Rocco and bone cancer

[GreyhoundFan]

Wow, Rocco looks great! I'm glad he's doing well.

I was going to mention the controversy over raised dishes, but I agree with @Palimpsest that it is probably more age and genetic related. I have also read that there may be a stress component. I also was more concerned with my Sammy eating too fast so I got him a special bowl to slow him down. That way he swallows less air. Even so, we had a bloat scare a month ago. A $650 trip to the e-vet later, we found he just had an irritated stomach.

I hope the Gabapentin helps with the phantom limb pain.

[PennySycamore]

@Gossamer1,  Rocco looks great!  I'm glad he's doing so well post-op.  

 

[Gossamer1]

4 hours ago, MarblesMom said:

He is so handsome!!  I am *so happy* he is on the mend and able to get in and out of the car.... he doesn't look like a dog one could easily lift by themselves....  He looks good!  Wound looks great!

Pre surgery he was 145 lbs. Today he was 127. I expect him to put a few pounds back on since his appetite has been a bit off. Now that he is on fewer drugs I think he will begin to eat more.

As for bloat, with my two anyway, mine are not "greedy" eaters. They are very casual about their regular food. I fill their bowl to the top and need to refill it usually every other day. Neither one overeats. They take turns, eat until they're full and walk away. They generally eat twice a day.

Prior to Rocco's arrival I had other fosters and canine house guests (long and short term). Sometimes I would have to put the food away depending on who was visiting and boy was Sophie mad about that. She would sit and stare at me until I followed her into the kitchen. She would then stare at the bowl, turn to stare at me, then back at the bowl etc until I put food in it for her.  After a day or two she got the hang of it and learned to eat when the food was out. 

[CrazyCatLady]

He looks so good!

[GreyhoundFan]

@Gossamer1 I know with Greyhounds, they usually lose 7-9 pounds for the lost leg and often 5 or more pounds because of the appetite being "off". Since Rocco's leg was probably significantly heavier than a Greyhound's, his weight loss sounds pretty reasonable. You'll need to keep him on the lighter side of normal because of the added stress on the remaining legs, especially since dogs usually put 65 - 70% of their weight on the front legs when standing and walking. I know his appetite will return, he seems like such a fighter! Go Rocco!

I'm chuckling with your description of Sophie and the empty food bowl. I can see her thinking, "um, mom, the food goes HERE!" I dog-sat for a pup who was very demonstrative. She would actually stomp her feet until I understood what she was telling me.

[Gossamer1]

The change to the meds has definitely helped with the phantom pain. There have only been 3 or 4 instances and they have been very mild compared to the earlier ones. Poor Rocco is now wearing an old red tank top of mine to keep his incision clean. I went looking for a t-shirt for him and then remembered I did a major closet purge over the winter and got rid of most of my t-shirts. The red one was the only one I don't wear often.

I finally felt ok leaving him alone for more than a few minutes and got all my plants yesterday and today. Rocco hung outside with me while I planted. My neighbors on both sides were also out and Rocco wandered over to each fence to say hi and get attention. He's is starting to feel like his old self again. Sophie has no use for the great outdoors and preferred to spend most of the day on the tile floor on the kitchen with the central air.

[CrazyCatLady]

Sophie has no use for the great outdoors and preferred to spend most of the day on the tile floor on the kitchen with the central air.

Smart girl 😉

[GreyhoundFan]

@Gossamer1 I'm glad to read that Rocco is doing well! I'm sure he's stylin' in his red tank top.

I'm with Sophie, I hate the heat. We had no spring this year and have already hit summer-like heat and humidity, so I've started my hibernation in the AC.

[Palimpsest]

On 5/28/2016 at 5:30 PM, Gossamer1 said:

Rocco hung outside with me while I planted. My neighbors on both sides were also out and Rocco wandered over to each fence to say hi and get attention. He's is starting to feel like his old self again.

I say again, what a great dog!

I'm with Sophie on the heat though.

I am very glad that Rocco is doing so well.  Thanks for updating us and keep the reports coming.  Thanks in advance. 

 

[Gossamer1]

Rocco's appetite seemed to drop off over the weekend. If I handed him treats or his pills wrapped in cheese he would gladly take them but getting him to eat a full meal just wasn't happening. He wasn't coming into the kitchen even for his treats. It occured to me today that he might not be comfortable on the tile anymore. He seemed ok on the tile at first but maybe he had a slip or fall I wasn't aware of.

I moved the food and water bowls into the family room (wall to wall carpet) and sure enough within 10 minutes he walked over to the bowls and chowed down!)

