Sunday November 3rd Update

Sunday Up at 7:30ish… Gave him 1 anti nausea and 1 ½ tabs pred. He went out to pee. And came back in and I laid back down for a bit. He seemed tired too. I had to get ready to go to a fundraiser in Tempe to play my gongs and bowls and needed to leave by 10am. Tried food … no interest. A bit later he ate a very small bit of egg and some jerky treats. He always seems to love the jerky treats. Left him w/ eggs and jerky treats. I got home around 1pm. He was sleeping by the door and didn’t get up when I came in. A few minutes later he got him up to go and pee. Came in. He ate two jack in the box hamburgers w/o bun and then turned his nose up. I gave another anti nausea at 2:30pm…. Did some stuff in the kitchen. Went into the bedroom and did some internet stuff to get ready for a nap. He peed a bit on the floor when he was lying down. The prednisone causes him to drink TONS of water, so he has had a bit of incontinence. We went outside to pee and came in and had to take a nap. Slept from 3:30pm til 5. Got up took him to pee and tried some food. No go. Seems interested and then turns his nose away. Sigh… so frustrating. He is lying by the door. He loves that. We will go out soon with the ball. I have no internet connection for some reason, but its probably a good thing so I don’t’ spend hours playing solitaire which is my 'go away' activity lately. Sometimes I just need a distraction from this.

Friday October 26 - vet visit and chemo

October 26 Friday Morning….... Pred and anti nausea. Only ½ 20mg tab pred..went out and he went over to Star and Danny’s house and went up on the porch looking for them or their dog Katie.. he didn’t want to come inside … came in and he ate a small can of evo. Left him w/ another can and dry food with jerky treats and went to work. Got home around 1pm to take him to the oncologist. The Ziwi Peak food arrived. He loves it. Gave him a couple of handfuls and put some in a bag with jerky treats to take to the vet. Got to the vet and he did not want to get out of the car. Took me a bit of coaxing to get him out. Went inside and he was a bit nervous, his leg was shaking a bit. The appt would take an hour and a half, so he had to go to the back alone w/ the tech : -( I left and went to sprouts to do some preparatory food shopping for the weekend. Got 2 loaves of Ezekiel hoping that toast will be a winner if he loses his appetite. On my way back and they called he was ready. Great timing. Went in and sat w/ him while I waited for Dr. Beaver. Oh… when they weighed him he had lost 5 lbs :- ( another unhappy face…. While waiting for her and he fell asleep/rested quietly on the floor. He was better than the last time he had the vincristine. The news from Dr. beaver wasn’t great, while she thought he seemed better, he was anemic and of course the weight loss. His liver was a bit enlarged, and his nodes a tiny bit bigger. She feels we backslid a bit with the last drug he had. Boo. She felt he did have a good response the last time to the vincristine, so hopefully this time he will too. He got in the car ok. Last time after the vincristine he couldn’t get in very well. We went to the pet store and got some various foods. The guy there was really nice and talked to me about some different high end foods. We got a few different origen sample bags, arcana and innova. Also canned evo. He ate a bit of cheese in the car. And then when we got home the dogs were out. He visited briefly. And we went in. He ate some more Ziwi Peak food. I started the burger in the crock pot and heated up burger from yesterday. Mixed it w/ rice and a multi vitamin, DHA spray and calcium supplement. He ate some and I saved the rest. He ended up eating the rest later. We also tried eggs – he ate a little and ½ a piece of toast. More Ziwi Peak – almost the whole sample bag (which is about 1 serving for him). And then later we went back out and visited w/ Amanda, Sasha and Sammy. He came in and ate some hamburger (1/4 cup maybe) and about ½ cup of the new innova. I hope he likes that – it’s a good food. He is now lying by the door. And its 10:12pm. I need to think about lying in my bed...

