junior, jokers father, had a lump on the inside of his front left leg two months ago. the knot was the size of a dime, raised and hairless, and resembled a tick bite. i had a bad feeling about it, but gave it time to go away as it might have been a button tumor [which are usually harmless] or an allergic reaction to a tick bite [the ticks are horrible out here this summer].
after 2 months, the knot didn't go away, and against everyones advisement i made another appointment with my veterinarian to have a fine needle aspiration done on the knot. it came back positive for mast cell sarcoma.
i don't think i'm handling this all too well. i know the statistics, 1 in 4 dogs get cancer. i have 4 dogs. but 2 of them have cancer.
i'm trying to think of ways to come up with the money for his surgery, which is 300 dollars [minimum, thats just the estimate i got. theres no guarantee it won't be more, because jokers was more because of aftercare antibiotics and anesthesia], because his appointment cost 200 dollars, we're still paying for jokers surgery on the carecredit account, and all of my credit cards are maxxed out right now. i've applied for financial aid with the magic bullet fund and ashleys angel fund.
i'm not above begging for help. these dogs are my family. i'm as attached to them and care as much for them as any parent is with their children. i spent all of yesterday crying. i cried myself to sleep. and then my best friend said something that made alot of sense. "this isn't happening to you to punish you, this is happening to test you. what if this is what you need to become an advocate for canine cancer awareness?"
honestly, she had a point. before joker was diagnosed, i had a dog that died of cancer, but no one informed me or educated me about it. they just told me she had a tumor the size of a grapefruit in her uterus and that surgery would give her less than 10 percent chance of living. now, i own pretty much every book on canine cancer, from preventing it, to treating it, to aftercare. maybe this happened for a reason, all i know is that i can't stand to see junior or joker suffer, and i'll do whatever it takes to get junior the treatment that he needs to be healthy again.
he needs to be neutered.
which sucks, not just for junior, but the fact that a dog his age, the cost of getting him fixed is 3 times that of a puppy. our vet quoted us around 250, because hes going to have to have his vaccinations and a physical exam before, and hes going to have to stay overnight if they can't get him in there first thing in the morning. poor guy is going to have to wear one of those horrid e-collars too.
the vets also advised me to get joker fixed shortly after junior, if not at the same time. well, at the same time isn't even an option because of the cost. so i'm saving up money now to get a treadmill to walk them on, i guess i'll just divert those funds to paying off the carecredit account after junior gets fixed so that joker can get fixed shortly after.
we also discovered that if there was to be a fight, it would in no way, shape, or form be on jokers part. the guy got his ass served to him on a silver platter by his mom. joker was outside sitting with abby [our australian shepherd] and daisy came around the corner. abby went after daisy and daisy tried to go after abby, couldn't reach her, so she took her aggression out on joker. he just stood there and got his ass tore up. dad fell and slid on his stomach running to break the fight up. in hindsight, it was funny. joker didn't get hurt, thank god, but if daisy would have gotten ahold of the scar tissue on his neck from the surgery, i doubt he would have made it to the vet before he bled to death.
so, the new itinerary:
- get junior fixed
- pay off the carecredit from his surgery
- get joker fixed
- pay off that surgery
- get abby spayed so that she can be inside with the rest of the pack.
i think i'm more than likely going to need some good vibes sent my way to accomplish this. =X
[taken from Cesar Millan's blog, located at http://pets.yahoo.com/blog/cesarmillan]
How to socialize your dog
Humans are social pack animals. Getting along with others is an important part of what makes us happy. Dogs also are social pack animals, so, like us, they must learn to get along with their friends and family members -- human and canine.
Your first priority should be to make sure that your dog is comfortable with his pack: your family. Two tips:
Projecting calm-assertive energy at all times, defining the rules and boundaries, and providing the rewards for a calm-submissive state of mind will allow you to guide your dog's behavior and shape how he interacts with other family members and friends.
Also remember, the walk is an important tool for bonding with your canine companion, so get the whole family involved!
On the canine side, I recommend starting out by setting a play date with a balanced dog you know. This will allow you to evaluate your dog's social skills in a controlled environment. You can make note of his strength and weaknesses and begin to help guide him if necessary.
If he does well with one or two friendly dogs, dog parks can be he next step in his socialization. A warning, however: Too many people make the mistake of "punching out" as soon as they get to the park, using that time to drink coffee with friends, make cell phone calls, and totally forgetting their dogs!
I always advise my clients to remain pack leaders, even at the dog park. Make sure your dog is in a calm, submissive state of mind before introducing him into a situation with a group of strange dogs, and watch for signs of disturbance. If a fight breaks out, keep your calm-assertive energy in check -- your dog will be looking to you for guidance!
As a preventative measure, make sure to give your dog a good walk before bringing him to the park. The less frustrated energy he brings into the group, the better.
With any kind of training or conditioning, it's best to start early, when the dog is a pup. But don't be fooled by the old maxim! Even if your pet is an old dog, it's never too late to learn new tricks.
Disciplining Your Dog--Firm, Yes! Angry, Never!
Posted Thu, May 10, 2007, 12:29 pm PDT
After regular exercise, what your dog needs most is discipline. But it's vital to understand that by "discipline," I do not mean punishment.
Like humans, dogs need to be corrected when they break a rule -- and then shown an acceptable alternative behavior. As the pack leader, you let your dog know when to wake up, when to eat, and how to interact with humans and other dogs. A successful routine comes by setting rules, boundaries, and limitations -- and enforcing them in a way your dog can clearly comprehend.
Many people try to eliminate unwanted behavior in their dogs the way we punish a child -- by taking away a privilege or giving a "time out." But when you send a dog to another room or deny her a trip to the dog park, your dog simply doesn't connect that punishment with the offending behavior. Dogs live in the now! They understand only the most immediate cause and effect.
