Time Travel

It's 4:42am and like most nights, I'm wide awake, waiting for morning and thinking of things. One thing is that we got at new coffee maker. I've been watching the clock since 3:43.  The coffee maker makes its debut at 6am. We've been drinking instant for about a month now and it's getting old. Another thing is my dog and best friend Princess - the star of this blog. Also, how much I love and appreciate my wife, friends and family. They are the reason in a big part for my happiness. Wife K takes all of these awesome photos and provides endless loving support. I'd especially like to mention my oldest daughter Lins. I am so proud of her. She's accomplished so much and her kind loving heart is the reason we have Princess. Lins has placed a lot of other dogs in great homes - including her own. She's the reason this blog exists. She's also a great writer! I'm a fan. Follow her blog at:

http://dogsbooksandtheworld.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I'm definitely up so let's make the most of the precious time.  

Princess is the real reason I'm up. She starts each night sleeping on her bed. But much later, I'll wake to find her staring inches from my face. That's her way of politely waking me. Pre-cancer spoiling, it was always reserved for going outside. Now it's for permission to get up on the bed. She still remembers some of her manners.  Two of her other techniques for waking us are the single hand lick or paw on the bed.  They're extremely subtle when you think of  the tools she has in her arsenal. She's got the ominous growl tool, incredibly loud bark tool, or if all else fails, mouth full of teeth tool.  Thankfully all are reserved for rare occasions.

Most times and with most things subtle is better. Princess broke out the ominous growl tool when KK came in late a night ago. She loves KK but could not tell at first if the late night traffic was friend or foe. I slept though that entire incident. Wife K did not. I'm thinking that dogs are telepathic. Fifty two minutes to coffee maker blast off.

If I were to begin our story today,  I'd start with; " A long time ago, in a place far away....." That's the way it feels. So a long time ago in a place far away, we got a terrible diagnosis. If time travel were possible back on October 17th, I'd have been tempted to jump the gap to December 18th - exactly 60 days forward.  That was the amount of time it took Navy to be completely free of cancer. Why live through it? Just get past the 60 days like it never existed and resume as before.  Impossible?  Not at all.  Time travel is very possible and practiced by millions each day. Focusing in a negative place and shutting out the rest is a sort of time travel. It's also a necessary human survival tactic. Hard to appreciate the smell of roses when you are running from a tiger!  On October 17th we faced our tiger and time travel presented itself as a tempting and comforting possibility -to be used sparingly. We did some, but recovered to pass most of these 63 days the old fashioned way - by living and appreciating every minute. That's the key, jump the gap if you must - then recover.  This blog helped and happily, there's been great living along the way; fall concerts, birthdays, breakfasts at the Coffee Cup, Halloween, and now preparing for the great holiday season with family and friends. Wouldn't have wanted to miss any of that. This one big negative back on October 17th tempted me to skip the rest. What a mistake that would have been. Stay in full appreciation of family, friends and great moments. Keep your chin up and as they say, it'll all work out.

Princess is doing very well this last week. Her leg is still lame but she's using it occasionally.  Outwardly she seems healthy and now weights 86 lbs. That's up 11 lbs from October 17th. Yesterday, she made a good attempt to woosh at the bus stop, played with her ball and shredded a cereal box to bits in the living room. She's happy and animated. She gets up to greet everyone and wags her tail a lot.  We added Fosamax to her protocol two weeks ago and she's shown improvement. Since Princess has bone cancer, Fosamax, which builds bone mass and has been shown to be toxic to cancer cells, is a logical ingredient. Wish I had thought of that earlier. In fact, I didn't think of it at all - Gene did. Thanks again Gene.  Anyway, now you all know about Fosamax. Princess will have a  follow-up visit with Dr. Chris for next week. Pending the outcome, we plan to ask him about adjusting the Fosamax dose from ten to 20 mg daily. Big headed bed sleeper just walked into the room. Four minutes to go till blast off. Have a great  day, a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours

No News is Good News

No news is seldom good news when it comes to cancer and it's been a while since I have written. Sorry if you've assumed the worst. There's no bad news.  Princess is still here with us, in good spirits and doing relatively well.  We're continuing her treatments twice each day and have added 10mg of Fosamax once daily. She has no apparent negative side effects and still goes outside each day on her own and can climb the stairs to the house. She still gets up to greet us, eats like horse and sleeps every night on the bed - we've created a monster in that regard. OOPS! Her leg is lame and there are no long walks anymore.
 
I've been reading stories of your dogs in similar circumstances. Like ours, they begin with a family's  account of horrible news and then a hopeful treatment plan. My heart goes out to all of you but in almost all cases, there's no end written. What happened? Even the story of Navy, the Golden Retriever cured by the very treatment we are using has no follow-up past nine months.

I've committed to documenting our journey to its eventual outcome. It's at times, heartbreaking and exhausting. But thousands of you have viewed our pages and know our story.  Hopefully our sharing has helped some of you. What have you tried? Are there any families with recovering or cured dogs out there? If so, what has worked?  I'm not sure how much time the rest of us have with our Princesses. If you've had success with something,  please share.

 








Eventually, life goes on.
 