Thursday October 25th update

25 Oct I got up at 7:10 and gave anti nausea and pred. Went outside and he saw Sasha briefly. Ernie defecated right in front of Dannys house! This isn't really like him .. but it was solid stool, so yay. win! It's the little things right now. We came back in and I laid down on the bed for a few minutes. I was so tired today. Up at 8:45am. Breakfast was a small can of evo. Then tried more and he ate it so tried to add turmeric and 1 capsule ground calcium. No go on that one. Showered. He was in a funk today. Tossed the tennis ball around the house and he liked that ☺ off to work …. Left some dry food and jerky (wellness turkey). Home around 6:30 or 7? Dogs went out. Charlotte peed/ ernied 1 and 2. Solid. Went in and he had defecated on the floor in the dining room in the afternoon while I was gone. But it was a solid, good stool. So boo for poo in the house, win for solid stool. Started cooking up hamburger, and when it was almost done I put frozen Trader Joes green beans on top to cook. Started cooking broccoli and washing kale. Gave him about ½ cup rice w/ broccoli and hamburger and 3 pumps of DHA. He loved it. Gave more … had two of the paper bowls full. He doesn't seem to want to eat out of his dog bowl, so I tried paper bowls and he seems to like that. I know weird. But cancer is weird. Made more w/ turmeric and fish oil. No go.. saved it for later. Also added some of the evo from this morning. Went for a walk about 9:30. Just short maybe 20 minutes. Came home and he was hungry. Tried the beef/green bean/evo and fish oil mix (3 capsules) and it was a go – but had to hand feed and then he finished the rest. Tried some tripe. Nose turned up. I think he remembers how sick he got the last time he ate it post viniscrine chemo. :- ( tried some holistic brand duck caviar mixed w/ some evo – and that was a go. Maybe 1/3 of a large can of evo w/ only a spoonful of the caviar. He is resting now….. tomorrow is chemo. Nervous. Also his dose of pred goes to 20 mg/day instead of 40mg/day. I hope he keeps his appetite. That is my big worry right now. I have broccoli, green beans and hamburger cooked in the fridge. Also have some blue buffalo and beef liver too – but he turned his nose up at that .. OH I should get some Ezekiel bread – he seems to always want that … and I could give him that w/ eggs if all else fails. Or we can always try the mcdonals hamburgers I spose. But I really like that he is eating so well right now. Can’t believe its been 22 days since dx. And 21 since day one of chemo. I need to fill in my blanks in my writing. 11:24pm… he has been restless tonight.. and also did this last night. Wandering in and out of rooms looking for something. I think he is looking for food or maybe cardboard or paper :0) anyways… he just settled at the door. I am so happy that I have the screen door for him to look out of and smell smells and get fresh air. He really loves to lay there. Went out for a quick pee. He came in and decided he wanted to play w/ his ball. So we played for about 15 or 20 minutes inside. And then I needed to think about heading to bed. Went to bed, but heard him rummaging around and got up and he was eating paper again!! Gave him some treats and more hamburger. Went back to bed and he finally settled down to sleep.

Wednesday October 24 update

Wednesday Anti nausea 7:15am Out to pee. Defectated – semi solid stool Pred 7:30am I gave him some breakfast around 9. He ate a small can of evo chicken and turkey! Left for work – and left him ½ can evo and dog food Dinner – He ate more evo ½ can plus another can. Plus ground beef w/ 1 tsp turmeric, 3 pumps new DHA, 4 nordic naturals, and 1200 mg calcium. Added some rice to ground beef and green beans. Also ate about a cup of blue buffalo. Later he ate 2.5, and then more ground beef (maybe a cup) at 11:45pm. He was super hungry today!!! I am trying to get the supplements and food in before Fridays chemo in case he gets nauseous and won’t eat…. Plus the last time he had viniscrine he was wobbly and threw up 5 days later. I am not looking forward to dealing w/ any of that ☹ Getting ready to go to bed. He was doing well today. Grocery shopping tomorrow and then energy work w/ my neighbor Star.

