Author: mosby

Mosby has had a good couple of weeks. He is a happy boy, enjoying his new house, trips to the barn, and daycare.

On Thursday he had his 3 week checkup following the end of his carbo treatment. His bloodwork is good and there is nothing visible on his chest x-rays. We were given the choice of metronomic treatment. I’m somewhat ambivalent on this. There are no studies that show it makes a difference in the prognosis; it seems to be more of a “well, it can’t hurt,” treatment, provided that your dog doesn’t react poorly to it. Other than stomach issues, the main side effect that it can have is that long term, it can impact blood marrow. It will require more frequent bloodwork and checkups.

Chris and I decided that we will at least try it, and if it impacts Mosby’s quality of life in any way, we will stop it. We certainly want to give him every chance at a longer life, but only if he has a great quality of life. He’s such a happy and bright boy right now, so if that changes at all, we’ll stop the chemo.

Haven’t taken too many pictures lately. Mosby had a good trip to the barn last Sunday. His brother Arlo pulled his shoe that morning – in his stall, which takes some talent – so I couldn’t ride, so I groomed him and we hung out.

Well, the move went, well, as smoothly as a move can go, I guess. We moved out a week ago Thursday (also Mosby’s last carbo treatment). Friday we closed on the sale of the old home and the purchase of the new home. Mosby attended both closings, thanks to two great title companies and closing attorneys, who provided him with water and everything. He of course slept through both, since he didn’t have to sign anything. Saturday we did some errand-type things, and Sunday we moved in. So far, Mosby has adjusted well. The bad thing is that right now we have no sod — so Mosby has to walk a bit in order to go to the bathroom. He’s handling this well and is good about getting his business done post-haste. I will be so relieved when we have a back yard for him, though (or … one with grass). It’s nice to just take him straight to the garage and load him into the car, and not have to go down to get the car and bring it around and load him out front (in the weather) to avoid the stairs. And even though we moved back to “suburbia,” even though it’s  quiet and nice neighborhood, Mosby seems to love watching everyone and everything. Our house is situated up a little hill, and he loves to perch up there, king of all he surveys. He also loves our back porch. We are really nicely situated, and I am grateful that the hard part is over, and that Mosby is adjusting. Now … to unpack all these boxes. :/

Well, it’s amazing that we have reached the day that seemed impossibly far away a few months ago. Today, 4 months and 1 week to the day from Mosby’s amputation, Mosby received his 6th and final carbo treatment. If you followed Mosby’s saga at all, you’ll know that Mosby had a lot of struggles and setbacks early on, but things have been fairly smooth since he came off the Cipro between treatments 2 and 3, and treatments 3-5 were all a breeze. Hopefully this one will be as well. Mosby is currently relaxing beside me on the carpet … he came home to an empty house. Today the movers came and moved us out (although we’re camping on an air mattress (memory foam for the prince) here tonight). Tomorrow, good lord willing and the crick don’t rise, we close on the sale of this home and the purchase of our new home. So, Mosby has been pre-approved to attend both closings with us (one of the closing attorneys is a friend of a friend, and he jokingly said we would be required to bring Mosby’s ID), and our real estate agent said she will keep him cuddled.

Mosby received a certificate today, signed by his oncologist and all of the techs, and a “Cancer Fighter” bandana. I don’t feel celebratory, just relieved that it’s done, for his sake. Hopefully his recovery will go smoothly this time. His attitude lately has been so bright and happy – even with the pinched discs, and even with his remaining hind leg seeming weak. We can now look back at how he was before the amputation, and compare his demeanor then to now, and even with the things I mentioned, it’s like night and day. And I never thought I’d say that, with his setbacks and all. Now, knock on wood.

Tomorrow and Saturday night we’ll be camping out at the new house, and then Sunday our stuff will get moved in. We have the most important things with us, though – RUNNERS!! And Mosby’s bed and treats and meds. And Mosby. All the important things.

Without further ado, here are some of the latest pictures of our boy.

It has been crazy around here. For one, my job has been insanely busy. I am a corporate attorney and the last two months have billed (not worked, billed) over 200 hours, which means I’ve actually worked more than that. Add to that the general activity surrounding Mosby (which has been much smoother lately, thank goodness) and the probably crazy decision that we decided to sell our house this spring. Yes, we are gluttons for punishment. We’ve had a bit of a battle with our potential purchasers over this and that, and add to that the fact that the new house isn’t even complete yet. And we’re supposed to close on both houses a week from today.

At this point you may get an idea of my general state of mind.

As of today we think we are closer to a resolution on our house and more confident that we can move forward, but this next week is going to be a blur of stress, packing, moving, etc. In the middle of this, we are trying to keep Mosby calm and happy. But I will be so much happier when we are finally moved and settled and Mosby can get used to the new place (fingers crossed we get to the new place), where, among other things, there aren’t stairs to the garage, so we won’t have to pull the car around to load him into the car. Plus, there is a bedroom on the first floor if he doesn’t want to go up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Mosby handled his 5th (of 6) chemos like a champ last week. This time they gave him a John Deere bandana.

And yesterday we went to see the new (obviously not yet finished) house, and Mosby parked himself where he’ll spend time in the winters.

So … wish us all luck these next few weeks. We are going to need it on many levels.

I realized belatedly that I didn’t update the blog 2.5 weeks ago when, after a long talk with a wonderful surgeon, we decided not to do the surgery and instead to proceed with Mosby’s chemo schedule. There were just more “cons” than “pros” with the surgery scenario, so we are focusing on chemo for now, and we can and will reevaluate the sarcoma at each subsequent chemo visit and going forward. So two weeks ago last Thursday, Mosby had his fourth (!) chemo treatment. It was also three months since his amputation. Really unbelievable.

He handled that chemo even better than the last, and never lost his appetite. The next week, we went to see his PT vet, who x-rayed his spine. The good news is that there was no visible spread of the osteo. Unfortunately, he does have compressed disks in his lower back and neck, which explains a lot of his pain symptoms. We are staying on the methocarbamol and upped his gabapentin a little. The meds he’s on now seem to be a good mix, and he has been happy and full of personality.

This weekend, we finally took a trip we’ve been meaning to take for years. There is a cabin a little east of here on several acres, that’s dog friendly. This is our first time taking Mosby anywhere post-amputation, so we were a little anxious about how he’d handle the traveling and the new place (being a creature of habit, he’s not the biggest fan of leaving his nice comfortable home where everything is where it’s supposed to be). But he handled it great! We started cooking dinner as soon as we got to the cabin, and the routine of it settled Mosby right in. He even adjusted to using the bathroom in a strange place (which is difficult for him)! He slept through the night both nights, and enjoyed snoozing in front of the fire (and getting lots of treats). We took him for a couple of walks – not very long, but probably long for him – with lots of breaks to stop and smell the outdoors and the various critters. I think it is safe to say that Mosby enjoyed his weekend, and we certainly enjoyed our Mosby. <3