Beautiful Moments

The news that Princess's cancer had progressed upset us. Our friend Gene even had a specialist friend look at the x-rays to confirm.  Good news is, you cannot tell by the way she's acting. She's not letting facts spoil her fun and her spirits are high. Truth is, Princess doesn't know or care about her long term prospects.

Watching her reminds me that sometimes, it's best to be in the moment - in full appreciation mode. She thinks; I'm feeling pretty good right now, run and play. She doesn't think or care about anything past the next five minutes. She's always in the moment.  I walk by, she follows. You'd think that she'd figure out that I'm coming back the other way in a minute or two. Humans have to think long term and many times, ignore the moment. It's crucial to our survival.  Can you imagine the credit card bills and hang-over's if we thought like dogs?

We're trying hard not to project our grief and disappointment onto Princess. That would overshadow the many beautiful moments that we've had and are still possible with her. We're sad that this relationship will not last forever when it never could have. Princess lives for visits from friends, hugs, short walks, playing, wooshing, eating, and bed jumping (sounds like a dating profile). They are all reasons for her to wag her short tail and enjoy the moment. To Best Dog, it never mattered how long, that's a human point of view. 

It's been 44 days since her diagnosis, She continues to do well and weighs 83 lbs. She eats and sleeps well, goes outside, hangs out in the sun and plays with her ball. Her leg is very lame. Yesterday, she shredded a foam soccer ball, took a short walk, got lots of hugs, had a cheese party, laid in the sun, played with her kids and slept all night in the middle of the bed. Not a bad day. We're planning on a follow-up visit with Dr Chris after the holidays.  

Update: Thanksgiving 2011

Yesterday we talked to Gene about the results of our second opinion of Princess's Novenber 17th x-rays. Dr Chris was right. The x-ray shows that the osteosarcoma in her right leg is advancing. It remained within the same borders of her bone but has taken a more advanced position. So far, all of Dr Chris's diagnosis have been right on the money.

Last week we started Princess on 10mg daily Fosamax (alendronate sodium). It's been shown to slow  cancer, build bone mass and reduce pain. So far, she shows no negative side effects.  We will continue on the Navy Protocol mixed in ground Purina One and now hide a Fosamax in an Italian Sausage or similar treat each morning. She's a smart pill evader. Seems from her perspective, the eatin's never been better and she anxiously waits each morning for her breakfast.  I think that's our last step in making her comfortable.

This morning she was panting heavily and moving slowly. Her leg is now very lame. Wife K and I talked about a very sad decision for us and a good decision for her. She's is as usual in fairly good spirits and full of surprises. This morning while waiting at the bus stop with daughter Syd, she shredded 2 plastic pumpkins, ran around like a puppy and cruised up the stairs to the front door as if to say not yet.  So we'll wait and hope for  the right time or a miracle. Who know? Tis the season.

Strange Wonderful Friends

Leaves are mostly down here in the northeast signaling the start of the holiday season. Yesterday we completed our annual leaf raking and clearing.  Each year Princess enjoys wooshing through the enormous leaf piles.  Most of the day she played in the leaf piles, chased her soccer ball and stayed outside with us enjoying the day. She's very lame in her right hind leg but manages to get around well. Her left "Hopper Leg" is quite strong and she has no trouble jumping onto the bed the minute we leave the house.

That's not leaves!

Hey! Where did the air go?

Syd and Princey

Last week we decided to give Fosamax a try with Princess. It builds bone cells in human osteoporosis patients and studies have also shown that it can  inhibit cancer bone cell growth. The dose for a dog of Princess's size is 10mg once a day. Side effects are possible intestinal troubles. Princess has no negative issues from Navy P, we figure that this is worth a try. We'll share her progress with you in upcoming blogs.



After our visit Thursday, with the long car ride and examination, Princess was exhausted. A few pages back, I mentioned that we have a large rabbit named Buck living in our house. Princess and Buck have been friends for years. Buck has his own house, but is mostly free to roam. With Princess zonked on Rug Island, Buck came out of his house and laid down next to her. She moved and he followed repeating his action. It was very unusual behavior for him. He quit after several attempts when Princess became annoyed. After all, she's a Rottweiler and he's a rabbit. He's not dumb! Later that night, with us all asleep, Buck came into our room ( he's never been there) got onto Princess's bed and laid down with her. Buck's a smart boy. He knows something's wrong with his friend. True friends do strange and wonderful things when least expected and most needed. Thanks for your support Buck, It's been a tough month.

Princess and Friend Buck

Last Thursday, we were disappointed that the cancer in Princess's leg had not decided to give up under our fearsome attack. Cancer is unfortunately, quite a formidable opponent and usually gets its way. The good news continues to be Princess's activities and good spirits. She been spoiled a lifetime"s worth in this last month.  As we move forward in this journey, there's no doubt that we are accomplishing our original mission that was to make Princess as happy and pain free as possible, spoil the heck out of her, and document along the way. Hopefully her story will give hope to other families facing this difficult prognosis.

Update: 30 Day Check-up

If you're just tuning in, we took Princess today to our Vet Dr. Chris for her 30 day check-up. Princess was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on October 17th. Since that time, we've been following an experimental cancer treatment called Navy Protocol. Navy Protocol is named after Navy, a young Labrador first treated for cancer with this drug mix. Read back, I've provided plenty of detail on the subject in earlier blogs.

