Author: mosby

Here’s a great picture of Mosby sunbathing this morning. He’s been pretty perky and relaxed, and after not drinking for about 24 hours after coming home (which I guess is understandable after 24 hours of fluids) has started drinking some. He is eating, but is much more picky than he was before last week. He seems to only want the i/d diet he had at the vet, and you need a prescription for that! So I am trying to work that out. And we are going to try to convince him to start eating something else.

Yesterday I worked from home to stay with him, and during the afternoon I thought we needed to have an outing. His health has been so up-and-down, with the back pain, and the dehydration and lack of appetite, that we’ve been treating him with kid gloves. He also lost a lot of strength over the last week because he was so lethargic and depressed. So I decided we’d go for a walk around the property. I put him in his harness and bundled myself up, and down we went to the creek.

We have 5 acres and live on a creek, and most of our property is very hilly. We walked down the hill to the creek to look at the little area where the spring-fed stream runs into the creek (that’s where the otters bring their mussels to eat them), followed some groundhog tunnels, walked to the old farm bridge across the stream, then followed the stream up the hill to the road. When we got to the part where it was a more significant uphill, I grabbed his harness handle and helped him along.

That walk tired him out, but really made a difference in his attitude. And even though I was scared I might have pushed him too hard yesterday, he seems even better today. So we will definitely be doing it again today and every day, building up to more – as long as he stays feeling good. I gave him lots of good back massages last night, and he is in good spirits.

Today we plan to stay pretty cozy (it’s FREEZING out) and make a cassoulet for dinner. We need to make a grocery store run, which Mosby can accompany us on – he’s much happier waiting for us in the car than he is waiting for us at home. One of the good things about winter is that we can bring him more places.

Chris just opened the pantry, and Mosby’s head popped up – rascal. It’s good to have the rascal back.

Mosby is home! I got a call from the vet this morning saying he was doing well, had eaten overnight, and seemed perky, and another call mid-afternoon saying he was still doing well, had eaten again, and was cleared to leave. No visit to the oncologist needed. So I left work early (my bosses and coworkers have been soooo understanding, bless them all), picked him up and took him home. And was he READY go to home. He took a moment to look around his yard (see below), had a nice long pee, and then marched up the steps to the door and waited for me to let him in.

He ate a can of food for dinner (I got some cans of what the vet gave him, although I think he’ll be ready for something else soon), picked up a bone to play with, and has generally been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. How do you know your dog is feeling better? When you are sitting at the dinner table (ok, I was working) and your husband makes the traditional “finishing up dinner” noises with his plates, and THIS comes sniffing around.

Confession: Sometimes we call Mosby the “pre-wash” cycle on the dish washer. But if you are reading this, you are a dog person, so I assume you understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with letting your pup help tidy the dishes.

We had a mostly stress-free pill session (three pills coated in peanut butter, down the throat in one move). And have been basically letting him do his thing tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be working from home to keep him company. We are going to try to get him to daycare at least a few days next week (they love him and will be super careful with him), which is his normal routine, and the more he can do that, the better. Now, whether mom can be stress-free is another question. He hasn’t had a drink since he got home, so I am busy trying to turn off the “worry” signals … after all, he had 24 hours of fluids it’s ok that he’s not thirsty, right? But I’ll monitor it and make sure he has lots of easy access to water.

As noted, today is Mosby’s 9 year adopt-aversary. I brought him home from a shelter 9 years ago today, after stopping at Tractor Supply for a crate and some food. I lived in a tiny apartment and was in law school and working a part time job, so it was a terrible time to get a dog. But he was the Right Dog, and I knew it. Even though the entire time we lived in that apartment he refused to use the bathroom within 200′ of the building and forced me to take him to the walking trail, even in snowstorms. Luckily, he and I bought our first home – with a YARD – not too many months later.

