Hectic day...Raven was off to the vet early this morning for her latest chemo treatment. It was going to take too long for me to wait for her, so came home again (30 km each way). All went well so picked her up early this afternoon and she is home now and taking it easy. Next week is a rest week in this protocol, so no chemo for 2 weeks.



Then I had to cut the grass since it finally stopped raining! Not much time for watch work so far today...

 

Sorry to hear the sad news about your lovely dog, here's hoping the chemo works and she's back to normal soon

 

Out for an early morning walk, today, and she found two more!







Steve.

 

She's got a good nose! Is she part Cocker Spaniel?

 

100% Cocker.

Without doubt, the best working dog that I have owned.


Steve.

 

My working dogs were English Springers, wonderful gundogs. I worked many a Cocker and they were very game little dogs. I have to say that I preferred the slightly bigger bulk of the Springer though.
Here's a series of pics of my 5 year old bitch Chloe and the younger dog Jake, about 12 months
An exercise in restraint, enter the cat stage left


Where the hell did it go

 

I had Springers, from 1980, up until I got the older Cocker.

Sadly, my last Springer died on a Shoot day, picking-up. She was only seven years old.

 

After a beurocratic battle with CITES that came down to a simple email from the Saudi’s that they could not be bothered sending it seems that Nelson will not be joining me in Vietnam. Still trying but not much hope

However we have a few new members to the family. This guy, Mango:


Who is a big baby that loves attention.



And a few little Aussie mates



And of course these wild boys are here

 

Sto chillin!

 

A few photos from Zelda's most recent weekend adventure in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.

Looking west from a very windy Venables Pass at 12,800'


Standing on an impressive piece of Sangre de Cristo conglomerate.


Taking a break in a bit of shade in the willows.


Her nemesis, the marmot. Fortunately, she is no longer young and spry enough to catch them.


Action shot!


Campsite at a high lake full of "cut bow" trout.

 

Amazing photo!

 

So, this was supposed to be a week of rest in the chemo treatments, but over the last week Raven's lymph nodes have swollen up again as you can see here.



She is lethargic, not eating well at all no matter what we try to feed her, and was starting to get very wonky walking - surely getting weaker by the day. Back to the vet yesterday and the news isn't good - white cell count down, and the cancer is not responding to the treatments any longer. We have some other chemo options, but the chances of success are small, and due to some unusual white blood cells they saw, we sent some blood away to pathologist for further review. This may come back with results that mean there's no point in carrying on, so it looks like we have a difficult time ahead of us, and coming sooner than we had hoped.

So we have 2 dogs...Remi is the grandson of Raven, and as you can see he's a cutie...snapped this because he doesn't normally sleep with his tongue out.



He's a bit of a sensitive dog though, and we are debating how to handle things when we have to put Raven down. For those who have done this at home and had other dogs, how did the other dogs react? As much as I think Raven would really not want to have this done at the vet's, I worry that Remi might end up a little traumatized by it all. He's not as comfortable with strangers coming into the house (Raven is there to stick her nose in your face, while Remi typically stays in another room) so we don't want to make him even more cautious of people coming over. So debating between giving him closure and seeing that Raven is gone (with the risk he won't take it well), or just taking her to the vet and her not coming back...

If anyone has experiences to share in this regard, I would appreciate hearing how things went if you are okay to write about it.

Cheers, Al

 

I'm sorry, Al. We have treated two of our dogs with chemo/radiation, and the progression seemed unpredictable in both cases, I think because it is a balancing act between treating the cancer and preserving the internal organs. You will know when it is time. I am getting emotional writing this, thinking about what you are about to go through. It's very hard, and the grief is very intense and long-lasting.

We have euthanized four of our dogs, two because of cancer, and we have always had at least one other dog at the time. We have done it at home and at the vet's office. It was always hard on the other dogs - they really miss the dog that is gone and the dynamics of the family are dramatically changed. Sometimes they have misbehaved afterwards, and one time we had to house-train a dog over again from scratch. It is important to give them a lot of love and attention, but also to simultaneously reinforce their place in the family, since it is natural for a dog to reevaluate his/her place in the pack at a time like this.

I can't say that I really noticed a significant difference based on where we had it done, and I'm not sure I'm such a believer in the "closure" idea. Our main consideration has been the dog who is being put down; we wanted them to be as comfortable and and content as possible in their final minutes. If they were still capable of enjoying it, we tried to give them a good day, spoiling them with treats. And if they were nervous or uncomfortable at the vet's office, we asked the vet to come to our home. When we have done it at the vet's office, our vet has scheduled it for the end of the day, when they have no other appointments. This gave us privacy and allowed us to take as much time as we wanted. For ourselves, we have had our dogs cremated, and retained their remains and some other things to remember each dog ... a bit of fur, a collar, a coat.

 

Thanks for that - I appreciate you relating your experience.

Well pathology results are back, and it confirms Stage 5 cancer, so we can try "rescue" chemo that would have to be done at a clinic 1.5 hours drive away, or just palliative care to keep her comfortable for now. Since Raven hates being in the car, we are opting to keep her comfortable. With the antibiotics they gave us she has regained her appetite and for right now seems okay. Spoke to the local vet today to get an idea of how much notice he needs to make a home visit for the end...now we just have to decide when...

 

Incredibly sorry to hear this news Al, my thoughts will be with you.

 

Sorry to hear this news. It just tore me up when I had to make the call on my lab. I still have issues two years on.

 

So sorry for this. I guess the day will come one day for our boys and the fact that i can’t read this without tears welling does not bode well for that day hopefully at least twenty years in the future.

 

Sorry to hear this

 

Pet owners understand....our thoughts and emotions are with you and your family.....I had to put down our fifteen year old Border Collie, Toby, three years ago....to say it was a heart wrenching experience would be a gross understatement. In a very real sense the emotional impact is somehow different and more intense than the passing of a human friend or relative....perhaps it is the dependent nature of our relationship to our pets and/or the unconditional love they give and their constant positive attitude and trust in us.

There is a quote from George Bernard Shaw, I believe, paraphrasing (badly), "if given a choice between a life without pain and one with pain I would choose the life with pain, for at least I would know that I am alive". The passing of a cherished companion animal lays low all the emotional barriers we erect in our lives so as to deal with "modern life" without losing our sanity. By laying low those emotional walls their passing gifts us the opportunity to actually touch base with our humanity and emotions....to be "alive"....it is their final gift to us, and a most precious one, I found.

I swore I didn't want another dog after having to put Toby down....the thought of putting down another dog even years in the future was just too emotionally daunting. My wife and sons had other ideas, of course....so we rescued Fergus (black and white Pit Bull mix) and Charlie (a yellow and white Wing Nut mix). Life, and unconditional love, goes on. You will know the right time to end your friend's suffering. I wish you strength at such a trying time.

 

Sorry to hear your news, Al. We've been fortunate in that both our dogs that have passed went quietly in their sleep, though both were unexpected so they each shook us up at the time. Our eldest is now at the age where we're starting to steel ourselves for bad news one of these days, but as always, the love just keeps flowing both ways right up until that day.