A dog's day... - Jun. 01, 2006 at 09:37 AM
I haven't updated in a while, so here's the latest. I'm on the mends as far as any strange illness, weird lumps or crazy rash are concerned, so that is great news! The latest sad news is that one of my beloved and cherished dogs has lymphoma - cancer in the lymph nodes. While I was away on my trip, my parents noticed lumps on Ridley's throat - oddly enough, around the same time I had my lump! Since I've been back, I found that all his external lymph nodes were inflamed, so our vet put him on antibiotics for a week. Like my lump, there was no change with the drugs. My mum and I took Ridley to the vet yesterday for a 'fine needle aspiration' to check the fluid in his lymph nodes, and cancer was confirmed. The prognosis isn't great I'm afraid, the vet said without any treatment, 1 month would be a stretch. So we've placed him on a solid dose of Prednisone (a steroid which slows down the division of the cancer cells) and will just make sure he is not in any pain. Our biggest concern is Ursa, as she has not known life without her big brother and litter mate. My family is open to getting another dog, but we're not actively searching - we tend to end up rescuing dogs as they come along! Those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting these friendly furry members of our family know how much they are a part of the Kaye household. Those of you who have not met them just know how animal crazy I am, so in turn know how devastating this news is. I just like to think that we've given Ridley a happy 4 1/2 years and that he has touched our lives greatly, and will be sadly missed when he is gone.So, my family is heading to the lake this weekend with the two 'beasts' and we will cherish the time we have left with them together!
