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I hate to just pop up again and b*tch, but if I don’t get this out somewhere, I think my head will explode. 🙄
Y’all may remember that back in July we lost our older cat, Neige. Well, the fun doesn’t end there. In the beginning of August, I was laid off from work, and so far haven’t been able to find anything in my field. With the market the way it is, the number of people out of work and looking means the prospective employers are able to be picky and not have to “settle” for a candidate that may not have *ALL* the desired requirements. And this time of year is usually slow to begin with. I’ve been spending about 4-5 hours a day hunting through the job websites, and have sent about 2 dozen resumes, and still nothing.
As if this isn’t enough, in October, we lost a very dear friend quite unexpectedly. He was one of my music mentors; we shared a LOT of different files on the computer for the keyboards, he’d come out if our band was playing, and we go to see him if he was playing.And now, our beloved Great Pyrenees, Flurry, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. She’s almost 11, and up to now has been healthy and happy. With me out of work, we can’t afford to do the intensive chemo–one shot was over $300! 😮 Not to mention that even *with* the chemo she might have at best a couple of months to maybe a year. It’s already gone metastatic. We found it only because she was starting to have trouble breathing. The x-rays showed massive amounts of fluid in her chest cavity–Not in her lungs, which could be treated with diuretics, but between her lungs and her ribs. Our vet tried to get it out with needle aspiration, but could only get 8 millilters. She recommended we go see a specialist. We did, and they got 2300 mls of serous fluid out. The lab reports showed the cancer cells were in the fluid. We don’t know where the primary cancer is; no enlarged lymph nodes, no tumors in the abdomen, and her lungs were clear. Not that it matters; we wouldn’t do surgery anyway given her age.
Flurry is now on prednisone, and the only question is how long will it be before the fluid comes back, because it will. 😥
She doesn’t seem to be in any pain, and once the fluid was drained her breathing improved. It’s a quality of life vs. quantity of life thing now.I’ve been spending a lot of time researching supportive diets and I’ve changed her diet to home cooked meats with supplements of large amounts of salmon oil, canned salmon, sardines, cottage cheese, yogurt and vegetables. A good friend down in FL uses a good holistic vet, and I’ve cleared all the things we’ve added with her. Flurry’s also getting echinacea, goldenseal, reishi/maitake mushroom extract, and transfer factor to try to boost her immune system. If nothing else, she’s certainly enjoying dinner a lot more.
To say that I’m just a *little* stressed right now is like saying it’s a little chilly in Alaska. She’s the best dog we’ve ever had; she sailed through obedience training and got her obedience title in just 3 shows when she was under a year old. She’s the only dog from her breeder to ever do that, and this woman has been breeding Great Pyrenees for over 20 years. We’ve done therapy dog work when she was younger. I was working on agility with her until I blew an Achilles’ tendon back in 2001.
At this point all I want is for her to get through the holidays so we can spoil the daylights out of her even more, and if we get that far, then the next goal would be to make it to her 11th birthday in Feb. The life span of the Pyr’s is 10-14 years. I would dearly love to see her make her birthday.
Sorry to unload on you all yet again….. 😳No problem–I do it myself. You have to just to get it all out there. I have to tell you that the Great Pyrenees is my dream dog. First time I saw this breed was right in the town I live–an older couple had one outside of a Sears store. It was beautiful–pure white! If I ever got one I would name it Antarctica!
It is so sad when our fur babies start getting up in age and having problems. With the age of the dog, yes, surgery would definitely be out of the question. You’re just trying to make her remaining years comfortable. It’s so hard when you’re out of work and money is scarce. I would probably do the same thing–just do the best I can–better diet etc. But it just seems that one bad thing follows another–one loss after another and then financial worries.
But feel free to post your frustrations–we all do from time to time–it helps. I feel better after I’ve done this myself and see the support of the other members. No one here has life stress free. So let us know how things are going with Flurry and I hope she does make it to her birthday this February. 🙂
I am so sorry. We just lost our dog Nikki to lymphoma and it was a terrible thing.