What a dog needs instead is correction -- a simple and immediate response. A dog in a natural pack would never receive a "time out" for unacceptable behavior. Rather, observation indicates that a dog in charge will deal out a swift correction -- via touch, low growls, or body language, which conveys a simple, clear message: "That's not how we do things around here, Mister." And natural pack leaders should never be angry or frustrated when they give corrections! They should be quick, matter-of-fact, and to the point. And they don't hold grudges -- once the behavior is corrected, the errant dog is instantly back in the pack leader's good graces.
i have a new goal i'm set out to achieve, and i plan to document that on this website as well since it has so much to do with joker, as well as his father, junior. since jokers diagnosis, we have decided to keep him inside. for the majority of his life so far he's been an outside dog. i've bonded tremendously with him since then and decided that he will stay inside.
theres just one tiny problem.
his dad, junior, in his old age has become extremely dominant-aggressive. when i did a test last night to see if they could even be in the same room junior lunged at joker with every intention of causing him harm. the rest of the 30 minutes he stared joker down.
i am a firm believer in cesar millans rehabilitation techniques with dogs, especially red zone cases such as junior. over the next few weeks, i'm going to be implementing his theories and techniques for aggression rehabilitation with junior. i plan to document every step along the way the best i can, as i realize that aggression problems in packs can be a problem for many dog owners. hopefully, i will be successful, [hopefully, without a trip to the ER, but thats what butterfly bandages are for, right?], and within the next month or so i can get joker and his father in the same room in a calm submissive state of mind and everyone can get along.
while i'm doing this i'll be reposting the articles and sources i've found so far with my research into this matter so that its a one stop for other pet owners who are facing the same problem.
we got jokers test results back on the biopsy of the mast cell tumor, and the wide margin excision was successful. according to the oncologist, the cancer was 100 percent removed. she did however, warn both me and jokers veterinarian that the chances of another occurrence, be it in the same location as the tumor that was removed, or another location such as his lungs or his spleen, runs a high probability of 50 percent.
which means from now on, every 3 to 4 months joker goes in for complete labs, including blood work, urinalysis, and immediate fine needle aspiration of any possible lumps that may show up in his skin. not to err on the side of caution, i would much rather be safe than sorry.
joker, however, is back to his old self. he's no longer scratching at the incision or the staples. the hair has started to grow back, and he goes on the 29th to get the staples removed. i did find out tonight though that he inherited a very freaking strong phobia of lightning and thunder from his dad, junior. both of them are big babies when it comes to thunderstorms.
i've decided that even though joker made it past this hurdle, i'm sure that as a cancer survivor there are many more ahead that he will get past. also, that there are advances everyday in the diagnosis and treatment of canine cancer, along with the foundations that help the owners of cancer dogs afford treatment and surgery. so even though joker is doing better, i will keep updating this site with news in the canine cancer field, advancements in the detection and prevention of canine cancer, along with a new pic or story of joker every so often.
its sad that it took a personal experience like this to open my eyes to this horrible disease that is plaguing our companion animals. but i'm trying to do everything in my power to educate and help pet owners to prevent, treat, and deal with their companion animals who suffer from this low blow that they have been dealt. i can only hope that you, as the reader, will keep up on the posts, and help me help others along in this journey.
please remember, knowing the early symptoms is key in detecting and treating your pet for cancer. they can't speak up to tell you that something is wrong, it is our responsibility as their caretakers to do just that, take care of them.
The Morris Animal Foundation announced this morning that a new early detection test for lymphoma, the second most common cancer in dogs, is helping veterinarians make treatment decisions for dogs.
A scientist at Colorado State University developed the successful test, which can detect lymphoma even when no clinical signs are present. Research for developing the test was funded by Morris Animal Foundation.
"Our test helps to distinguish between a big lymph node due to infectious disease and one that's caused by a tumor," says Dr. Anne Avery, lead investigator on the CSU study. Thanks to this study, Colorado State University now houses the only lab in the country that performs this test. Every year, the university receives more than 1,000 canine blood and tissue samples from around the world for testing.
The Morris Animal Foundation has given Dr. Avery funding through another grant to develop a similar test for diagnosing lymphoma in cats. For fiscal year 2005, the Foundation has committed nearly $800,000 for cancer studies in dogs and cats.
the veterinary clinic i took him to is wonderful. they've already called to check on him, and the nurses fell in love with him when we took him in for the physical exam. he has to go back next thursday to have the staples removed as long as everything goes well between now and then. the vet sent off the mass for testing to make sure that they removed all the cancerous cells. we wont have the results back until late friday, possibly monday depending on how long it takes in transit.
jokers starting to get his appetite back, and i'm hoping that it will fully return by the end of the week. i put him on organic food because after this scare, i dont want him eating chemicals and preservatives and filler that will upset his stomach. i cooked a chicken breast for him, because the protein is what he needs right now. he was picky about eating it, i'm hoping its just because he doesnt feel good. he's becoming restless though, and i know its because i'm keeping him inside and not letting him run and jump. he's banned from any strenuous activity for 4 to 5 days because of the risk of ripping the sutures. i plan on putting a dog run up though so he can enjoy being outside without having to be on a 5 foot leash, and later today when it cools down some i'm going to go clean out his kennel and put fresh cedar chips down. he seems to be doing ok so far, with the exception of side effects.
i stopped and got him a rope toy as a "you better stay healthy" present. he's been playing with it all night, and right now he is asleep right beside it so he knows if you try to take it. [he is a very, VERY light sleeper.]
i'll try to post early morning before we drop him off. please keep him in your thoughts tonight and tomorrow.