Monday October 22 update

Monday Anti nausea at 7am pred around 8 am … he went outside when we got up and saw Sasha the dog that lives across from me. He likes her and she likes him - so it's always nice when they get to vista. He ate a little bit of breakfast, and was not really hungry this morning. Out to work at 9:40am. I got home around 6:00pm. On my day home I stopped and got beef and liver and two chickens. Cooked up the liver. No go… I tell you, that is one of the most disgusting things! I think I almost barfed while I was cooking it. I am not sure how people eat it... bleah! Charlotte my chihuahua however thought it was yummy, so she got a little bit. She is really starting to get a bit pudgy with all this extra food being offered. She is a little sneak so I have to be sure to pickup whatever Ernie decides he can't eat before she sneaks in and gobbles it up. I gave him anti nausea around 7 and pred around 7:45ish. Cooked up hamburger… he ended up eating some hamburger. Before that I tried cheese. He ate some but was acting lethargic and not really hungry. But he did eat the burger (tiny win). And then I added some fish oil (5 caps) and he did eat most of it w/ rice. Big WIN. We went out to see Sasha and he immediately perked up. And then Katie came out. Katie is a new 10 year old border collie mix that my other neighbors just got. She is very shy and sweet. A perfect match for Ernie :-) He didn’t want to come in but I had to go back to work to pickup an animal at the airport. He ate a bit more and I left him some food. Got home around 11:15PM and he was facing away from me focused on something. Found out the focus was the cardboard box he was eating. He must have gotten it out of the recylcle bag. I don’t’ know how much he ate, it was from a box of ziplock baggies and half was left. Sigh… he won't eat regular food - but will eat cardboard. I cooked up some eggs and he scarfed two down. And then when I went into the kitchen to make some more eggs from him, and he snagged my egg and cheese burrito from my plate and tried to eat that! I am glad he is so enthused by food! I made more eggs. He ate two more plus some dog food. He is lying by the door. I need to go to bed its 12:44am.

Thursday October 18 update

Thursday

Anti nausea at 7:45am.  Showered..  pred at 8:15am.

This morning a neighbor dog showed up at the screen door along w/ Sasha who lives across the street. I let him out and the new dog was very friendly and it went fine.  He doesn't really like to run around like a maniac anymore, but does like the company of other dogs.  Well most other dogs.  He went to the bathroom and had ½ diarrhea ½ formed…   he seems tired today .  We came in and he drank water and ate a dog treat and a little jerky.  But  doesn’t seem too off.  Just mellow. 

Chemo today… 

Side effects of Chemo... Here they come

Got up to find that ernie had vomited last night….  L  a big huge wet spot on the carpet.  I found out because he was actually licking it up.  Bleah.

At 8:30am gave pred/anti nausea/anti diarrhea. And some tripe.  Showered and made eggs…..no go..  Was just getting ready to go to work and he was acting weird .. and then bleah…vomited.  It was at 9:15 so I was worried that he threw up his meds.  So I sorted thru tripe vomit … yeah, I did that.….   And didn’t find any pills.  So decided not to give him any more.   We went outside and he settled down.. then we came in.  I left him w/ some some Blue Buffalo dog biscuits and tripe and the eggs.

Came home around 3pm.  He had vomited again – on the floor and on the couch.  Probably came on quickly and couldn’t get up fast enough.  Poor bunny.   Gave him an anti nausea.  We went out back and sat outside for a bit.  Came in.  He started looking for food….  Gave him one biscuit and he ate it, so gave him two more.  He also ate some wellness jerky.  Left a couple of biscuits with him and went back to work.

Home from work late.  Gave pred at 8:30pm – at least got that on time.  Went to run a quick errand and brought the dogs.   Stopped at Mcdonalds to have an  ‘in case’ meal.  Up to now he really likes McDonalds hamburgers.  I really don't care what is 'healthy' or not....  Its all about him eating.  We stopped at his favorite park and he was so happy to be there! I thought maybe we would sit at a picnic table and eat but he wanted to chase his frisbee, So we chased the Frisbee for  a little bit, but became interested in the bag of food I was holding.  So we hopped in the car and headed home.  He ate some hamburger.  Ya. 

Today I bought some Blue Buffalo Wilderness.  I figured if he liked the Blue Buffalo treats, maybe he would like the food.  He ate 1 1/3 cups!!!  What?!?  Yes…  I hope he continues to like it J  it’s a very good food.

He is resting right now.   Tomorrow is chemo. As long as his blood values are good, etc.  I hope that his weight is ok…     

Tuesday 16 October update

Last night no waking up during the night.  Got up and he went out to pee.  Had ½ formed ½ diarrhea this morning.  Seemed bright.  Ate small piece of jerky.  I took a shower and then made some eggs.   He ate some.  Gave pred at 9:00am and anti nausea med this morning to work into new schedule.  Left him w/ the eggs and some treats.

