time with my girl. Carly’s levels bounced back after waiting another week for the chemo treatment, so, they have decided to keep the level of medicine the same, but just push the treatments to 4 weeks apart instead of 3, to help her body adjust more after each treatment.  The second treatment went well. She was so excited to go and see all the nurses there, they spoil her! We got her home, and she slept the rest of the day. Usually wears her out. Her appetite has been good since. There was one morning, 3 days after treatment, she didn’t finish her breakfast, but other than that, she has scarfed down her food.  I have noticed the last couple days she seems to tire easily.  She will be outside, or even inside, and she will be up for a bit, but then will need to lay down and rest. I’m sure that it’s okay, just worry I’m not doing something right for her. She has not lost anymore weight, but has not gained either, remaining steady at 61 kg.  When I asked the doctor about it, she said ideally, they would like to see her lost about 8-10 pounds. But she seems to be getting along great, so they are not overly concerned, but would still like to see her lost that to ease the pressure on her other joints.  I’ve changed her to a Grain Free Healthy Weight version of the same brand of food. We will see if that makes any difference. She is still getting 3 smaller meals a day, but this does not seem to do much as far as her appetite. But, she is definitely a very happy pup since her surgery, which is nearing 2 months now (on the 13th)!!.  We have been spoiling her.  She enjoyed putting the Christmas tree up, as you can see from the picture above. We’ve gotten her and our other pup Gracie a lot of toys and bones for Christmas already! Just enjoying every minute we have with her, knowing it is a blessing! Well, I will try to do better at updates. Thank you for following Carly’s story!

So, we took Carly and had her blood work done to make sure the chemo was at the right amount and was not affecting her white cell count or her liver. All looks great. We go back in 2 weeks for round 2 of chemo. We got a little frustrated at this visit because they were talking about Carly’s weight, and suggested that she lose some weight. So, we have basically did our own “diet” since she was diagnosed. It has mainly consisted of chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli, an occasional serving of cottage cheese or yogurt, and her kibble as well as oats. She has not wanted to eat much kibble, and that might be because we have her spoiled. So, they basically told us today, with Carly’s weight at 60 kg. (132 pounds), they would like her on a 1,600 calorie diet. Now, before she went into surgery, she was 156. So she has lost about 6 pounds with the leg, and the rest has been weight loss. I didn’t think that was too bad, and Carly looks good. I realize it’s more about muscle mass and getting that back. What we are running into is, with the food we have switched her too, Whole Earth Farms Chicken and Turkey Grain Free, she gets one cup of that (348 calories), one cup of chicken breast (231 calories), one cup of brown rice (320 calories) or broccoli and one cup of cottage cheese (210 calories) or a couple tablespoons of yogurt, she is getting about 1100 calories IN ONE MEAL! And we have noticed, the last 3 or 4 days, she has been acting like she is starving, eating her food faster, and starting to beg again.  So basically we are going to have to cut that one meal in half. So we want her to be able to move around easier and lessen the pressure on her other joints, although she is having no problems getting around now, she does tend to tire easy. Anyone else have any suggestions or dealt with this kind of calorie restriction with their Tripawd with Osteosarcoma? Other than the weight, Carly is doing amazing! Spending a lot of time on her hill, just watching, and we are enjoying our time outside as much as possible while the weather permits us!

As you can see from the picture above, Carly is doing well. She is insistent to let mom and dad know she is okay, and proceeds to climb the hill out back and just watch like she always has. There is no picture of it, but mom joined her after this picture, and we just hung out. Weather is nice, and she loves being outside. Carly is now sleeping on her bed (meaning mom and dad’s bed), which we lowered for her.  She has been less restless at night, which is good for her and I! I know getting back in the routine of things is going to help. And although I am scared to death, she reassures me every hour of every day that she is okay. We start out first chemo treatment tomorrow.  I spoke to the vet, and they use Carboplatin for osteosarcoma in dogs.  Anyone have any experience with this medication for chemo? I’ve done my research of course, and it seems to be one of the best.  Needless to say the word chemo scares me as much as the word cancer. I wish I had the gift that Carly does and not have to worry about what’s going to happen. But I’m learning to control my emotions and reactions because she is fully alert to how mom feels, and it affects her too. I’ve heard a happy dog fights cancer, and a sad dog doesn’t. So, we are all about fighting here in our home! Well, I will update after our treatment tomorrow. Everyone say prayers for Carly that she is one of the lucky ones to not have many side effects!