Princess's follow-up x-ray showed the cancer in her upper right leg bone has remained about the same or  advanced. On the positive side, it remains within its original boundaries. Her chest x-ray showed no signs of spreading or metastasis. Dr. Chris thinks that it's happening microscopically and will eventually show up.  Our scientist friend Gene is asking a friend vet oncologist look at Princess's x-rays. There's a chance that the changes seen on the x-ray image are showing signs of bone regrowth rather than slight cancer advancement.

Gene's also researching other treatments for Princess and has found a study that shows fosamax, a drug for osteoporosis in humans, has a positive effect on canine cancer and bone regrowth. Gene's researching the correct dose for Princess.

On the very positive side, Dr Chris said that Princess was the happiest and most pain free dog he's seen at this stage of her illness. For the next 30 days, we're going to continue the Navy Protocol and possibly fosamax to her drug routine each day. Thanks for following everyone. Have a good night.



 

Count Down Week

Happy Monday! We're closing in on Best Dog's check-up date with Dr Chris. Her appointment is this Thursday the 17th. It will be 31 days since the start of her treatment.  

Princess has been in good spirits lately. Yesterday, we took her along while visiting our daughter and son-in-law. Their dogs are Princess's cousins; Blitz and Pig Pen. Blitz is a sweet German Wired  Hair Pointer (yeah he's wired for real) and Pig Pen in a Pug Mix with sweet disposition. Princess, Blitz and Pig Pen are long time friends. It was the first time in a month that Princess has seen them or had a play date. She was excited, well behaved and they all seemed to enjoyed her visit. Right now, she's zonked on Rug Island running in the fields - undoubtedly dreaming of her fun time last night.

Blitz

Pig Pen

Princess is doing well. She's continues on the Navy Protocol medication twice daily and has no apparent negative side effects. Her right rear leg is visibly atrophied from diminished use. We have three days to go until her check-up. At that time we'll compare her leg and chest x-rays from those taken on October 17th and look for evidence that the treatment is reducing the cancer. So the outcome of this check-up will determine our plans going forward.  Unless something comes up between now and then, I'll hold my next post for Thursday afternoon. We're crossing our fingers and toes.

Eureka Moment

I was wrong about Princess. For this last 3 weeks I figured that if Best Dog began to use her leg that would be a sign that the Navy Protocol Treatment was working. It made sense too. If that is, the cancer was causing the pain.

On her diagnosis day October 17th, Princess was visiting Dr. Chris for a scheduled ACL surgery. In the days leading to the 17th, Princess had stopped eating and subsequently lost 5 pounds. The cancer was affecting her. When Dr Chris found the cancer, I figured that the tumor was causing the pain, not the ACL.
I now believe that Dr. Chris was right in his initial diagnosis. She's got cancer and a torn ACL

Here's why; starting her treatment, Princess was tired and somewhat listless with no appetite. She was also panting heavily at times. I'll take a chance and guess that the tumor had something to do with that. As we've progressed with the treatment Princess's general mood has improved.  For the first few days she felt so bad that she didn't move. With her leg rested she was able to use it. Feeling good, she over-extended, hurt her knee and was forced to rest again. So we are in that cycle. She's now beginning to enter the wooshing stage again. It's like clock work - resting/romping/resting. It's the exact same cycle that occurred with her other leg that actually had a torn ACL.

This is good news and would explain her general great mood and periodic lameness. Hopefully the tumor is in retreat. We're counting down for her first x-ray check-up early next week. If it shows less tumor and healthier bone mass, next up will be a date with Dr Chris to fix the ACL and get her off Rug Island.

Rug Island

Week Three: Princess and I are marooned on Rug Island for 22 days now. On Rug Island there's not much in the way of recreation for a dog and her master. There's no rough housing with brothers Blitz and Jake. Absolutely forbidden is wooshing with sister Pig Pen. Also, ball catching, chasing birds or general mayhem is out - just an occasional calm walk. Mostly just laying in her jacket on an oriental rug - Fun!  Aside from the occasional  glimpse of the rescue ship SS Progress, it's been pretty much the same. Day after day, no sunscreen required. Occasional sightings of SS Progress have caused us to jump and shout for joy. "It's Working!!" Hopefully it is, but we've settled in for the long haul and its a life changing emotional roller coaster.

Rug Island Day 22

Princess is a dog that we love like family. Her cancer is a relative crisis for us but trivial in comparison to people caring for seriously ill family members. They are all around us; at work, in traffic, the store, everywhere. Like us, they're in a holding pattern and they don't let on how tough they have it. Let's keep this in mind and be more kind to to each other at least for the rest of this week - hopefully longer.

Princess heavily favored her right hind leg for the last several days. Today she began walking on it.  We believe that she injured it slipping on the floor Sunday November 6th. She's now recovering from that injury. Her weight is slightly up at 82 lbs. Seven pounds heavier than her diagnosis day October 17th. She has a strong appetite and appears in all other ways a healthy dog. We've been in contact with Dr. Chris for her follow-up x-ray next week. Hopefully, the good news of progress will pluck us from Rug Island for a shower, some junk food and a couple of days of relief.