Came home around 3pm w/ tripe.  Went out and he peeeeeeed.  Had a bit of diarrhea.   Came in and offered tripe.  He ate it! Yay!  About ½ a can….  Left some on a plate for him and went back to work.

Stopped at the sunflower pet store on my way home and bought a case of tripe.  Half beef half venison, half regular.  I was so glad they carried the brand I like - Tripett and they had it for a better price than amazon.

Came home  and took him out and he peeeeeed.  He was in good spirits.   Stayed out for a little bit and came in.  He ate more tripe.  I tried mixing some omega 3 in.  no go.  He can smell everything I tell you….   He ate some more plain.  Will try the mix later to get the omega threes in.  I only added 3 pills., he should get 5.  Sigh...  But at least he ate.    

I went outside and helped a neighbor with moving some furniture.  Ernie really liked being out and about and around people.  He didn’t want to come home back in.  But I had spinach pie in the oven and I need to eat too….  

He has some heavy breathing tonight…  pred??

10:00pm – anti nausea med 

10:30pm three omega threes

Monday 15 October

Monday 15 october

Morning….  Ernie went out to pee … a lot.  Guess it’s the pred.  I went back and laid in bed.  He didn’t wake me up last night.   So either I slept well, or he slept well. 

Got a call from work and had to make some calls, was a bit stressed.  He didn’t seem to be too effected.  Although it did appear that the dogs barking at the neighbors did stress him out a bit.  Unless now he knows it stresses me so he gets stressed.  Don’t know.  

Tried some treats – Turkey jerky by wellness.   He likes them.  Also wilderness treats by Blue.  Gave him pred ½ hour early to try and get the time adjusted to earlier so that I can give it and get to work on time.  Also gave him the anti diarrhea which he spit out…   gave it again and he chewed it into a bunch of pieces.  He did end up getting some but it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Today he ate treats as I left and didn’t bolt for the door.  I was very glad about that.  Today I decided not to come home and check on him.  It was hard.

On my way home I stopped at the ranch market and got some chicken.  He seemed to like the jerky I bought (USA made from Sunflower Pets).  That stuff isn’t cheap…  So I decided to try and make some of my own.

In the meantime I  tried some eggs…. Picky.  Ate a few.  My other dog Charlotte kept being a creeper. That was annoying him.   I was glad he had the spirit to be annoyed if that makes sense. 

We went outside to play ball – he had good energy.  Then went for a walk to the bungalow and visited for a bit.  Got home jerky still not ready .. 

Pred at 9:00pm.  Also gave him 5 omega 3.  Wish he would eat ‘normal’ so I could put the oil on his food, but he is still so picky I don’t want to do anyting to mess with the taste. He started getting really hungry and ate the rest of the eggs.  Refused cheese, dog food (no surprise) and evo treats.   Got the jerky from the oven and he ate a bunch.  5 or 6 pieces.  Yay!!  Need to make a bunch more next time.  He doesn’t like cooked chicken, but likes the jerky a lot.

He wanted to go to the porch when I did, he really likes to lie out there and is lying by the door right now.  His breathing seems to be more under control and he isn’t panting,  or seeming to be restless. 

Saturday was rough ….  He was lethargic and wobbly still.  Saturday night he got really confused, and was ‘looking’ for something it seemed like..   almost cut the pred dose, but decided to just wait it out… I was very concerned and ended up calling the vet.  She wasn't sure what was going on, but said to keep an eye on him and call tomorrow if I needed to or he got worse.   Sunday he was tired – stayed up late, today was much better.  I just am hoping for him to feel as good as he can as an older boy.   Love him so much its crazy. 

Back out on the porch for a few minutes and then to bed.  Its after midnite….  I haven’t really been too mindful of taking care of myself, and I need to try and be better about that.  I also want to try and be better about journaling, but its hard to keep track of everything and I just get so frustrated and exhausted. 

Today – anti diarrhea, pred 30 mg x2 and 5 omega 3.

Eggs, chicken jerky, dog treats