Now, Mosby was not always named Mosby. It’s a unique name and follows a naming tradition in my family. No, when I saw Mosby on Petfinder, and then met him at the shelter the first time, and then came back after buying a crate and food, his name was BOOTS. Boots. Which, no offense to cats, is a CAT name. It did not last. As soon as I put him in my car, he was Mosby, and still is, to this day.

We are so happy to have him home.

I took Mosby in to see his regular vet today to get some blood work done, because he and the oncologist were concerned that Mosby still had no appetite and was very depressed and lethargic. He was such a good boy while they took his blood and we waited. The blood work came back “perfect.” The vet did notice a tiny spot of blood on his incision, but it didn’t look infected and Mosby has no visible or chemical signs of infection. Still, the vet took a sample and will have it cultured. I asked a million questions of possibilities. I asked if he saw anything in his mouth that might be causing him pain. The oncologist had been worried about possible pancreatitis, but his blood work rules that out, plus he has no visible discomfort or issues in his abdomen. The vet and the oncologist consulted by phone, and the oncologist asked him to take x-rays of his lungs, so he did, and they came back clear of any visible metastasis (both by our vet and the oncologist and her radiologist). Which left us with a whining, unhappy dog who refuses to eat for no visible reason.

The vets decided the best plan was to hospitalize him this afternoon and overnight so that he could get IV fluids. The thought is that he might have become really dehydrated, and sometimes it doesn’t really show up in the lab work. Not sure what I expected when I took him in around noon, but not going home with him definitely wasn’t what I expected. They took me back to say goodbye and showed me where he’d be spending the night, and I *barely* held it together until I went to sign the hospitalization authorization at check out. That’s the second time I’ve cried there, the first time being when I was checking out after Mosby had unexpectedly been diagnosed with bone cancer.

I am hopeful that dehydration is all that it is. The plan is for the vet to check on him in the morning, and if he isn’t better, then I will pick him up and take him to the vet clinic where my oncologist is, because she is in town tomorrow, and they will probably do more tests there, probably including an ultrasound I assume.

Our house is full of Mosby’s beds, the toys he hasn’t touched, a counter top full of medicine, bags of healthy treats we tried to bribe him with, all kinds of people food we tried to bribe him with — and no Mosby.

The vet just texted me and said that it may be wishful thinking, but that Mosby seemed brighter and stronger when he went to check on him tonight, and charged out of his kennel and dragged him out the door for a walk. I agree it’s wishful thinking. On his worst day, Mosby would still charge out of a kennel and drag you out the door of a vet clinic. I’m sure he thought he was being rescued! But that is better than a report that he seemed worse or weaker.

I read a lot about other tripawds that go through this journey, and there’s a lot of mention of dogs’ happy go lucky nature and cheerfulness, etc., and Mosby is definitely not that kind of dog. Mosby has always, since day 1, taken things Very Seriously. He is a creature of habit and likes his routine and does NOT like having to go outside of his routine. He is the kind of dog that will refuse to walk on my right side, simply because I trained him to walk on my left. He panics a little bit on the right and just keeps trying to get back over to the left. He is not what you’d call adaptable. An incredibly good dog, and a sweet dog, but a creature of habit.

With that kind of nature, I know that this whole ordeal, these last 6 weeks, has been immensely hard on him emotionally. We have asked SO many things of him and he has been such a trooper about it, but he always has this look on his face like “ok, Mom, when do we go back to the way it was?” Chris and I have tried everything to make him happy again and that’s been the hardest thing for us. If Mosby could only address one issue at a time, or two, we could get him back into a routine, and hopefully he’ll settle more.

I’m hoping that he does ok tonight. I’m hoping that he feels much better tomorrow. I’m hoping that it really is something as simple as dehydration. I’m hoping so many things but mainly hoping that we’ll get to see Mosby happy again.