Fun Hangover 11/07/2011

An entire weekend has passed since I wrote about Best Dog Ever. Sorry! Princess had a very active weekend. Friday was a great day for her - a banner one in fact, close as normal as ever. She was walking on both hind legs and appearing stronger than ever. Later in the evening, we took her to the lake for a walk. She hit the trail hard, walking pretty much normally out and back for about half a mile. We met many friends along the trail and all was good. 

At the Lake

Meeting Friends

Saturday morning, Princess was understandably stiff. I chalked it up to a "fun hangover."  My father used to say that the severity of a hangover was in direct proportion to the amount of fun that you had the night before. True that. For most of Saturday Princess rested.  Returning home from our day's activities, we found her ready to rumble. Without exception, we attempt to keep Best Girl calm. Our fear is that she will injure or break her weakened rear leg. Problem is, Princess acts like she feels. That evening, invigorated from her rest, she romped around, slipped on the floor and apparently slightly injured her leg. We don't think that it was serious, but she's heavily favoring it today.

Our family has had six Rotties in our lives over the years. Most have passed. There was Sebastian, a young male and good friend who died prematurely of heart failure at two and a half, Tiberius a beautiful large loving patient male with a dominant streak,  Carley, a persnickety female who lived along with Ti, loved her people and grew into a grand old girl and Lily, a powerfully athletic and unpredictable dog who loved JUST her people, Still with us and our extended family are Princess and her half brother from another mother Jake.

Two things about Rotties; They love their people and they know their job - to protect her people. Princess has assigned herself the job of  family security specialist early on. Days when she's alone, she lays by the front door silently guarding the house. With family present, she keeps track of everything and everybody. She knows who's coming and going. If any "horseplay" goes on she quickly brings it to an end. She's a peace keeper. She goes through the "Fearsome Rottweiler Act" well but clearly there's not a hurtful ounce in her body. Saturday night, with her leg in relative pain, she climbed the stairs to the second floor landing an guarded the girls all night as they slept. No rest for the weary, in her mind, the job goes on.

Guard Duty?

Today is treatment day twenty. She's staying off her leg for the most part. Right now she's peacefully zonked. After all, it was a huge weekend !  Princess took a  major walk, played with the kids, got a visit from daughter KK visiting from college, went to a soccer game and got lots of attention and many treats. Way more than her normal routine. She was up for it. So today Princess is not one hundred percent of what she was Friday afternoon. Hopefully it's "Fun Hangover". We'll keep a close watch on her in the coming days.

ZONKED!

A Day at the Lake November 2, 2011

Before all of this went down, we'd walk the trails and lakeside of the state park near our home.  She's feeling good this week so today we took her up to the lake.  When she saw the lake and began our short walk, she pulled on the leash like a freight train - both hind legs working. She knows better. She's normally a pretty good walker. Not the best, but under the circumstances, it was ok. Actually not just OK, it was fantastic.

We don't know whether we're on track of curing her underlying condition, pain medicating or both.  Personality wise, Princess is her normal self. She does not act like we think a gravely ill dog on pain medications should act. We see this as a hopeful sign. We'll know soon enough on her follow-up with Dr. Chris in 2 weeks.

It's our burden as her human "parents" to worry about her condition and hope and pray for what we want to be the eventual outcome of this all.  A minute doesn't pass that we don't think about it. But to Princess, life's good! She's got all the food, attention, and the freedom to lay around all day. Right now, she's peacefully napping in the sun - her legs twitching. We call that running in the fields. We're glad that she's so happy and doing well. Maybe she's dreaming of her beautiful day at the lake. We sure hope so. 

A Normal Day Nov 1, 2011

Princess is acting pretty much like a normal dog today. She woke up energetic and ready for something -what I'm not sure. She followed me around and giving me her "flat headed" look. That's when she brings her ears up level with her head and makes it look flat all the way across. Flat heading is a sign of concern and usually means that she needs to go out. I'll say to my wife; "she's flat heading me". I took her out a few times and she kept it up. First time was normal business all taken care of. After that she went for a stroll in the yard and then sat in the sun. Darn she's smart! Later in the afternoon, we went for a car ride and 5 minute walk on the leash. She walked normally but we didn't push it.

On the business side of things, Wife K spoke to Dr Chris about Princess's condition. K told him that Princess was doing great. Dr. Chris wants to do a follow-up x-ray of Princess in about 2 weeks. That would be around the 30 day mark. In the original study, Navy the young female Golden Retriever for which this treatment is named, had a rapidly growing mass on her right limb at the elbow. Her condition was diagnosed as recurrent fibrosarcoma and evidence for metastatic disease. After 30 days on the protocol her tumor had reduced 50%. After 60 days it was no longer visible. Read the whole study here. Navy's case study starts on page 22.

http://27ground.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/navyprotocolfinal.pdf


So far, we've been following Navy's Protocol exactly; same drugs, same dosage and same timing. So we are following up at 30 and 60 days with x-rays just like Navy. We'll hope for good results.

On the lighter side, a few weeks ago, K picked up Princess's original dose of medication at our local CVS. After a brief wait with many people around, the druggist finally called out "Princess Patterson?" When K stood up everyone looked at her sympathetically about her having such a name as Princess. She announced to the room that it was for her dog. Right, that's the same thing I do if I'm buying something embarrassing. I always say "It's for a friend". The clerk always give me the I don't give a @#$ look. Hey,  I don't care either, but it is funny. Today it's my turn to pick up the med's for weeks 3-4. When they call Princess Patterson, I'm going to just walk up and pay.  Thanks for reading!

