Well, I've been wanting to start a blog, and decided this might be a good time. Arrow - my friend and companion for 10 years was recently diagnosed with a "high grade" tumor (myxosarcoma - a soft tissue tumor that our vet has never seen - leave it to Arrow). Its not often that you read about the cancer treatment program for a dog and I realized that not enough people talk about the feelings that come up with such a diagnosis. So I thought I'd try.
First, for those of you who don't know Arrow - she's awesome. I adopted her 10 years ago as a puppy from the Greenfield shelter. When she was ready for adoption, I was actually out of town and I asked my roommate to go to the shelter and pick out one of the two female yellow labs that just came up for adoption. The shelter didn't normally do this, but I think they saw the pleading as pathetic and made an exception. My roommate called me and said that one of the female dog's sat in a corner and the other dog ate her watch. Which one did I want? No brainer, I'll take the little quiet one in the corner please! And what a great choice that was!
Arrow has not only been my companion for 10 years, but she is also my first dog. Many people (and you know who you are!) questioned my ability as a dog owner -- and probably rightly so. I didn't really understand dogs. In fact, I kind of didn't like them too much. But as I soon found out, this is one of my many qualities Arrow would help me change.
All kinds of feelings come up with your dog's diagnosis of cancer. At 10.5 I know that her life probably had at most 3-4 years left. But you don't have to think about that until you realize the time you have her can actually be much shorter than you anticipated. And then you start to think about how we really never know how long we have left. Not just for our dogs, but for ourselves, our partners, our families. The diagnosis, the decisions, take you down a road of thinking that you'd rather not venture down.
So tomorrow morning at 7:15, Sally will leave for the Vet's where Arrow will start her first of 19 days of radiation treatment for her tumor. Its a decision that I struggled with a little bit, only because I don't want to do anything to her that will affect her quality of life. But I have gotten enough reassurance to feel like this treatment will not be so bad for her. And that this treatment gives her the best chance of living for a longer time.
I'm creating this blog not only so anyone who is interested can find out how she is doing, but just to let myself think about this process. And maybe just to put some words to a process that is not often talked about--the care and treatment of a pet.
Please send good thoughts to Boney...
Arrow
7 comments:
I love Bone-y. Our whole family will be thinking about her (and you all) throughout this process. Thank you for starting this blog.
Bone-y love you too! And I have to say she REALLY loves that stuffed lion. We didn't send it to the hospital with her because we didn't want her to lose it. But she carried it up to bed the whole weekend and back downstairs in the morning. It is a huge hit!
I just got back to work after the ride back from Grafton where I dropped her off. She was excited to go for a ride this morning, jumping into her favorite spot in the back seat as usual. Maybe she thought we were going to the Cape as I packed her bed, blue bear, food and leash. We listened to the radio and Jimmy Buffett on the ride and she only sat up when we got there. She didn't want to get out of the car, but once she did, she took a look around and in we went. While we waited to be taken in, she said hi to other dogs, then sat by my side,looking up with those soulful eyes. She looked back at me as the tech took her in, as if to say, dude where are you going? Wait, you forgot me!! The saddest part was when the tech handed me her collar (I put the shark one on this morning so she could take a bite out of cancer), and her leash back to take with me. I put them on the seat next to me and teared up every time I looked at them. She already has a date with Sandy at the front desk for her noontime walk. We will get a call this afternoon from Dr. Lee to find out how she did and what the rest of her week looks like. After today, we are down to 18 days!
thanks for sharing this blog, glo. i look forawrd to hearing about arrow's journey through this process. i know she'll do great!
hey glo, sally and boney....sending much love and healing energy your way,boney is such a sweetheart, we are all praying for her....much love ,arrow aunt ria, tom ,kobe,autumn and garfie.......x0x0x0x0x0
hey sister-wives--I'm sitting here crying my eyes out--yea, we Michiganders have soft hearts:) Can't help reviewing my life with my 12.5yr old best friend Bailey--she's healthy--thank goodness--but she's certainly showing the signs of her age. My heart goes out to all of you, esp. Arrow. Wish I could give you all a big HUG and make all the struggles go away. Thanks for posting this site...I hope it helps you through this time and thanks for thinking of all of us who wish to offer the support that we can.
love you all-Kath and Bailey
Dogs certainly are amazing animals and incredible friends, aren't they?! It's so important to recognize the role they play in our hearts and lives. We are thinking of you and wishing the best for Arrow.
Love xoxo Rocky, Fluffy, Loren, and Big Jon
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