Our Anniversary

 

So, January 1^st, 2026 is Rowdy's and my Anniversary. We have been together now for 16 years. In his condition, I wasn't sure he was going to make it, but he did. This did my heart good.

Over the years, I never much thought of our anniversaries. It was just always New Years Day and a day lost in the human celebrations. However this year, with his cancer and declining health, my mind has brought it to the forefront. It has also brought back memories of when he was still just a pup, that showed up on the family farm one day.

I had not thought of getting a dog, as I had never lived in a location that was suited for pets. Even though I may had been able to made it work, in most cases it was not worth the risk. However, when Rowdy came along, I now had a decent place with a fenced yard, so I could actually get and properly take care of a pet.

Showing up as a stray, we could only guess at when he was born, probably in February or March of 2009. I don't remember when he first showed up, but I was thinking around the end of June of that year. My father always had a soft spot for strays and he took Rowdy in. Based on his looks, he named him Short Stop. When I took him to be mine, I changed his name to Rowdy, reflecting his personality.

Rowdy had such an ingratiating personality, that I quickly fell in love with him. I was at the farm almost every weekend at the time, only skipping one here and there. Rowdy would run up to greet me with such happiness and enthusiasm, whenever I would clap my hands, whistle and yell out, “Hot Dog” when he came running. Since at the time, I though he was part Dachshund or wiener dog, he was my little Hot Dog. I was usually pulling a small trailer, hauling things back and forth from the farm, and he would run jump on the trailer and put his paws up on the rail, to elevate himself closer to me. These were very fond memories of his early days.

So I made the decision to bring him home with me on January 1^st of 2010, to start our life together, which is also when I started this blog. Happy Anniversary little buddy! 

 

 

Bittersweet Christmas

 

All things considered, we had a pretty good Christmas. Rowdy rested most of the time away from the noise, while tucked in the bedroom. I did however keep a close eye on him, making sure he was comfortable. The only problem I had, was that we were gone overnight for the holiday, and I forgot to bring his steroid meds, so we had to leave earlier than planned on Christmas day and I had to skip the evening dinner. I tried to pre-plan and have everything packed up the night before, but somehow I forgot about them.

This is of course is Rowdy's last Christmas. I am blessed that he made it to Christmastime, as I was not sure how long he had after the cancer diagnosis. So I was feeling a little sad during the quiet times, thinking about him and what little time he has left. I know it has been awkward for him, trying to carry around that huge cancer ridden leg.

In the photos, I only got him to sit up long enough for the one shot. The other photos I tried to take and did take, he would not stay sitting up and immediately lay back down, before I could get the camera on him. It was a little silly and funny, the way he would just lie down every time I tried to focus the camera on him, which appeared like an image of the non-cooperative pet, but he also did not have the energy to sit up very long. After several tries, I gave up and let him rest.

My Christmas gift to him, is to make him as comfortable as possible in his final days. His gift to me, is the blessing of a few more days of his companionship. 

 

 

Mixed Feelings

As I watch Rowdy struggle thru his final days, with his leg tumor increasing in size, I have been second guessing what I should do, about having the leg amputated. Weighing the options, there is only a small chance that it would be of benefit, yet I hate to see him struggle, trying to carry the bad leg while only using his other hind leg to balance himself on. I should mention that the bone cancer tumor, is not an extra growth attaching to it, but it's increasing the size of his leg bone itself.

The Vet I use, has reasonable costs for the amputation, so the money is not an issue. It is the issue of recovery, or lack there of.

Result one; Remove the leg and he does not recover.

Result two, Remove the leg and the cancer spreads quickly to his lungs.

Result three, Remove the leg and he has a difficult time recovering, if he ever does, which may add unwanted pain to his final days.

Result four, Remove the leg, he recovers well and it extends his life with a little better quality, till the end.

Doing the math, he only has a 25% chance of a better outcome, for which the odds are not in his favor. So I believe it is best to just let him continue the way he is, even though it breaks my heart to seem him struggle so much. I can see small daily transformations in his deterioration, which tells me his days are numbered.

His vision and hearing losses are adding up and he seems to struggle finding his way around the home, but still somehow seems to manage. He has not yet had another blindness episode. What I believed happened that night, was that he was lying in the seat of the car during our 30 minute drive home, with his head propped over the armrest. I think that in that position his neck pinched the optic nerve and it took the night for it to relax and restore his vision. Since then, I have been careful not to allow him lay that way, in the car.

His appetite is good, as I have been feeding him tasty food and had increased his meals from two to three per day, trying to keep some weight on him. Though I wonder if I am only feeding the tumor.