Mission Accomplished 10/31/2011

Happy Monday! It's been 14 days since the horrible news of Princess's diagnosis. This morning she's favoring her right (bad) leg. That's normal for early in the day and also possibly caused by this week's freak snowstorm. Taking her outside in the snow resulted in some spontaneous wooshing.
We stopped her quickly and luckily, no harm done. We're glad that she's feeling well enough to woosh and plan to walk her on the leash from now on.

Good Feelings Unleashed!

This week we'll focus on how she feels prior to receiving her medication each day. It would makes sense that if she's using her leg as her medication wears off, it must be improving overall. She usually warms up and walks slowly but normally by mid-afternoon. I'm planning a short walk each afternoon to strengthen her leg.


We've come a long way in two weeks.   Navy Protocol is an "experimental" treatment for canine cancer. Princess's participation required our vet's involvement. Dr. Chris reviewed the research and agreed that it was a good choice for Princess. He prescribed just two weeks of medications to start.  That worried me but thinking back, it was a good move. First, the medications are relatively expensive. (two weeks cost $175), second, he wanted to see how she tolerated it and third, Princess had very little time left. We've happy to say that she has no trouble with the medication (no apparent negative side effects), and that she's still here to take them. Wife K called Dr. Chris today for two more weeks of medication. She's also gathering all of Princess's initial x-rays from both vets for comparison as we move forward. We'll now settle in for hopefully the long haul and plan on a trip to Dr. Chris in about 3-4 weeks.

So today is a milestone and celebration of sorts. We're thankful to have accomplished everything that we set out to do that fateful Monday. That is; make her comfortable, keep her with us and spoil the heck out of her.  On all three things, Mission Accomplished! Best Girl is comfortable, happy and doing well. She's getting a ton of hugs and attention, a can of dog food a day, many pizza crusts and a spot on the bed under the covers. What more could a dog ask for? Thanks to all. Please feel free to pass our story to a friend. They can find it at: http://pappysassafrass.blogspot.com/

Round Two Let's Get Ready to Rumble Saturday 10/29/11

In our corner, Weighing in at 80lbs, Princess, Best Dog ever!

Bring it on!

Had I been successful in teaching Princess to read a few years back, she would have read my last post and urged me to have faith.  She's still in this fight. Many rounds to go with no guarantees. Win or lose, Princess has done herself proud. Best Girl had a tremendous round one and her recent slowdown day apparently was her resting for round two. It's been 12 days. Gene, our research scientist friend tells us that the tumor should begin to subside around 14 days.

Son B and I weighed Best Dog last night. She weighs 80 lbs - her normal weight. Each day we've replaced a cup of her normal dry food with the half can of Purina One mixed with her medications. So daily she eats a can of Purina One and two cups of Buffalo Blue dry food. It's working, so no more cheese parties for now.

Princess was again ready to rock yesterday. She came out swinging and delivered a great combination to open round two. After a walk around the yard, daugher JJ. She came back and excitedly told us that Princess was walking almost normally. I noticed that earlier in the day. She's walking on both hind legs. Big headed Bullfrog Hopper has now become Big Headed Walker. Also, for the last few weeks, I've been carrying Princess up the considerable stairway to front door. Yesterday she walked right up slowly with no hesitation.

We consider this a great sign. Earlier in the week, Wife K and I discussed her rehabilitation. Her leg has become weak from non-use. Now she's ready to go walking. Starting next week, we're going to ask Princess if she wants to go walking - and mean it. Short walks on a leash to strengthen her recovering right leg. Unbelievable. Let's get ready to rumble!!!

Sanity Check Friday 10/28/2011

Best Girl Ever isn't one to spoil the party but today she slowed down some and her leg hurt a little.

When we got the diagnosis of her cancer we were devastated.  But not for long. Within a half day we were energized with a mission to cure cancer.  No time to think about what's to come. So armed with the latest research, we set out to win - to cure cancer.  Not much right?  Cure the same cancer that kills millions of kids, killed my dad,  my grandparents, my friends and now my dog.  No way. I hate it.

Princess continues to do well but her slow-down forces me to think that this might be too much to ask. Surely it is but we hope and pray for a miracle for Princesses everywhere.


Princess is trying. She'll never give up. We're sticking to the program and we've enjoyed a great week with her that we wouldn't have had.  We've totally loved and spoiled her for a week. Thanks so much for reading our story and for all of your support. We hope that she continues to improve.

Princess 10/27/2011

Lounging Jacket October 27th 2011

Its that time again on the east coast of the United States - fall, quickly followed by winter. As the days started to cool, I remembered how much Princess liked her jacket. Last weekend we dug it out of the closet. One of the key phases that she definitely knows is; " you want your jacket?" most days in the winter months  I'm working in the house in full winter garb and Princess is in her jacket.

Chillin in Her Jacket

Princess is about the same today, we just went for a walk around the yard and she pretty much walked on "the leg".  It's been a couple of weeks since she even put it down so its gotten pretty weak. Her left leg is strong as a bull frogs leg from all that hopping.