Walmart has tank tops for $1.96 so my handsome boy doesn't have to wear the dorky red shirt anymore! He is currently stylin' a very sophisticated black one. I feel like I should get him a bow tie. 

[GreyhoundFan]

@Gossamer1 How is Rocco holding up? I'm sure he would be extra-handsome with a bow tie!

[Gossamer1]

16 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

@Gossamer1 How is Rocco holding up? I'm sure he would be extra-handsome with a bow tie!

Rocco is doing well(ish). He's defrauding everyone by going shirtless now. His incision is completely closed so there no longer a worry of dirt getting in. The dissolveable stitches will start coming out soon. He has dropped another few pounds but since he didn't eat much for a few days it's not too surprising.

We went to the oncologist today. His current blood levels are all in the normal range so he was started on carboplatin today and will go back for his second of 4 or 5 treatments next month. There haven't been any side effects yet but it has only been 5 hours. The doc wrote prescriptions for anti nausea,  anti diarrheal and another pain med if needed. 

He had a blast at the vet's office.  He felt the need to visit with every person in the waiting room.  He's already cute and adding in the pity factor of a visible scar and a missing leg he was really sucking up all the attention. He was in his glory!

Healthy wishes for Rocco and, after getting the estimate for treatment costs, wishes for a winning lottery ticket for me would be most appreciated.

[church_of_dog]

On May 26, 2016 at 5:29 PM, MarblesMom said:

He is so handsome!!  I am *so happy* he is on the mend and able to get in and out of the car.... he doesn't look like a dog one could easily lift by themselves....  He looks good!  Wound looks great!

This is my big fear -- I'm partial to big dogs, but when Luna (avatar dog) injured her knee and I had to lift her into/out of the car, at a quite modest 55-ish pounds, that was pretty much at my live-weight lifting limit and I'm forever grateful I didn't throw my back out while needing to help her.  

I'm not going to stop having big dogs, but as a one-person household this is a deep fear of someone under my care being injured and me not able to get them into/out of a vehicle.  Fortunately I have piano dollies, plywood pieces, and a movable ramp, so I guess I could always macgyver something in a pinch.

I am *SO* happy to see and read about Rocco doing so well!  I love that he went over to greet each neighbor.

[GreyhoundFan]

@Gossamer1 Uh-oh, Rocco, we'll have to start calling Nike when we discuss you!

I'm glad he's doing fairly well. I know it's a bit of a roller coaster ride. Yes, the treatments are so expensive. Retired Racing Greyhounds get no-charge chemo drugs, but the owners still have to pay to have them administered, plus all the labwork, and other charges.

Definitely sending healing thoughts for Rocco and fingers crossed for a Lotto win for his human!

[Palimpsest]

38 minutes ago, Gossamer1 said:

Healthy wishes for Rocco and, after getting the estimate for treatment costs, wishes for a winning lottery ticket for me would be most appreciated.

Healthy wishes and good thoughts in plenty coming your way.  And may the lottery gods bless you.

::focusing thoughts::

36 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

I'm not going to stop having big dogs, but as a one-person household this is a deep fear of someone under my care being injured and me not able to get them into/out of a vehicle.  Fortunately I have piano dollies, plywood pieces, and a movable ramp, so I guess I could always macgyver something in a pinch.

This is my enormous fear.  I can't lift and carry Mr C. by myself if he went into status epilepticus (life threatening emergency) and get him into the car.  I do have Mr P and a nice, helpful, and muscularly blessed neighbor, but what if they aren't available?  

I am considering down-sizing in the future.  I worry about it all the time but I really love my big dogs.

[Gossamer1]

1 hour ago, church_of_dog said:

This is my big fear -- I'm partial to big dogs, but when Luna (avatar dog) injured her knee and I had to lift her into/out of the car, at a quite modest 55-ish pounds, that was pretty much at my live-weight lifting limit and I'm forever grateful I didn't throw my back out while needing to help her.  

I'm not going to stop having big dogs, but as a one-person household this is a deep fear of someone under my care being injured and me not able to get them into/out of a vehicle.  Fortunately I have piano dollies, plywood pieces, and a movable ramp, so I guess I could always macgyver something in a pinch.

I am *SO* happy to see and read about Rocco doing so well!  I love that he went over to greet each neighbor.

I too am a one person household and the thought of not being able to move a sick or injured dog weighs on my mind.

 

[church_of_dog]

53 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Healthy wishes and good thoughts in plenty coming your way.  And may the lottery gods bless you.

