Maggie was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma on her left knee. She had amputation done on October 20, 2009. Four days after surgery she had a low grade fever and was off her food for two weeks! Trying times.. I am grateful and so pleased with how she is progressing now.
Nuttin’ much goin’ on up here in Northern Maine – it’s incredibly hot here today at 86 degrees – Ireally hate the heat but I was up for a walk early today before it got too hot…then I went down to the lake for a ‘wade’.
Nice in the shade this morning!
Hope your summer is going well…honestly, I can’t wait for cooler weather! I don’t have much energy in this heat!!
Moose Point State Park with Penobscot Bay behind me – Belfast Maine
Hello all!
It was a busy weekend for me and my little sister, Haley, last weekend. Mom took us
to Lincolnville(Maine) for more FUN Wag It Games Trials. Here are a few photo’s
from our cool cabin and from our walk at Moose Point State Park nearby!
Me n’ Mom at Moose Point State ParkView from along the trailMe and my dorky little sister at the COOL cabin!the Park has lots of weddings held there – the grounds are beautiful!one of the trails..
I played in Novice Sniff It, Skilled(2nd level) Shadow Skills and Skilled
No Need for Speed Skills. I earned my WAG1 Sniff It in Search and Identify!
I earned my WAG2-O(Obstacle skills) and my WAG2-S(Shadow skills)!!!
So my Mom is pretty darn proud of me…here’s some video links to some of my runs:
This is No Need For Speed Class – a lot of it reminds me of my ole’ agility days – only
NO speed 🙂 I LOVE the ramps and the hoops! Oh and I’m pretty darn good at that
“Place It” exercise – where I pick up the ball and drop it in the bowl!
And this is my first run of Skilled Shadow Skills. I was a little drifty to start – not sure
what I was seeing(or not seeing) on the floor – my eyesight is giving me a bit of a hard
time 🙁
And these are Novice Sniff It – the Search portion. Identify portion is 10 containers in
a row but no video of me doing those tests.
And here’s a photo of my ribbons I earned! Pretty colors huh?
Me and my “bling”!Notice the ribbons have THREE paws on them!!! How cool is that!!!
Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods! Guess I’m done braggin’ for a bit! 😉
It’s summer time finally here in Northern Maine. Mom took me for a nice little jaunt around what she calls “Maggie’s Trail” just down the road from where we live. We rarely ever see anyone there so I think they made it for ME! All for me! Hence, the name of the trail 🙂 Getting around purty good…my sight and hearing are going a tad but, hey, what do you expect for 12 1/2 years old! Mom just HAD to show you this video…I don’t know why but she said it proves my hearing is going…pffftt…will you tell her I was just ignoring her!
And Mom took this one to show how much I “work” as a Tripawd. It’s hard work to motor around on three legs sometimes…
And of course, Mom had to shoot some pictures of me!
TRIPAWD POWER! My little tag I got from you know who(hint: Rene!)Along “Maggie’s Trail” (well really it’s a public trail but I think it’s mine!)Mom, can we go for a walk now? Enuff pictures already!Ok, this photo shoot is making me tired! Time for a break!
Well, after all those photo’s FINALLY we started motoring down the trail…my walk was short..it was hot and I got muddy getting into a mud hole, so Mom took me down to the lake to get cooled off and washed off!
Here’s “my” version of swimming…3 legs or 4…I haven’t changed MY style of swimming(aka wading!)
Last Friday was Maggie’s yearly wellness exam and testing. Maggie is now almost 12 1/2 years old. She has lots of lumps and bumps on her and one on her right shoulder has grown quite fast so I had my vet do a fine needle aspirate on it. The results on that are “friendly” epidermal inclusion cells. Yay!
Had a geriatric blood panel drawn on her. She had some elevated liver and pancreatic enzymes which my vet was a little concerned about but also didn’t indicate liver disease. I, of course, instantly think the cancer might be spreading as I have read that STS goes to the liver and lungs. She prescribed Denamarin for her (silymarin/milk thistle) and recheck blood in a month.
