Dogs in the CLE

I can’t believe how long I kept you hanging from the suspense of my last blog! Sorry about that, but the good news is that we have been through a lot the last few months so we are at an even better place to update you all on how it’s going.

It has been a long journey, but we are now almost six months post diagnosis – and for a disease that takes many dogs within weeks or months, this is something to celebrate! We have found a good routine and treatment plan, and I am hopeful we can keep him healthy for a long time. I am so grateful he is doing well and just trying to take it day by day.

So now an update on what’s been happening the last few months:

After his unsuccessful first dose of chemo we went back to the oncologist and had a discussion about whether or not to continue chemo. Roscoe was feeling a lot better at this point and had bounced back quickly from the bad reaction to the first drug. I told the oncologist I’d like to continue the chemo to see how he handles the next drug and see if it has any impact. He agreed, and recommended that we do a lower dose of the next drug, Cyclophosphamide.

Roscoe handled the Cyclo really well – no side effects and didn’t get sick. After this drug, the next one up in the CHOP treatment plan was Vincristine (the drug that made him so sick the first time), so after consulting the oncologist, we decided not try Vincristine again, especially since we weren’t seeing much impact to his lymph nodes from either drug. We decided to keep him on the Cyclophosphamide at a lower dose since at this point he was doing well and the lymph node wasn’t growing. The oncologist said that sometimes the best result we can get is to be stable, so the goal of the treatment plan now moved from remission to just keeping him stable.

This is not a standard chemo treatment plan (as my oncologist said “We are flying by the seat of our pants”) but as long as I wasn’t seeing Roscoe suffer or get sick, I was willing to give it a try. We recently finished eight weeks straight of just Cyclo, and now we are down to once a month. He is still taking prednisone daily since and we will probably keep him on this for a while since he’s not really having any bad side effects.

The oncologist says he is overjoyed with how Roscoe is doing, and also surprised since dogs usually don’t do so well with his type of lymphoma (GI lymphoma).

Holistic Treatments

In addition to the chemo/pred treatment plan we also pursued another option to keep Roscoe healthy. At the recommendation of a friend of a friend, I reached out to a holistic vet. Sadly, there are very few local holistic vets, but I found a wonderful one on the east side, Dr. Laura Surovi of Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation. Dr. Surovi does home visits if you live on the East Side, but since I am on the West side we arranged a meeting spot for Roscoe’s appointment.

Seeing a holistic vet has opened a whole new world for me. I can’t emphasize enough how helpful it’s been for Roscoe, and for me to just have someone else to go to with questions and concerns about his health. After discussing Roscoe’s history with Dr. Laura, she recommended giving him some Chinese herbs (Wei Qi) and trying Acupuncture, one every two or three weeks at first and then monthly. We also discussed diet – an important factor as kibble is not considered healthy option for dogs with cancer. She recommended a homemade diet, and cooking with “warm” meats and other ingredients that would help him stay healthy. I also started giving him CBD oil, since I have heard many good things about giving this to dogs with cancer.

Dr. Surovi works with dogs with cancer, as well as dogs with mobility issues – so if you have ever considered seeing a holistic vet, I highly recommend her. She is super responsive and helpful, and since she’s been through cancer with her dog, has a lot of great insight and empathy into what I am facing.

So things have been going well and really other than weight loss, I haven’t see many changes in Roscoe. He is still running his agility drills (check us out on Mondays on Instagram) and playing with his Omega ball every night. We even got to take a trip to the Finger Lakes in August. I feel so lucky we can continue to enjoy these times together and I am hoping for many more good days!

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Like most people, I assume, I didn’t really think there was much you could do to treat a dog with cancer. I had heard of people doing chemo, but it didn’t really seem like a common thing or something most would do because of the expense. It also seemed like a lot to put a dog through if there really is no cure for their cancer. Would they be sick the whole time? Would they lose their hair? Would it even work? These were all the questions I had when I first reached out an oncologist.

For this post, I will share the information I’ve learned so far on chemo and our experience with it.

Lymphoma chemo treatment – CHOP 19 Protocol

This is the most common type of treatment for dogs with lymphoma. It consists of incorporating several injectable and oral drugs on a weekly basis for 19 weeks. Dogs get a break usually after four treatments and are checked by the oncologist weekly to monitor blood work and potentially do ultrasounds to check the growth of the lymph node. Many dogs take prednisone, a steroid, along with chemo. The combination of chemo and prednisone is the most aggressive way to try to get a dog into remission. You can just treat a dog with prednisone, which is much more affordable than chemo, but since it is a steroid at some point it’s possible the dog could build up an immunity to it and it will lose its effectiveness. Based on this information, we decided to try both chemo and pred, and take it week by week to see how he handled it and if it helped.

The oncologist warned me that many dogs don’t handle chemo well. Many have issues with their appetite, or vomiting and/or diarrhea. It’s not as bad as human chemo though, since dogs don’t get as high of a dose as a human would, so although some sickness is common, they usually don’t lose fur. And some dogs handle it with little to no issues.

Knowing it differs for every dog, it was hard to know what to expect. Before each chemo treatment, the dog is told to fast and they do blood work to check that their white blood cell count is high enough for them to do chemo. Since Roscoe’s blood work was good at his first appointment, he was given vincristine, an injectable drug.

Everything was good for about a week, and then Roscoe got very sick. Throwing up repeatedly and shaking. He would still eat, but throw it right up after. I called the oncologist in the morning and they said to bring him right in and they’d fit him in between exams.