::focusing thoughts::

This is my enormous fear.  I can't lift and carry Mr C. by myself if he went into status epilepticus (life threatening emergency) and get him into the car.  I do have Mr P and a nice, helpful, and muscularly blessed neighbor, but what if they aren't available?  

I am considering down-sizing in the future.  I worry about it all the time but I really love my big dogs.

I have become rather adept at maneuvering non-sentient things in ways that I would never have thought of before, using the laws of mechanics -- levers, using pipes to roll heavy things, "walking" things up steps, or across rooms end-over-end, etc.

To some extent those strategies will still work even with live weights (I once had to lower Luna down from a fire lookout tower in a pulley/basket because the steps she scampered up -- I admit I encouraged her, she was reluctant, ack! -- were too steep for her to be willing to go down on her own, and she wouldn't let me just carry her down even though she was young/small enough that weightwise I could have done so -- we wrapped her in a jacket to slow down any escape attempt she might make on the way down, bungee-corded her in well, and then lowered the box down as fast as we could safely go -- all went well but damn if that isn't etched in my memory forever after!) but everything has its limits and of course we're talking about how things will work during pain/panic/medical emergency so there are always unknowns.

Sometimes it really feels like a probability situation, where my desire for a big dog and the low likelihood of that kind of situation weigh on one side, and how horrible I would feel IF it happened on the other.  It's pretty evenly balanced for me right now, so no easy answers.

[Gossamer1]

Rocco is one week post chemo. He has had minimal side effects from the chemo so far. He is eating and drinking normally and hasn't had a problem with any vomiting or diarrhea.  They wrote 3 prescriptions for vomiting, diarrhea  and another pain killer but I haven't had to fill them yet. His next appointment is July 5th.

I have also been able to back off the Gabapentin. He's down from 9 pills a day to 4. He is definitely perkier with less of that in his system.

[GreyhoundFan]

Wow, thanks for the update on Rocco! I'm so glad he's doing well.

[Gossamer1]

On Wednesday night I noticed an irritated red area near the bottom of Rocco's incision. Up till now his healing had ben progressing well so I was a little concerned. Rocco had been off the Gabapentin for a fw days at this point.

Off to his regular vet. He gave Rocco a little ointment and we've put him back on a low dose of Gabapentin.  In addition to relieving the phantom pain it was also blocking the itchyness of his healing incision. He is on 2 pills a day and hasn't gone back to licking the incision.  

The things we learn....

[Palimpsest]

Indeed.  Still holding Rocco in my thoughts.  I so hope he continues to do well.

What a amazing dog!

[GreyhoundFan]

@Gossamer1 I'm glad to read of Rocco's update. Gabapentin is a great medication, it helps with so many issues

[Terrie]

Just found thsi thread. Glad he's doing well. My dobie-girl, Sadie, recently had to have her leg amputated after being hit by a car.  It has been an adventure. She learned to take off her cone and responsed to the requirement to contain her to reduce her activity by learning to open the door to the room where she was confined! Not sure if you've seen it, but http://tripawds.com/ is a great resource for amputee dogs and cats, and has tons of cancer info, as bone cancer is the leading reason for amputation.

[MarblesMom]

So sorry to read this, @Terrie.  Sounds like Sadie has a different agenda 

[Gossamer1]

On 6/22/2016 at 11:58 AM, Terrie said:

Just found thsi thread. Glad he's doing well. My dobie-girl, Sadie, recently had to have her leg amputated after being hit by a car.  It has been an adventure. She learned to take off her cone and responsed to the requirement to contain her to reduce her activity by learning to open the door to the room where she was confined! Not sure if you've seen it, but http://tripawds.com/ is a great resource for amputee dogs and cats, and has tons of cancer info, as bone cancer is the leading reason for amputation.

Rocco had his own ideas about confinement too. One of the tech at my vet's office also works at the animal hospital on weekends. She told me that on the morning of his release the other surgeon at the hospital was going to examine him before release. Keep in mind, he was less than 48 hours post surgery and high as a kite. The examining doctor seriously underestimated his motivation to go explore his temporary digs because when he opened Rocco's crate Rocco took off! They had to briefly chase him around the room so the doc could examine him and get him back in the crate. 

I understood his need to be able to see what was going on and didn't confine him the way they suggested.  As long as he knew the sound he was hearing was just me moving from one room to another, doing laundry, washing dishes etc., then he was happy to just lay around if I told him to stay down. If he was locked away he would have been up wiggling around and trying to scratch at the door to get out to see what he was missing. That would have been far more risky for his recovery.

I'm sorry to hear about Sadie. How is she making out as a tri-paw?