Bull Frog Leg in Action

Its been 10 days and 19 doses of Navy Protocol Drugs since Princess's diagnosis. I can say without a doubt that she has improved steadily each day. We can't see what's inside her leg, but she does not appear to be in any pain and she's starting to walk on it. Soon, we'll be taking her back to our primary vet for a check-up. I think he'll be impressed!
The speed of this turn-around is astounding. If  Best Girl can live out whatever time she has left in this condition, it will be a miracle.  Even if the cancer has not abated, the Navy Protocol routine has brought her back to a pain-free happy state for these last days. But we're hoping for better. Not just for Princess but for all of your dogs out there. Stay with us and I'll continue to document her progress and pray for her recovery.

Best Girl Ever

A Long Way From Home October 26th 2011

I had to travel out of town on business this week. Left yesterday and just got in the door. Princess gave me an enthusiastic welcome home fit for a King! She's doing great!! Walking on her right leg from time to time and even thinking about Wooshing. Wooshing is what we call what dogs do when they're happy, healthy and full of energy. They run around like mad cutting in an out. She's was quite good at Wooshing. I don't dare hope that maybe she'll might get back to it some day.

Knowing that I was leaving, I figured that I might have to skip writing since I was not going to be around to watch Princess during the day. Quite the opposite.  She was on my mind constantly. I realize how fortunate I am to be able to be with her during the day. I work from home. Princess and I spend most days together; me talking on the phone and typing, Princess laying close by - usually in the sun. I'm incredibly grateful for that time - especially now.  Every so often during the day I talk to Princess. She knows lots of phrases that usually start with "you wanna" followed by "go for car ride", "go walking" "get a treat". There's also the "who's here?" or "go check" or "the kids are home" or "put buck(our rabbit) in his cage" at which time she herds him back home. There are many others and I'm sure that your dogs do the same amazing things.

I'm thinking of all of you who are in the same situation as our family. A loved pet who's ill. Most people can't spend days with their pets like I can. It must be incredibly hard. The other day I was cleaning out some papers and ran across a large note on a card that said "SIT". I vaguely remember trying to teach Princess to read with questionable success. Why I wrote it so big, I don't know. She sees fine.  She's no genius but she's smart.

So she's had another great day. She seems pain free and using her leg more often. We've had to ration her food. Her appetite has increased quite a bit. Much more than even before the cancer diagnosis. If you remember in week one she gained 6 lbs. We plan on weighing her on Friday. We are so happy. All good for now.

Monday October 24th Day 7

After her nap in the bed (Sat/Sun post) Big Headed Bed Jumper woke up alert and seemingly pain free. Eating was on her mind. Princess was never really much of an eater. Those dogs on TV devouring their food must be starved. My oldest daughter's dog Pig Pen is the exception. Pig Pen is a pug mix that eats at a FURIOUS pace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFfeE6by6mQ

I've even thought of having fast eating human friends race her at eating various things. Funny. Point probably is (there's one here somewhere) that these dogs are so much a part of the fun in our lives that we can't imagine life without them. But as dog owners that time always comes. Someone told me that the reason dogs pass before us is because they couldn't cope with the opposite. For Princess this is probably true. She's my constant companion.

Lily (l) and Princess in the Mountains

Princess got up stiffly today and immediately started test walking on her right leg. I love the mission of the Navy Protocol; cut off the tumor supply line, prevent new ones and starve the bastard to death. It's a simple warfare tactic really and one that I understand. Cancer and tree vines are alike. They both start small and then grow to starve the host to death. I know how to kill a vine. Cut it at the bottom and starve it to death. It's too complicated at the top. Best dog and I took a short car ride this morning. She was definitely up for it. When we returned I walked her slowly around the house. For about 60% of the time she used both hind legs. Amazing.  After that, she chilled in her jacket most of the afternoon.

This afternoon Gene stopped by to see Princess. She was glad to see him and greeted him accordingly. He loves that dog. Gene rescued Princesses "brother" Rottie Jake. Princess and Jake are good dog friends. Gene and I discussed Princesses progress so far. We both hope for the best.

Saturday and Sunday Oct 22 - 23 Days 5 and 6

Happy Monday! We had a good weekend of progress with Best Girl Ever Princess. Right now she's earning her nick name of Big Headed Bed Sleeper. Since the horrible news, we're committed to spoiling her rotten. Princess handles this well. Hence the name. The last of our worries at this time is breaking bad habits should she live. It will be our pleasure. 

Saturday October 22 Day 5
On Monday after the horrible news I thought of keeping her alive long enough for our kids to see her one last time.  By now we've told them all. From the diagnosis on Monday I figured that that Princess would spend a medicated week and be put down on Friday. So today is a bonus day with her.  Plus, she's improved. Except for the lameness, she's acting normally. Except for the shooting, how did you like the play Mrs Lincoln? She still has the cancer and we can't look inside her leg, but from her actions she's feeling better and stronger each day. I don't know if Navy is curing her, but at least it's making her feel great and strong. Our plan should she keep improving is for Dr C to x-ray her at 30 and 60 days.

