Clancey Has Gone to the Rainbow Bridge

On Monday, , March 16th, after a really bad weekend, Gary and I made the decision to put an end to Clancey's pain. He was losing weight rapidly, was dehydrated and having problems getting around. Sunday night, he would not lay down but kept standing and falling over, standing and falling over all night long. There was no food that interested him any longer and I had no way to give him antibiotics or pain meds without shoving them down his throat. That morning, he looked at me as if he was pleading for help, I could tell he was ready to move on. With my involvement in animal rescue, I have had to make this decision many time, too many times, and it is never easy or simple. There are so many what if's and if only's involved and you never know for sure that it is the right thing. All I could do was trust that I was reading him correctly. Clancey went very peacefully, he did not even move when they put the IV in his leg. His head was laying in my lap the entire time and Gary was petting him. Clancey will always live on in our hearts.

Tylosin

Clancey finished his Baytril and after only a couple days I could tell he was feeling horrible again. In the morning he would sit in a daze with his head leaning to the left, his energy level was non-existent. He didn't even eat for a couple days, a sure sign that he feels really bad. The veterinarian suggest another antibiotic, Tylosin, and after a day, Clancey is back to his old self again, at least as much as he can be. In reading about Tylosin, it appears to have some anti-inflammatory qualities as well so perhaps it is helping in more than one way. The Tylosin is in liquid form which at first was a challenge, a dropper to Clancey signifies bad tasting stuff that mom squirts in his mouth, but my husband has been rewarding him with lunch meat after each dose so now he actually enjoys taking his medicine. My husband is now in charge of Clancey's daily medicine!!

His breathing has become noticeably more difficult, he sounds a bit like Darth Vader, the bleeding has subsided with the new antibiotic. The pattern seems to be bloody nose = infection. There were a couple days last week that I thought Clancey was ready to quit the fight, however, once again, he has made a remarkable comeback so, for now, this roller coaster journey continues.

Doing Better After Baytril

Clancey definitely had another infection going on, after a few days of Baytril, he is feeling much better. I am going to talk to his regular vet about keeping him on some kind of antibiotic indefinitely as these infections occur whenever he is off the antibiotic for any length of time.

He had a great adventure the other night. We were taking our usual evening walk and had just walked back into our yard when he moved his head in a strange way and his choke chain just slipped right over his basketball sized head. He looked at me, realized in a moment that he was no longer tethered to the leash and made a mad dash across the street. I know better than to try and catch a dog by chasing it, however, of course my first instinct was to go after him. I would get within a few feet of him and off he went again, he was having a great time smelling the smells, peeing on every tree, bush and fence post he could find.

I finally decided to try another tactic and walked away from him, he followed me but still would not let me put this leash back on, this was great fun for him!! I did get him back to the yard where he had a good time romping up and down the fence with the rest of my dogs on the other side of it. Finally, he slowed down a bit and I bribed him into getting into the car - Clancey does love a car ride. I took him around the block as a reward for being such a "good" boy for getting into the car. Once back inside the house, he collapsed on his bed, ready for good snooze. He was one very tired but very happy pup :)

The fact that I can't actually see what is going on with his tumor is very frustrating. I don't know if the neoplasene and other supplements are having any affect on it or not. His nose bleeds a bit from time to time and is snotty at times. It's just impossible to gauge what exactly is going on.

Clancey Update

The oddest thing happened while I was walking Clancey last night. Granted it was cold and rainy outside but I have NEVER taken this boy on a walk when he didn't want to stop at every tree, pole and mailbox to check the p-mail. He did not stop, not even once. He did bark at a few cars that passed by but it made me wonder if his ability to smell is being affected by the tumor. My husband took him walking again the morning, this time there was ice on the ground and Clancey was concerned about the "crunchiness" of the ground beneath his feet but again, he didn't stop to sniff or smell.

It is hard for me to tell but it looks as if his left eye, on the side where the tumor is located, is swelling a bit and I have noticed that it seems to take more effort for him to breath. The swelling under his jaw also seems to be a bit larger but again, it is so hard to tell.

I do not think he is feeling well, he hasn't jumped on the bed for days and that has always been his favorite hang out. It may be time to start him on some pain medication, I have avoided that since until now he didn't seem to be in any pain. He has been on antibiotics for the past week due to another infection, I know those make him tired but it seems to have cleared up now.

Sad Day

Yesterday I was reading one of the boards where I have been participating in a thread about dogs with nasal tumors. I have corresponded by e-mail with three of the people on the list, one of them has a dog named Nickleby. I had sent Amy, Nickleby's mom, an e-mail because she was using the nasal infusion on Nick and I wanted to find out more about it. The last time I checked the board, about two weeks ago, Nick was doing great. Yesterday I read that she had had him euthanized on the 17th. Apparently within a six day time period, his tumor grew to the point where he was in a great deal of pain and couldn't breath. Nick is a very handsome four year old Cocker Spaniel. It came as such a shock and was definitely a reality check that even though for now Clancey seems okay, things could change at any moment. God speed Nickleby and I just know that you are having a good time at the rainbow bridge while you wait for your family to join you.

Clancey Better Again

It is really frustrating trying to figure out what is going on with this boy from day to day. He was very tired a couple nights ago and also seemed to be leaning to the left. The first thought was that the tumor has spread to his brain and is causing him balance problems, however, not knowing for sure I thought it could be another infection or even pain from the tumor so I gave him some antibiotics and some pain killer. He was fine the next morning and has been fine ever since. He has had no nose bleeds in several days now and I don't know if that is a good thing or not. We are still doing all the supplements but I have slacked off some on the acupunture, honestly I have a hard time remember to even do it.

Clancey is Tired

My husband is home from work today and called awhile ago to tell me that Clancey doesn't seem to feel well, he is very, very tired. I hope he isn't getting another infection. He has been eating well and when I walked him last night, he was more interested in playing tug-of-war with the leash than walking, I didn't notice that he was tired.