Friday, June 1, 2012

My Sweet Dog

The biopsy came back for my sweet Shelby and it was cancer.

Cancer and I have not been seeing eye to eye lately. Or maybe we have been seeing too much eye to eye lately. Not sure which of those is more accurate. Either way, I have seen more cancer in the last year and a half than I ever dreamed possible.

The vet said that the cancer was aggressive, but often is in animals. However, it was in her leg and she could live without her leg. We had x-rayed her body a couple of weeks ago with no signs of cancer. Good sign. The thing was that in order to really be sure of getting it all was to remove the leg. Before that, we would x-ray her again to be sure it still hadn't spread into her body. No point in putting her through a surgery if it had spread into her body.

All of this has happened very quickly. We got the biopsy Wednesday and she is in surgery now. She might come home tonight.

Last night she was still running around the house. It gives me hope. She will recover from this and still run with the same spirit as before. She has such a positive energy.

14 comments:

  1. She's a cutie! Best to you and Shelby.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of my favorite dogs was 'PD The Three-Legged-Dog'... I'm serious... He honestly never missed it... the little goofball learned how to run again.

    I'm hoping the best for you and Shelby...

    ~herr Shoes~

    ReplyDelete
  3. So sorry about this Robin but it does sound like y'all got it in time! There is a lovely lab on the next street over, Blue, and she had the same thing happen about 5 years ago. She gets along just fine without her leg- it's like she's still on all four! That sweet thing never misses a beat and she goes out jogging with her owner every day. Hang in there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Robin, the c word has been too cruel to you. I am glad that it sounds as if this time things can be dealt with rather quickly and (fairly) easily and then you and your sweet Shelby can move on.
    Best of everything to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good luck Robin...amputating is a hard decision...but if there is a good chance to save her then I am glad you are doing it! Best wishes to both of you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Robin, we are not going to Savannah, but I have spent a lot of time there over the years, and I adore it!! Rod and I have known each other since we were children, and we vacationed in Jekyll so very often. After we were married, we continued the tradition.

    As for the cancer, my heart goes out to you. Our dog children are soooo important to us. We have two--Mulligan, who is a rescue dog, and Little Liz, who has already been through so much in only two years. She has been bitten by a rattlesnake, and has impaled herself on a barrel cactus, requiring a trip to the emergency vet, which cost us $1200 for the surgery. She is worth way more than that, especially when I get into bed at night, and she comes over to give me MANY kisses before getting back into Rod's lap.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've read somewhere that dogs adapt really quickly to this kind of 'change'. So, things are rather hopeful innit. Everything's going to be fine, before you notice Shelby will be just as happy as before!

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Everyone-Thank you for the lovely, encouraging comments. They mean so much. Truly. She does a little bit better every day. I will post something in another blog soon with an update. She is walking around already, bless her heart, but it is a struggle. The vet removed the entire leg, inc. the shoulder, b.c. the cancer was so high up on her leg. It is has made for a long incision and more discomfort. She is slowly finding her center of gravity. All will be well. In time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So glad that your pup is doing better. It will be an adjustment...but one I think all will be able to live with.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glad to read your comment and know she made it through the surgery okay. Hope she continues to heal and get better each day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wishing all the bestest for your pup's Shelby and you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wishing your little pup the fastest, healthiest recovery possible.

    There is entirely too much dying going around the blogosphere lately. Puppies deserve as good a chance as anyone.

    Hugs and love and thank you for the fantastic Buffy birthday wishes :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh sweet baby! I hope everything works out! *HUGS!*

    ReplyDelete
  14. My thoughts and prayers for your little Shelby. I know some time has passed by since u first wrote this particular blog. I am just catching up. But I hope to see some good news regarding how Shelby's surgery went. StormyDawn

    ReplyDelete

You can now add YouTube videos in your comments by copy/pasting the link. AND/OR you can insert an image by surrounding the code with this: [im]code[/im]. In the case of images, make sure that your code is short and simple ending with something like .jpg. If you want to use a pic from someplace like Google Images, click on the image, then click on View Image. That is the code you want!

Dazzle Me!