She's alert with no sign that she's in pain. This morning she started to test her right leg. I assume that its too painful because she quit that fairly fast. Last night we weighed her and she was 81 lbs. She's gained 6lbs in 5 days. To me that's a plus except when I carry her up the stairs.

 

Princess (L) and Lily Happy Times

I've had to put down two very good pet friends over the years. First was Magic, our 18 year old cat and friend. Magic was a perfect gentlemen that we had since he was 3 months old. The second was Lily our last rescue Rottweiler. Lily had racked up a history of aggression and trouble in her short two and a half years. Like all Rotties, she loved her people and we loved her.  Lily was our dog when we adopted Princess. She was a rescue as well and the two dogs became great friends. After about a year, she attacked Princess viciously causing extensive damage to her face and neck. At the advice of our vet and many others, we put Lily down. Me, K and son B took her that morning.  We all lay on the floor hugging her while she was euthanized., The disturbing part of that whole process of taking your pet to their end - other than losing a friend forever is that they trust that you'll never let harm come to them. I felt that I betrayed her trust and she went right along. Over the years I've rationalized it. It was the right decision. She was too unstable for family life and she betrayed us by attacking a family member.  There was nowhere else to go. We still miss her terribly. 

Princess is the perfect dog. She greets everyone in a gentle way. She's never aggressive. It's 9am on Saturday and everyone's coming and going. She's resolved to chill - alive and comfortable. I left early to do some work away from the house. When I returned, Princess was ready to rock. We walked around the back yard to the front. She went towards the road and amazingly test walked on her lame leg all the way up the driveway around 60 feet. Later in the evening KK came to see her. She went out the door happy and alert. This was a good day for all of us.

Sunday October 24th Day 6

We're not sure of the reason for Princesses good mood and quickly improving condition. Last Monday, primary and second opinion vets told us that soon, Princess would need narcotic based pain medication to manage intense pain. Is Celebrex that strong? She's completely favoring her right leg but starting to test it. She doesn't seem to be in any pain. Me and K have reached a state of equilibrium. We both agree that if Princess stays just like this, moving slowly, having to be helped at times, but in great spirits, we're good for however long it lasts. But she's gotten better since then!




 

Week One October Navy Protocol

It's been 6 days since we started Princess on Navy Protocol.  I decided to write this blog today October 24th so I've got some catching up to do.  These are the events and at times my random thoughts for the period of October 18th-21st.

This is now my real time log of each day


Tuesday October 18th Day 1 Dose #1

Yesterday was the day that we got the diagnosis about Princesses cancer. Our next activities involve getting our primary vet on-board.   We faxed him the Navy Protocol Research paper and were waiting for him to review it. A vet has to supervise and prescribe the medications.

Hopefully we'll start the Navy Protocol today. I'm desperate for progress. K faxed everything to Dr C this morning. It's been all day and no word yet. I call the vet and plead with the receptionist to give  Dr. C the paper and have him call me. I break down and cry as I try to give her my number. (Turns out, Doctor C had reviewed the entire paper and called my wife back. He's not heard of Navy Protocol but after reviewing the paper, agreed to give it a try. ) 

Princess had a nice day overall. She sat in the sun for hours peacefully. I'm carrying her up and down steps to go out. She walks the levels hopping on her left leg and holding the right one up. She's not interested in playing. Her appetite for cheese is good so we have a cheese party on the deck. This evening K came home with the medication from the CVS. and Dr. C.  I'm so hopefull!  I mix 3 Doxycycline, one celebrex and a crushed half tablet of Tamoxifen onto a plate and mixed it with a can of Purina One Beef flavor.  

THIS IS THE DOSE FOR AN 85+ POUND DOG. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VET SUPERVISES THIS AND THAT YOU USE IT CORRECTLY

We're on our way! Dose one down the hatch. This evening her right leg hangs uselessly and is evidently painful. Still, she wagged her small tail and seemed very pleased when K and the kids came home. She's getting a lot of attention. One day at a time.

Wednesday October 19th Day 2 Doses 2 and 3

Princess is less mobile today. She's alert and seems to be in less pain. I gave her dose 2 this morning mixed in a batch of scrambled eggs. After K and the kids left, she was zonked for about an hour. I lifted her onto the bed at around 10:30am. She's staying put - not following me around at all. Now its 12:46pm and she's panting heavily. Hang in there girl. I asked her if she wanted to go for a car ride. She seems interested but not moving. I don't want to stress her leg. Dr C says it could break because the cancer weakened the bone. Gene's research says that we should see some improvement at about 14 days. I can't tell you how grateful we are for Gene's help in this. It's 3:08 pm and JJ coming home from school. Princess got up and brought JJ a ball then went and then got a big drink. It's a small thing but until this time she's been quiet all day. She's in good spirits this evening. Her leg is hanging mostly useless. Took dose 3 with some left overs.


Thursday October 20th Day 3 Doses 4 and 5


Princey woke up in good spirits today. Wolfed down dose 5 with 2/3 can of Purina One. She loves that stuff! (We didn't feed Princess canned food until this week. Up until now we've fed her Buffalo Blue dry food for large breed. The canned food is a treat for her and easy to mix the doses.) The daily dosing is stressful for me. If she stops eating, its over. Good start today. Princess shredded my empty cereal box as usual. What a strong girl. I went out for about a half and hour and she had climbed the stairs to the landing. All this is very positive no matter what the eventual outcome. I know that Princess and all of us are enjoying our time together after learning this horrible news. Princess is much more active today. She is very hungry and interested in eating. Her leg hangs uselessly. I think that her starting to use it again will be a key sign of progress. Told two of my Kids Lins and KK about Princess. They love Princess like a sister. It was hard. After reading up on the NP, they are hopeful as we are. Dose 5 at 7pm no problem. One day at a time.

