Packy's Unknown Tumor

[hheldorfer]

Wonderful pictures of a fun day.  Go Packy, go!

[Dempsy's Mom]

What a beautiful life.  Thanks for the pics and update.  It's so great to see Kirby and Packy enjoying themselves ...... oh and you guys to of course.   Precious moments.

[josie&holly]

Good to see Packy enjoying himself!  Lovely photo of the two of them!

[Kathryn]

Looks like not much keeps Packy down. Go get those gar, Packy, and watch out for those fish teeth!

[kjwarnold]

The gar range from little one footers to some that are four feet long!  Now you know my dedication to my dogs, when I swim with these monsters!

[Sam I Am]

Would they ever bite you or Packy?

[Autumn & Lola]

It's wonderful to see Packy in the water and fishing again - doing what he loves to do best.

 

[kjwarnold]

Gar, I've never heard of them doing anything other than swim away from humans or dogs.  And I've read up on it, believe me!  They eat a diet solely of fish.

[beccadiane374]

Happy to see Packy back in the water!  Lovely pictures of sweet memories being made.  

[hheldorfer]

6 hours ago, kjwarnold said:

Gar, I've never heard of them doing anything other than swim away from humans or dogs.  And I've read up on it, believe me!  They eat a diet solely of fish.

. . . but man, do they look vicious! 

[Malcolm's Dad]

Good for Packy to go back to fishing. Hope he has many more fishing trips. Had to look up Gar myself. They do look nasty.

[kjwarnold]

These are Longnose Gar, very common in Missouri.  They really do look nasty but have never been a problem.  I swear yesterday, there were even more around our dock.  I m having problems using a mat (shoulder issues, I can't paddle), so I braved floating with a noodle.  DH had Packy with him (Packy can hang on to a noodle all by himself and float) and he had a hard time keeping Packy close.  There were so many gar surfacing that Packy kept swimming off after them.  Good thing we decided to put a leash in him; made it easier to pull him back.  At one point, he was pulling DH across the cove toward the gar.  Packy may have cancer but he's still got some strong swimming skills!

Meanwhile, Kirby and I were watching a young wood duck swimming around with us.  He seems to be separated from his family and was hanging out begging for food.  We've been feeding the family for a while so he's used to us.  Kirby is a duck hunter, so it was torture for him floating on a noodle with me while,the duck was swimming within 10 feet.  Yes, we heard the Screech of Death frequently.

We're heading up to the farm today so our stories will change from swimming, fishing and duck hunting to long hikes, peacock watching, gopher digging and hanging with family.  I want to take a picture of everything we do to remember what a great dog Packy is.  Not practical, but there it is...

[Kaydee]

Bailey was recently diagnosed as well, he is  a 12.5 yr old cockapoo. He has been "off" since January. We persisted with the vet amongst borderline anemia results, then we saw blood blisters in April, the operated on 11 and 2 days after surgery he had 5 more, we were told fairly immediately it was hsa.  We are in the Boston area, our vet told us to get in with an oncologist ASAP. Minimum wait time for 4 oncology practices was one month. Finally decided to go with my third choice, I couldn't wait any longer....ultra sound revealed he had the tumors spread to many vital organs. We are on the turkey tail, yunnan baiyao regime, and waiting....waiting. Filming good days of happy short walks in the woods, rolling around at the park, and a pool day yesterday and today.....begging to go in the water....calling the oncologist tomorrow to see if I should do the five on five off with the yb. He has been consistent for 8 days on it x2 per day. Any advice would be welcome. As with everyone else I will keep positive while crumbling in bits emotionally.

[pkcrossley]

welcome kaydee. these diseases are complex and there are so many unknowns. in addition so much depends upon the personal philosophies and personalities of the owners, as well as the unpredictable abilities of many dogs to defy odds. the only advice i can give is to make the most of every day and to think carefully about available options in terms of how you want to feel about this afterward. unless you are 90 years old you can figure that one way or another you will outlive your dogs. you want to give yourself the best chance to look back and feel you did your best. we are all with you, we've been there and will likely be there again. bad as you feel now, Bailey is worth it all. he knows you love him, and he knows he is getting your best. he's happy. 