 

Not Yet

Rowdy seemed to have regained his minimal sight and was able to navigate around the house today. So I preempted his trip to the Vet. He still is somewhat blind, but regaining his mobility means that he is still okay and not ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge yet.

I have determined that he only has night blindness, as after the sun came up, his vision improved. Tonight, I am expecting for him to have trouble again, but we will see.

From now on, it will be a day to day struggle and daily determination of his health, until his time.

 

Bad to Worse

 

After almost a month, my treatment for his cancer was not successful. I actually didn't think it would be, because I was doubtful that it was going to do anything for bone cancer. It was really for other types of cancer, but I thought it was worth a try.

Rowdy has quickly deteriorated over the last month, losing a lot of weight and his vision has also been deteriorating. He has stopped eating his dry food and would only eat one meal a day with his wet food on top of it. I have been supplementing extra wet food, including adding an extra meal, and he has been eating plenty now, but still losing weight.

This evening, he all the sudden lost all his vision and is now completely blind. He is unable to function, especially with the cancer in his right rear leg, for which he can no longer walk on. Also, with a large loss of hearing too, he can only hear claps or whistles, but now hunts for where the sound is coming from. I will take him to the Vet tomorrow, however I believe his quality of life is all but gone. I will comfort him as best I can, till tomorrow.

Bad Diagnosis And Prognosis

As Rowdy has been limping on his hind leg, on and off for months, a previous diagnosis told me he had arthritis. Back then, the Vet gave me some pain meds (Vetprofen) to give him, whenever he was limping to help him cope. The last couple of months, his limping and loss of the use of his right hind leg, has greatly increased, so I took him in yesterday, to see if we could do anything to help the problem.

The x-ray showed that he has bone cancer in that upper leg, and it had swollen to about twice it's size. His normal leg thickness is about 48mm., while his cancer ridden leg is at about 85mm thick. Quite a difference. I'm personally surprised that I didn't notice the swelling, as when he walked or sat, he kept the leg tucked in so it appeared normal.

There is no good treatment for this. The Vet could remove his leg, but at his age, would be extremely hard on him and he possible would not survive the surgery. Plus, the Vet said, doing so could possible cause it to quickly spread to his lungs, though I don't fully understand why. Besides, he does still have some use of it. We decided the best course, is to give him steroids (Prednisone) to help his quality of life, for the remainder of the time he has left.

Though I am uncertain of it's success, I am also trying another type of treatment. It is harmless to him, but it may help. We'll see, as I will closely watch him and his progress. If it is successful, I will share it with everyone. Though I am not confident in it's success, it still gives me a little hope. However, Rowdy has already outlived most dogs at his age, now pushing 17 years by a couple of months, so I do believe his time is near. 

 

I am quite sad and I feel such empathy for him, as I only want him to feel good. He still has his spirit, but he also shows some distress in his facial expressions.

Minor Surgery and Veterinarian Rip Off

 

Back in the beginning of August, I needed to get a growth removed from the side of Rowdy's cheek. From messing with it and Rowdy scratching it, opening it up and making it bleed, I knew it needed to be removed soon. The problem was that I could not get it done with my Vet, until September 18^th. That was a long wait. They said the procedure would probably be around $200 dollars. I went ahead and made the appointment, and if I got it done sooner, I could always cancel it. Besides, with what needed done, in my opinion, it should have only cost around $120 dollars.

So I searched other Vets in the area, but they wanted up front costs just to tell me what they charged, and still I wouldn't know when they could fit him in. I decided to take him to a Vet, who was an hour away. Rowdy had been in this clinic a number of times in the past, and once recently back when I found out that he had vertigo. This is a walk in clinic, and I thought that it was an emergency situation back them, and it would be a week before I could get him into my Vet.

I was shocked when they brought back list of fees for the procedure, totaling $880 dollars. A whole list of things, not really needed for this surgery. They said they could drop half of the items, for a cost of about $480 dollars, but would not perform the surgery, without these other things being done. I argued the point with them, saying that it is only a small growth (about the size of three almonds squished together,) and it was only attached to the skin and not rooted deeper. The procedure would not be that invasive, and could probably be done with a local. They told me no, and lied to me about what they had to do. They also ripped me off for $47 for the visit. I will probably never return to that Vet now.

On September 18^th, Rowdy got the surgery and the growth removed. It worked out great, as I dropped him off in the morning and picked him up that afternoon. And guess what??? It only cost $120 dollars, including pain and antibiotic shots. Exactly what I imagined that it should have cost.