Another day, another trial for Mosby. Through all of the ups and downs, the one good thing Mosby has had these 5+ weeks is his appetite. Well, he lost that yesterday. It’s been a battle getting him to eat the last couple of days. He eats a few things but turns his nose up at most food, including most people food, and his favorite treats. It’s really heartbreaking. He also started refusing peanut butter and easy cheese, which we were putting his pills in. So now that has become a heart wrenching battle to get his pills down him, because he really fights it. He was so good about taking pills, without any tricks, before all this started.

We took him to the barn today hoping that it would cheer him up and possibly give him an appetite. While he did enjoy his time there, it wore him out, and didn’t improve his appetite (and now he’s eating fewer things). I’ve been in close contact with his oncologist, and we will probably end up taking him in tomorrow for an injection of an anti-nausea drug, some subcutaneous fluids, and possibly an appetite stimulant. I’m hoping for a miracle, that he’ll be back to normal and hungry tomorrow, but if not, we have a backup plan.

I did take a lot of pictures of our outing, though, even though it was cold and windy.

We heard the unfortunate news that Cindy Lou Hoo has moved to Florida with her mom for the winter!! Unfortunate for us, fortunate for Cindy and her mom, both of whom we love – hopefully they enjoy the sunshine but come back before too long! Luckily, Mosby’s friend Anna was there, and they enjoyed visiting.

 

Last, but not least, yesterday we received the beautiful Tripawds collar tag that Rene made. It has a sheriff star on the front with the Tripawds logo, and on the back it says “Colonel J.S. Mosby.” It’s a gorgeous tag, and very, very well-made. I knew Mosby needed the sheriff star, because back when I worked for a wonderful Judge, the Judge let me bring Mosby to work at the courthouse. He was everyone’s favorite, and one day Mosby was deputized by the Judge and Sheriff. Full on paw-in-the-air sworn in, with the Judge in his robes and everything.

Right now I’m watching Mosby run in his sleep as he is snoozing on his bed. Today he went to see the oncologist, and his CBC and kidney function were both normal, so he got his 2nd treatment of carboplatin. They say it went well, and he ate all of his dinner when I brought him home. He seems like he is in good spirits (but tired).

The vet aspirated the lump we found in his armpit, and she could only find fatty cells, so it seems it’s another of his lipomas, which is a relief. Meanwhile, the surgeon evaluated the sarcoma lump on his remaining hind leg, and thinks the surgery will be doable, although the deep margin will be tough (it’s on his thigh muscle), which we knew. It still needs to be removed, though, so the tentative plan remains to do his 3rd chemo treatment, wait two weeks, do the surgery, then resume chemo. Full steam ahead.

We like to have one of us stay with him the day after chemo rather than leave him in his crate, so my husband is taking off work tomorrow to stay with Mosby. I told them not to get into too much trouble! I have a feeling they’ll snooze most of the day away, though. Then it will be the weekend! Even though the weather looks like it will be bad this weekend, we’ll try to get Mosby out to the barn to see his big brother, Arlo. He loves the barn and I know he misses it. He has lots of doggy friends out there (including his BFF Cindy Lou Hoo, who we would adopt in a New York minute if we had the opportunity), plus lots to see and smell. After nearly 9 years, Mosby has finally reached the point where he is “ok” with his big brother, but when I first got him he’d whine and fuss while I was riding. He was very concerned that the large red beast would hurt his mom. But once he realized he could roam around the farm and check stuff out while I was riding, he started enjoying it.

It was actually at the barn that we first realized he likes carrots. One day I was just doing my thing with Arlo, and one of the other horse owners came up to me and said “Mosby sure likes carrots, doesn’t he?” Turns out Mosby had been successfully convincing all the other owners to give him carrots for weeks. Not that I mind – that’s a healthy snack! Mosby must have seen the horses eating them and decided it looked tasty enough.

As I wrote earlier, we installed nice gates in our house that we may never use because Mosby may be too much of a rascal to even have a small space to be in while we are gone. But not to worry, Mosby has found a good use for the gates. A footrest!