[kjwarnold]

Hi, Kaydee.  I'm so sorry that Bailey has been diagnosed with hemamgiosarcoma, too.  It's just an awful disease and when you start researching it, you do get very depressed when you see the survival estimates.  We're doing a similar regimen as you, Yunan Baiyao and turkey tail (we're using the I'm-Yunity version).  I also switched over to freeze-dried raw food because many people have good results in extending life without harsh chemo or radiation.

At this point, we are also taking lots of pictures and videos of the things Packy loves to do.  He's generally feeling pretty good and can still take pretty long walks and swim forever.  Mostly I notice he's going to the bathroom more and is a bit grumpier with Kirby.  Normally he's a pretty peace-loving dog but lately he's just not taking it.  Of course, that could just be age, he's almost 12.

Youre right about staying positive while crumbling inside.  I can calmly explain what's going on and what we're doing, even answering honestly when people ask if he's going to be okay.  But as I do, a piece of my heart breaks.  We've been through this before with a previous Cairn; all pet owners have and it's tough.  I've got my own way of getting through it (long story for this post) and you'll find yours.  Good luck to you guys and Packy sends licks to Bailey.  

(This Hemangiosarcoma group on Facebook has been a good source of info and support for me.  It's a sad one because people are always losing their dogs, but there is a lot of info in there which helped.)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1515538421998027/

[josie&holly]

When Holly was diagnosed with bone cancer 12 mths ago I also found the bone cancer in dogs group on Facebook helpful  and like you say "Normally he's a pretty peace-loving dog but lately he's just not taking it.  Of course, that could just be age, he's almost 12.Youre right about staying positive while crumbling inside.  I can calmly explain what's going on and what we're doing, even answering honestly when people ask if he's going to be okay.  But as I do, a piece of my heart breaks."  Holly was same, she coped with Ivy but gradually got more irritated with her, but yes I crumbled inside too.  You do find a way to get through it.

Thinking about you and Packy, and Kirby too.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Hard times ahead for our cairn family.  We will all have to take a page from our cairns and be courageous little fighters.

[kjwarnold]

Just a quick update on Packy.  He's 8 weeks post-diagnosis (they gave him 3 months) and he's doing pretty well.  We decided against radiation and chemo since it would affect his quality of life and not extend it much anyway.  We're using Chinese herbs instead.  Yunan Baiyao helps with clotting, important if one of the Hemangiosarcoma tumors ruptures.  I'm-Yunity (turkey tail mushroom) is in its second round of successful studies at Penn State and while we're not in the study, we're using it to fight the cancer.  We've also switch to a freeze-dried raw diet.

I think (fingers crossed) that the re-growth of the tumor has slowed somewhat.  He does seem to have some issue with incontinence at times and definitely has to go potty more often.  I guess it's possible the tumor(s) are pressing on something internal.  Anyway, I've made him a nice denim belly band and he sports it with style and flare.  He can still swim like a fish and has been catching them daily when we're at the lake.  We do put a leash on him when he's swimming out with us now, since we don't want him to have a problem and not be able to reach him.  I swear he'd swim to the other side of the lake after a big fish if we'd let him!  We're at the farm right now, so he's enjoying long walks, Ranger rides and visits with family.  He loves going to see my folks because he gets spoiled, of course.

So,overall, I think he's doing better than expected.  We're going to beat that 3 month prognosis!

 

[pkcrossley]

he looks great, and fun is better than everything. good times!

[Islander]

So glad to hear that Packy is having a great summer!

[hheldorfer]

Packy looks great and it's good to know he's enjoying himself.  Thanks for the update!

[Sam I Am]

You go Packy! Let those vets know that time is only a number.

[Lynn in TN]

That's great Packy! You can beat it Packy!

[beccadiane374]

Cheering you on, Packy!!!

[Autumn & Lola]

Well, he looks gorgeous. I'm so glad he is have such a wonderful summer, doing all the things he loves to do. I'm so glad as well that the herbs are helping!

On the fashion side, I'm know he is sporting the denim belly band with panache. Denim is always in style.