The Chase

We already know Millie is a digger and a chewer. I found her doing both outside this afternoon...the question was, what was she chewing on? Usually, it's just a stick or branch or root or clump of dirt. But after seeing some evidence...

 

...I was pretty sure she was not chewing on any form of tree or plant. 

So, the chase began of me trying to find out what she was eating...you can see how it ended (you can also see  how well-trained my dog is and how well she listens to me. I'm definitely the alpha!) 

The trouble is we have about 10 of these sprinkler heads in our back yard. If she's found this one, she's bound to find the others. I can only hope for colder weather where the ground freezes solid to the point where her claws cannot dig through it. 

Sweet Bailey

Had to share this cute pic of Bailey. Despite the cold weather, she and Millie love being outside. The knot on the side of her face is one of those mean mast cell tumors. But, she's still cute!

Ear We Go Again...

Today marks the end of week one with Bailey's first dose of chemo. So far, she has done great. We've  noticed nothing different about her at all. That's the good thing. 

The bad thing is that I found a new issue yesterday. I noticed when I was rubbing her ears that she yelped a little. I decided to take a look, since it was the infamous 3-surgeries ear, and I immediately saw the problem. It appears that her skin and/or scar tissue in her ear has grown so fast that it is taking over. When I looked at her ear, there was no ear canal, no entry at all. The skin is completely covering the entrance to her ear. It looks like it was just sewn shut. 

I was able to get a few gentle pokes of a Qtip through there, so I know it's not completely closed, but still, it can't be a good thing. As luck would have it, her doc and vet tech are both off on Wednesdays...I really don't want anyone else dealing with it since she has such a complicated history. So, I've decided to wait until tomorrow when she goes for her second dose of chemo. I hope that is not a mistake, but it's what we decided. She seems to be fine although you can tell it is irritating her a little. She is still on antibiotics, so hopefully they are helping to fight whatever could be lurking on the other side. 

Ugh, if it's not one thing, it's another. We'll see how tomorrow goes. 

Chemical Warfare Against Mast Cell Tumors: Day One

I just got back from dropping Bailey off for her first chemo treatment, so today is "Day One" of her fight against the mast cell tumors (well, she's been fighting them with multiple surgeries already, so technically this is day one of her chemical warfare). 

She's already been taking prednisone for almost a month, which is just a steroid pill. The "cocktail" of prednisone with her chemo drug, vinblastine--which is administered intravenously--is supposed to do the trick on these tumors. Our goal is to simply slow down the growth of the tumors and prevent additional ones from growing. There is no cure. They pop up so fast and grow at an amazing rate...doubling in size about every 3 weeks. And we do not want to put her through another surgery. 

Her doctor does not expect her to have side effects, but if she does, there are some drugs he can give her to offset those. But, Brent and I decided that if she experiences major side effects, we'll end the treatment. Right now, she doesn't even know she is sick, and quality is more important than quantity. She turns 13 in March and we want to keep her feeling good to the end!

Thanks to everyone for keeping her in your thoughts! I'll try to post updates often.