Friday, August 15, 2014
We heard from our vet yesterday after he consulted with the oncologist. After reviewing Henry's biopsy, it was decided that the best course of action would be to remove the kidney with the tumor. After the kidney is removed it can be sent for a complete biopsy and we can determine what course of chemotherapy is needed.
The oncologist confirmed that this is a very aggressive type of cancer, but based on what we know so far, thinks we caught things early (although there is no way to be 100% sure). Because of the aggressive nature of this cancer, removing the kidney is a top priority and our vet scheduled Henry for surgery on Monday. Before the surgery, Henry will have a chest x-ray to make sure his lungs are clear. The most common place for metastasis for renal cancer is in the lungs. If Henry's lungs are clear, he will have surgery that day to remove his kidney.
I appreciate the well wishes for Henry. His spirits are high and we are going to make sure he has a wonderful weekend. I will keep you updated as best I can on Monday.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
We finally received the biopsy results late yesterday evening. Unfortunately, the news is not good. Henry has renal cancer.
We are absolutely devastated. But beyond our incredible sadness, we do not have a good plan for how we are going to move forward just yet. Our vet is going to present Henry's case to an oncologist. From there we will have a better idea on how to proceed.
In the little that we know, we were told this type of cancer rarely occurs in dogs (especially pugs). Henry is also showing no signs of sickness (which apparently is sometimes the case with renal cancer).
As I write this, Henry is laying on the bed, licking his feet, oblivious to the horrible news we just received that affects him so personally. He is happy and content in this moment. The worries and fears for what the future is going to bring keep creeping into my brain, robbing me of this happy time. Right now that is my challenge. Enjoy these moments with Henry and not let worry take them from me.
We are hoping to have more information about how to proceed with treatment by Thursday. I don't know what treatment options are available to us or what that process is going to look like, but I can tell you that we will do whatever needs to be done for Henry as long as it supports him living a quality life.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
To help Henry get ready to go to work with me, we have been practicing going up and down stairs. Whenever we come across a set of stairs we make Henry climb them. He's always hesitant at first, but then he eventually comes around and works his way up them.
And once he is up them, there is always the task of getting back down them. Which to me is the scarier part, but not for Henry. He goes down the steps much faster than he goes up the steps for some reason.
And whenever we get to a set of stairs, I like to remind Henry that he lived in a 3 story house for the first 2 years of his life. Henry and Benjamin used to race up and down the stairs like wild men. They would chase, push and pummel and do all kinds of unsafe things on the stairs. But, after almost 10 years of Florida living and rarely encountering stairs, Henry seems to have forgotten all about his stair adventures as a young pug.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Since Benjamin and Luna have bequeathed their dog beds to Henry, Henry has been having a little bit of fun with his riches. On this sleepy morning, Henry thought he would see what its like between the beds rather just laying on top of the pile. Not too bad, I guess.
Monday, August 4, 2014
We are always looking for summer adventures where the heat won't wipe Henry out. So far, quick trips to grab a doggie dish seem to pretty high on Henry's fun list. The only downside is the lines can get pretty long. But Henry is a trooper and patiently waits until it is his turn to order.
On this occasion we got Henry raspberry ice cream and it was a huge hit. He liked it much better than the banana flavored ice cream we got him the time before. Which was surprising to me because Henry loves bananas. But, I guess not everything makes a good ice cream flavor. On our next trip, raspberry it will be!
Friday, August 1, 2014
Henry has always loved the beach, so we thought we would take him over one evening for a bit of fun. We almost never go to the beach during the summer. It is just too hot for the pugs to have any fun. But, Henry handles the heat a lot better than Benjamin and Luna did and an afternoon storm had just rolled through and cooled things off so we thought we would give a quick trip to the beach a go.
Except for one other dog playing fetch, we had the whole beach to ourselves. And that dog was so involved in his game of fetch that he didn't even notice us. Henry got his feet wet and strolled along for a bit. Then, the weather turned on us and big storm started heading our way. We high tailed it to the car. The weather cut our trip a bit short, but it was fun nonetheless.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
On our last visit to the pet store, Henry and I struck a compromise and we left with neither a fish nor a dog bed. Instead we bought a brain game. The one we bought has 3 different games that are all a variation of hiding a treat. One involves turning over little cups to reveal a treat, the other moving a disc to reveal the treats and the third requires the pooch to slide the cups to get the treat.
We thought this game might be fun for Henry and would requiring a little bit of thinking which would be a good thing. The easiest game seemed to be the one where you knock over the cup to reveal the treat. So we loaded up the game with treats and added the cups. To help Henry get the hang of things we even put treats in the open spaces. Freebies so to speak to get him interested.
Here's Henry's first attempt at the game.
Henry quickly eats all the "free" treats. He knows that there are more treats under the cups, but in typical Henry fashion, he decides he better hang back and ask for permission to eat the cover treats. He wouldn't want to cause a ruckus.
While Henry was waiting around for someone to uncover his treats, the cat became pretty interested in the game. So we gave her a turn. She certainly wasn't waiting for permission to eat the covered treats. She managed to figure out how to slide the green circle to reveal little bits of hidden roast beef.
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