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My art: featherdust.comI’m so sorry. It is never easy when our furkids are sick or injured. **hugs and gentle pats and hugs for Flurry**
Awww, I am so sorry to hear that. 😥 Lucky dog to have such a loving mom to spoil and cook for her! She is obviously so loved, and I’m sure she knows it! {{hugs}}
Well, today Flurry’s looking better than she has for the last few days; I’m thinking the shot of chemo might have been what was making her seem more off. From what I’ve been able to find on line, dogs don’t have as *bad* a reaction to the stuff as humans, due to smaller dosages, but they DO react. This morning Flurry’s not quite her usual bubbly self, but she is certainly closer than she has been. We were able to do just the one shot (the one that was $300) but that will be the only one. If we need to do subsequent chest taps, we can and will. She doesn’t even flinch or fidget for that. The vets were marvelling at that. Pyrs are extremely stoic–they don’t show pain until it’s extreme, which makes them a difficult patient to diagnose since by the time they show pain, it can be far too late. She was unsteady on her back legs yesterday, but this morning she’s getting around pretty well. Her enthusiasm for cookies hasn’t changed. :yum:
I would be interested in hearing from anyone about their experience with lymphoma in their pets: good, bad, otherwise; how much time you had between diagnosis and the eventual loss of the pet, chemo/no chemo, remission times, etc. if it isn’t too painful to recall and list.
And thanks for being here, guys. It does mean a lot to me. 🙂
LadyFirebird wrote:I have to tell you that the Great Pyrenees is my dream dog. First time I saw this breed was right in the town I live–an older couple had one outside of a Sears store. It was beautiful–pure white! If I ever got one I would name it Antarctica!
They are a neat breed. And not a very common one. We had to search for a breeder. Flurry’s “official” registered name is “Pyrless Blizzard of Odds, CGC, CD, TD”
As a rule they’re NOT known for their obedience; when asked to “Come” they often decide to “take a message and get back to you later”. And they shed…..lots and LOTS of shedding–they blow coat twice a year; the fur literally comes out in tufts and clumps. The birds here live in luxury nests, because I take all the shed fur I can gather and put it outside for them to take. It looks like I’ve just shorn a good sized sheep sometimes. They can be escape artists, digging under or going over large fences with a single bound. 😀 And bark…..they bark at air molecules…let’s not forget that, although again Flurry is somewhat unusual for her breed. She’s a phenomenal watchdog…a mouse couldn’t get in here without her knowing, and I pity the poor fool who tries to come in without our blessings. But she generally doesn’t go overboard and will quit when told that’s enough. They are wonderful with children, and don’t drool like St. Bernards or Newfies. I would get another Pyr in a hot second if I were about 10 years younger. The reason I say that is because she weighs about 85 lbs, and I can’t lift her on my own anymore. If something happens to her and my husband isn’t here or I can’t get anyone to help, I can’t get her into the car alone. And at 85 lbs, she’s on the lower end of the breed’s size scale. A big male can go about 125 lbs or more. The biggest I can lift is about 65 lbs. I’ve tried. It really sux to get old. 😛
Sorry to hear the news about poor Flurry, on top of everything else that’s going on. 🙁 At least she’s getting to enjoy some real gourmet eating!
Adaneth wrote:Sorry to hear the news about poor Flurry, on top of everything else that’s going on. 🙁 At least she’s getting to enjoy some real gourmet eating!
Yeah….if there is anything that can be said to be positive about losing my job, it’s that I get to spend more and better time with my dog! 😀 The menu tonight is venison steak (rare) saute`d in extra virgin olive oil, with peas and carrots and a side helping of salmon. :yum:
Oh, and I also forgot to mention in the original post that in the midst of all this, my husband was using my car, and got into a wreck. $5000 worth of damage, and a $750 deductible. Phooey. It’s like life in a beaver colony:one dam thing after another. 🙄 🙄 But at least he was okay, and so was the other driver……
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