Oh My Dog!

Love this: Emmett isn't paying attention, and Lucas looks like a total goon!

For the past few months, I obsessed over dog food research. I want to switch the boys to a high-quality kibble because I want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep Emmett healthy and cancer-free. Let me tell you… the research available on dog food is pitiful, at best. Plus, the more I learned, the more distressed I was about the options. However, after weighing it all out, I (think) we’re switching to Wellness, though I haven’t yet committed enough to purchase a bag. (I keep going between that and Innova or Blue Buffalo… any opinions/ideas/benefits/drawbacks to either??)

Over my search, I encountered several useful sites and wanted to share them here because I know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be to research dog food:

• Dog Food Analysis: Rankings and reviews that include the product labels. Very helpful.
• FDA’s explanation of pet food labels: Dense, but useful. I learned a lot about what terms mean and it helped me to eliminate some options.
• The Dog Food Project: Detailed information on labels, how to read labels, and brand comparisons.

I know this is a highly contentious topic, especially with the movement for home-cooked and raw diets – neither of which are possible in our case for a variety of reasons, though we currently and will continue to supplement their kibble with meat and fresh fruits and vegetables.

What do you think? Any experience with the foods I mentioned? Or any research recommendations? I want to make this decision within the next couple of days so that I can purchase the new food while I still have some old food left to transition!!

Lucas and Emmett wear ribbons supporting a person-friend who's also fighting cancer.

Recently I was alerted to a new site/forum, Fight Dog Cancer,  dedicated to fighting dog cancer through owners sharing their stories.  I created a profile for Emmett, using my favorite pic and sharing our story. Already we’ve connected with an amazing resource on nutrition for fighting off cancer. Definitely check it out – it can only get better as the community grows.

In honor of Veterans Day, this collection of videos reminds us how hard a soldier’s absence is for his or her whole family – including the furry members. Watch with tissues nearby, and remember to thank a Veteran today!

Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers

Emmett gathers his toys

Yesterday Emmett had his three-month check at the oncologist in Indianapolis. Though he’s been having his leg checked monthly at our local vet, this check was the big one, to see if the cancer had metastasized in his lungs.

The oncologist gave him a thorough exam, checking his lymph nodes (clear!!) and his leg (also clear!!). So the only thing left were the xrays. But, frustratingly, they’re digital xrays and their servers were down… so they were able to get the pictures, but not the results. He said they’d call us on Thursday.

Imagine our surprise when we got home tonight to a voicemail from the oncologist letting us know that the xrays were all clear! There was nothing to indicate metastasis and nothing that is cause for alarm! So we are celebrating tonight! WOOHOO!

Our next steps are to continue the monthly leg checks at our local vet – there is some scar tissue building up, but so far no signs of recurrence – and to go back for another round of chest xrays in January.

We are ecstatic and just so relieved. But all we can say at this point, from the bottom of our hearts, is thank you. Thank you, everyone, for all your happy thoughts and good wishes. You have no idea how much your kind emails, comments, cards, thoughts and prayers have helped us and have, obviously, helped Emmett. Thank you so, so much. We are forever grateful.

Last night, we went out to get after-dinner lattes. We got home to find our little box of recycling had been flipped over, Dr. Pepper spilled down the wall, and a lid and tin can of Blue Buffalo lamb dinner missing… to be discovered on top of Emmett’s bed, licked clean. While that is just annoying because, first, we should know better than to leave recycling in the house and because, second, Emmett will never be able to control his counter surfing… I was just so relieved that neither of them were injured from the tin can. I have a scar on my right index finger from when I  slashed it on the lid of a tuna can when I was about 10 years old. So as soon as I saw what happened, I was prying open their mouths checking for any cuts or scrapes. UGH.

But that got me thinking…

This past spring, we took a Pet First Aid class sponsored by the Red Cross. Luckily, we’ve barely needed to use the knowledge that we picked up; however, a few things have come in handy, like which products are safe to clean wounds (hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic ointment like Neosporin). It’s also reassuring to know that we do know what to do in case one of them chokes, stops breathing, or ends up with a more serious wound. Here are a couple of useful links to reference:

Prepare.org: First Aid for Animals

First Aid Skills Can Help Save a Life – Your Pet’s by the Red Cross

I would also recommend picking up the Red Cross’ book, Dog First Aid. We got a copy as part of the course, and it’s proved to be a useful resource.

The important thing is that you do all this preparation before an emergency, because the last thing you want to do if your dog is choking or has become injured is to start googling what to do!

I scour the internet practically daily (with Emmett’s help, of course), reading tons of great posts and articles about pup-related topics. There were a few from this week that I wanted to pass along:

Dolittler: Five practical tips for weight loss in pets

The Other End of the Leash: Love, Guilt & Putting Dogs Down

Bad Rap Blog: Dogfighting videos = free speech?

What about you: Any good links to share?

Post-opp: Lucas watches over Emmett

I realized today that after weeks of writing about nothing other than the cancer situation with Emmett, I failed to post the results. The surgery to remove the lump on his leg was successful. The oncologist called us an excruciating week after the surgery to let us know that all went well. The margins came back clear, though shallow. Our next step is to have a monthly check of his leg – if they left any malignant cells, they will grow back with a vengeance they say – starting around September 19. In addition to the monthly checks, we will have lung x-rays done every three months for the next year to track those suspicious nodes. The radiologist told us he’d be surprised if those nodes were the cancer, that they looked more like normal mineralization of lung tissue or a fungus, both totally benign diagnoses.