Friday October 21, 2011 Day 4 Doses 6 and 7 


We've been giving her the medications twice a day 7am and 7pm each time mixed with a can of dog food. Unless something changes, I'll leave it out of the blog

I'm thinking of getting a tattoo of Princess. Her courage is inspiring, broken families, SPCA, private kennels, a dog attack that left her severely wounded. She's fought back from them all. One family adopted Princess and returned her because she licked their carpets(she still does that). Who sends a great dog back to a kennel for that? What the @#$% is wrong with people? She deserves to be on a tattoo. She's sat through hours of me ranting and raving as I work from home, and hours of musical practice and rehearsals. Never a mean word.

Today Princess woke in good spirits but rested quietly most of the day. Gene says that the Celebrex is probably easing her pain and we need to be cautious about her stressing her weakened leg bone. She still does not put any weight on it. Princey seems tired of not being 100%.

I'll cover Friday and Saturday tomorrow. We've had some great developments over the weekend. 

Intro Surgery Day October 17th 2011

Princess and Buck

Princess on the Run

Relaxing at Home

Princess is our 5 1/2 year old Rottweiler.  She had a tough life in her first one and a half years - two owners and two kennels.  She was thin and kind of funny looking when we met. She needed a break and a home.  We loved her beautiful kind spirit and adopted her immediately.   Her name was always Princess, named by the daughter of her first owner. It sounded strange to us at first and we thought about changing it, but soon it  grew on us. Funny how that always happens. Since then, she's earned plenty of other nick names; Best Dog Ever, Big Headed Kisser, Woofallo, Best Girl, and others.  One thing about Rotties, they love their people - and we love her.  She loves our family, friends, walks, and car rides.  Princess knows every trail in the state park near our home.  A few years ago, she tore her ACL on the left side. Our primary vet surgically repaired it and Princess recovered better than ever.

About three weeks ago, she starting limping favoring the other non-repaired right leg.  About one week later we took Princess to the vet who examined her and found the knee joint to be unstable. Suspecting another ACL tear, we scheduled surgery about a week later on Monday October 17th 2011.  A couple of days before the surgery Princess stopped eating and had very little energy. I figured that it was due to the pain and looked forward to her recovery.  Monday morning Princess and I made the trip to the vets about an hour from our home. Princess was limping heavily and appeared thin. I mentioned that Princess had not eaten in two days.  At her weigh in, Princess had dropped from 79 to 75 pounds in about a week and a half.

As I left the vet, I saw Best Girl walking away politely with the vet tech. It was 8:15am. At 10am that morning my wife called crying. Our primary vet had called and told her that Princess had cancer in her right leg. We were in disbelief! How could it be? Was it a mistake? We cried driving all the way back to the vet. Once there, the news was grim, Osteosarcoma, Princess had a few months a best.  After the consultation, our vet recommended we get a second opinion. We scheduled it for that same day and drove straight there. At the veterinary referral clinic, opinion two sunk in. The diagnosis was unchanged and Princess was doomed. As I recall, our second opinion vet very clinically outlined the following options:

• Do nothing and Princess would suffer and die shortly. 
• Give Princess pain medication to keep her comfortable for a while and euthanize her shortly 
• Amputate the leg and Princess would die in about 3 months
• Amputate the leg and start chemotherapy and Princess could live one to three years longer. 

 He noted that at this stage, Princess will soon begin to be in considerable pain without narcotic pain medication. I asked him. "If this were your dog what would you do?" He said: "she seems like a nice dog. I'd try everything. But I do not have to be concerned with price." The vet then sent an "administrative person" in next to discuss price. The amputation and chemo option would cost around $13,000 and the chemo was a long arduous process.

We left heartbroken with Best Girl Ever

We had told a few close friends earlier and on the way home our friend Gene, a research scientist by trade had emailed us a pdf of a research paper on Navy Protocol. Navy was the name of a dog who survived cancer and the Protocol was a mix of commonly prescribed drugs; Doxycycline Hyclate, Tamoxifen and  Celebrex, that had powerful cancer fighting properties. Together they were used in an experimental canine cancer treatment. Gene had been trying to reach us all day, worried that we had decided to put Princess down on the grim news and in a hope that she would not suffer. Of course we hadn't and still had Best Girl with us. My wife drove while I read the paper. We had hope! Next day, and under the supervision of our primary vet, Princess started the Navy Protocol.  Thank you Gene. No matter what the outcome, you have given us hope.

This is a Blog about our journey to hopefully cure Princess of cancer and continue our lovely journey together and to give hope to others in the same situation.

For more information on Navy Protocol go to:
http://www.angio.org

http://27ground.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/navyprotocolfinal.pdf

The start of our story

This is our dog Princess, also known as Best Dog Ever.  She was recently diagnosed with bone cancer.