She also found that Maggie has a Grade 2/3 heart murmur. Maggie does cough a little bit now and then and this could be the cause of that. Again, I was instantly thinking lung mets when I would hear her cough. She’s been doing it now all winter. NOT a lot but…
I told her about Maggie’s lack of stamina these days and how a 15-20 minute walk really seems to tire(or sore?) her the next day. She stated she may have the start of arthritis coming. Based on Chloe’s recent update, being a rear leg tripawd too, I am probably sure that is what is going on with Maggie too. I didn’t x-ray her. She also stated that the heart murmur could be part of the cause of less stamina.
Her urinalysis, fecal, heart worm and Lyme tests were all negative. 🙂
So, I left there thinking I need to review all of this with Maggie’s homeopathic vet, Dr. Charlie Loops in NC. So I made an appointment for a phone consult.
Here’s his take (I emailed him Maggie’s test results):
Dr. Loops said Denamarin OK for her liver but in Maggie’s case he feels milk thistle would do just as well and a lot cheaper. And could use Milk thistle long term.
He said her numbers are really not a problem. He said the GGT liver number is even an unreliable measure in people. The ALT number not all that high. I told him the number of last year and year before as a comparison. The one number that is really high is Lipase, which is a pancreatic enzyme. He asked me if she is showing signs of pancreatitis, like vomiting. I said no.
He said if her cough progresses than yes, an issue, but if it isn’t (it is not) than all is OK in his mind. He also isn’t terribly concerned with her heart murmur. He said she is 12 1/2 and things get more constricted in the valves, etc. He did say it would be good to give her CoQ10 to support her heart and to give her 60 mg. per day.
I asked about the Hawthorn berry as I read that is good for the heart. He said it is ok, an herbal diuretc..doesn’t know if she needs it but it won’t hurt her.
I told him about her lack of stamina and not able to handle much for walks anymore(the day after she is mopey and seems maybe a tad sore based on her balance). He says it all sounds normal to him based on her age and her being 3 legged. He did ask me if I had her on a joint product. I said oh yes.. He figured I had but wanted to be sure.
So, he isn’t going to change her cancer homeopathic remedy protocol.
Put her on the Denamarin and recheck blood work in a couple months.
After Denamarin put her on milk thistle long term.
He sees nothing that points toward cancer progression 🙂
I feel better…I have an aging 3 legged dog that just needs less walking, more doting on and a couple new supplements.
Here’s a couple photo’s I took of Maggie….as you can see she’s getting grayer – like the rest of us, I guess!
Tripawds rule!!
Mom, this is MY blog - why is little rug rat sister in MY blog?
Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods…keep on hoppin’…even if just a little slower these days…
Just another winter blog update…nothing new really…just me being silly! My Mom loves to see me being silly 🙂
It’s been a pretty good winter….lots of walking lately…I have been doing pretty well with handling daily walks…if I get a little tired after a longer walk, Mom just shortens up my walks the next day or so…so at least I still get a walk in, just shorter..
We are working on some training stuff for an upcoming Wag It Games trial at the end of the month though! One game is called “Sniff It”…and man, am I rocking that training right now! Great fun using my nose to find the food scented containers! And what dog wouldn’t love this! 🙂
So, next update may be a little more exciting of me doing Wag It Games..
It’s STILL winter in Northern Maine…will it ever end?! Here’s a few photo’s of who else but starring ME! Of course! 🙂
Our Winter Walking Trails…pretty huh?
Hey Mom!
I can run fast! And with a smile on my face!
And here’s just a little video of me…doin’ nothing too important…tried to find a stick but they were too far off the trail to get a hold of. My Mom made another video of me but it just won’t load(stoopid youtube!) and geez, I even did my “Spins and twists” for you, Karen! Boo-hoo…I was showing off for ya’…well, maybe Mom will get it loaded eventually!
And one more photo – my Papa was making fun of me tonight…
Papa, stop picking on me…it’s YOU that needs glasses not me!