While this is all very positive, we have a giant black cancer-cloud following us around, trailing behind and over Emmett. This next year is going to be fraught with the constant fear of recurrence. But, for now, I am eternally grateful for the most supportive friends and family, for the specialist who was confident enough to save his leg, and mostly for Emmett’s wonderful, charming spirit that just pours out of his little soul every single day.

Oh, and I’ve gotten all crazy about their food, mixing up all sorts of belabored concoctions (think steamed carrots and broccoli, canned pumpkin, canned grain-free beef and liver, green beans, etc.) to strengthen his immune system and stuff him full of antioxidants.  An added bonus? He’s actually dropped those few extra pesky pounds our vet pointed out during our last dozen couple of visits.

In hindsight I realized that I cursed myself when I wrote in my last post that things were finally settling down! Ah, well. I’ll probably never learn. So here’s what went on over the past nine days:

1. My sister had a baby! Emmett and Lucas are now uncles! His name is Owen and he’s the cutest little peanut, weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds.

The little peanut

2. We spent about 5 days at my parents’ house so that we could be closer to my sister, to be prepared for when she went into labor, and to help out afterward. So… Lucas got a tremendous amount of playtime with Tank, Buster, and Otto. When we got back home this weekend, Lucas snuggled into his bed and fell asleep instantly. And didn’t wake up for almost two days. Poor guy. He’s three but tries to hang with all the one-year-olds. See videos below.

3. Emmett got his stitches out today, and the site looks great. The best news of all is that the margins came back clear, so the surgeon is confident he got the whole of the tumor! No more sulking or pouting for Emmett! Here is his last little bit of “poor me” posing.

Sulking in his harness and bandage

Snuggled in bed because he can get away with it at my parents'!

4. Michael Vick, back in the game. HMPF. Out of everything I’ve read, I really feel this says it best.

And now for the videos… these are sort of in chronological order, but essentially what John captured in these short clips is what goes on and on and on and on the entire time all the dogs are together at my parents’. Do note the dead bush/shrub thing in the corner, which died because the dogs love to pull the branches off of it to use as sticks. Also, if anyone knows how the heck you get the videos to embed from Vimeo, I would GREATLY appreciate some advice. For now, links:

Lucas loves being chased!

Lucas and Buster run it out!

Done. For now at least!

BONUS Update: My wonderful neighbors got a puppy! She’s the cutest, fuzziest, sweetest little thing! Of course, I totally forgot to take a pic, but I just love her, and as soon as she gets her last round of shots, she and Lucas are definitely having a playdate!

Things have settled down significantly around here. Emmett is home and recuperating. Though the surgery went well, they removed everything from skin down to the tendons to get as much of the tumor as possible, so he has a four-week recovery period that prohibits walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs, basically anything fun for a dog. So it’s going to be a challenging month. It’s a relief that he still has all four legs, though we now have to wait another three months before we can do his next chest x-ray to get the scoop on those “suspicious” lung nodes.

In the meantime, my darling cousin-dog Turk came for a visit today to keep Lucas occupied while Emmett rests.

The big team sport of the day has been hunting flies. There are zillions outside right now, and every time we open the back door, several scoot in. Lucas believes that one of his life’s purposes is to snap every fly in the house then spit its dead body out on the floor for me to pick up with a tissue. Amazingly, Turk seems to have the same set of priorities.

They can hear the fly, they just can't find it.

Beyond fly hunting, the boys have been rather subdued today, spending most of the afternoon napping. The temperature rose to the mid-90s, and that seems to make them lethargic. We have six (six!) dog beds in our house, and the boys aren’t allowed on the majority of the furniture. But somehow sneaky Turk took a delightful nap on our living room sofa while I was busy doing other things.

Honestly, he was too darn cute to wake him up right away…

Lastly, I have a few really cute pictures of Emmett coming home after surgery but have yet to find time to download them off my camera. I’ll work on that this week!

We met with the specialist this morning. He was fantastic. He explained everything calmly and clearly, and presented us with a concise picture of what we’re facing. And it’s not what we thought.

Emmett’s x-rays showed that he has two microscopic nodules on his lungs. As soon as he said that, my heart sank through my feet. Does that mean it’s already spread?

It could mean that, he said, but it could also be something totally benign like a fungus or mineralization of the lung tissue. They’re too small. There’s no way to tell at this point. But, because of these nodules, they decided not to amputate, but instead to remove the tumor on his leg. He’s in surgery right now.

Then we have to take him every three months to x-ray his lungs and to track whether or not those nodules change or grow. We also need to keep a very close watch on his leg to ensure no new tumors pop up. If he does get more tumors on his legs, we’ll revisit the amputation IF it turns out the nodules are nothing.

If it turns out that they’re something… well, then, that’s a whole other discussion.

We’re staying with my parents for now because they live about 15 minutes from the specialist. Plus it helps to keep Lucas occupied because my mom’s little dog Otto is his best, best friend. So while we wait for Emmett to get out of surgery, and because I’m in need of a little smile, I filmed Lucas and Otto on my cell phone camera last night. It’s a little fuzzy/choppy, but you’ll get the idea of their sustained level of play.

Click here: vid-00008