***This is where I stop to rave about Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital. Before Roscoe was diagnosed I had a lot of stressful nights not being able to get him vet appointments, or having to drop him off to wait 6+ hours at the emergency vet for him to even be seen by a doctor. I know things are very bad for emergency vets right now, so I am not blaming anyone- but it was very stressful and difficult to go through with a sick dog. I was so relieved when Metro said they could just work him in. And the staff at Metro has been so kind and understanding. I have really been impressed with their customer service and flexibility, especially during such a stressful time.***

Ok back to Roscoe’s treatment. He ended up having to stay overnight with the vet as he had a fever and his white blood cell count dropped really low. He had what they refer to as chemo-induced neutropenia, which is common after chemo but can make a dog more susceptible to infections. By the morning though, he was back to normal – blood work improved and he was eating normally.

Although he was feeling better now, I talked to the oncologist who said that it was unusual that he responded so negatively to this treatment. He explained that that particular chemo treatment is not as hard on the bone marrow as some of the other treatments would be. He was concerned if he didn’t handle this one well, it would only get worse from here. He also let me know that the ultrasound did not show any reduction in the lymph node, which they do expect to see after one treatment.

Based on this info, I had a decision to make – should we even continue chemo? If he would get this sick each time is it fair to put him through it? And how long could I give it if I wasn’t seeing any improvement in his lymph node?

The oncologist said to give it a week and we’d recheck his blood work and make a decision then.

Up next- Continuing Chemo? And Pursuing Alternative Treatments.

I wish I was back on the blog for better news, but it feels important for me to share this news, especially for those who may face the same thing or are going through it as well. Roscoe was recently diagnosed with lymphoma after getting very sick in April. I’d been worried about him since late last summer when he began having irritable bowel issues. I took him to the vet a few times and tried a range of things to help, but the issues were so periodic that it didn’t seem too serious.  Then in early April he began vomiting and wouldn’t eat and was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

I was concerned after this event that there must be more going on, so I scheduled an appointment with an internal medicine specialist at Great Lakes VCA to find out if we could pinpoint a reason for his stomach troubles. I asked them to do an ultrasound thinking it would uncover that he had IBD, but the scans found an enlarged lymph node near his colon that was biopsied and found to be cancerous. Hearing that anyone you love has cancer is a devastating thing, but it is especially devastating with a dog because you don’t know what can be done to treat it, or that you’ll be able to afford to do so.

The internal medicine specialist referred me to an oncologist at Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Akron. She gave me a prescription for Prednisone and said that most dogs tolerate chemotherapy very well and said the oncologist there would be able to discuss the options with me.

I had no idea what to expect for treatment but went into my appointment feeling optimistic there was something we could do to help him. The oncologist brought me back to reality a little by explaining that many dogs don’t really handle chemo that well, and explaining to me how he may have the T-Cell version of lymphoma that doesn’t respond as well to treatment. Chemo was said to be best option for remission, but he also explained how Prednisone alone can be used as a more affordable treatment option, although less effective. After hearing some of this not-so-optimistic news, I just said that I wanted to do everything I could for Roscoe. I haven’t seen many signs of illness from him and day to day he is the same Roscoe he’s always been, so I couldn’t imagine just giving up and letting the disease take over his body.

He recommended starting him on the UW CHOP-19 protocol which is a 19-week treatment plan where they alternate five different drugs each week, with a couple of breaks in between. An estimate of $7,000-8,000 was given for the treatment.

Roscoe began his chemotherapy on June 9. Since his first treatment, I have learned a lot more about chemotherapy, specialty and emergency vets (thank you all) holistic medicine and pet insurance. I will be sharing our journey in future posts in case this information is helpful for anyone down the road, and if I am being honest, to build my own support network because honestly this all really sucks. 

Stay tuned for our next post on Chemotherapy. Don’t worry though, I will try my best to keep it fun, with lots of pictures of this silly guy. I don’t know how this will all turn out, but right now my guy is happy and healthy, begging for his next treat and running agility drills in the basement, so that is what I am focused on.

I think we all know dogs are the real winners in this Coronavirus quarantine. Although they don’t understand “social distancing,” dogs of the world are rejoicing as they get time back with their humans to do all of the things they dream of while we are away.

So, now that we have all this time, what should we be doing with our dogs? Especially when the weather is less than ideal, so we are mostly trapped inside. Besides just extra snuggles, which they definitely deserve, here are a few ideas from things we are doing during #CoronaQuarantine2020.

Make a homemade agility course

Putting together an agility course is pretty easy to do, even if you don’t have a lot of space. You can use a broom on top of a few boxes and have your dog jump over it, put some Tupperware or small boxes down to make a course for them to run zig zags through, get a small stool or bucket and have your dog jump up on it. You can find lots of ideas online for making your own course at home.

We set up ours in the basement and have a “course” where they can jump over two planks, run through a tunnel (purchased tunnel on Amazon) and jump up on a stool at the end. The dogs love it. It’s especially challenging with two dogs to get one dog to stay while the other goes, so it’s also a great way to do other training on stay while you work on agility too.

 

Scent games

This is one of the easiest ways to entertain your dog, that actually does wear them out. You can hide treats or other food and make a game of hide and seek around the house, or you could put out boxes and hide treats in and around the boxes.

You can also hide treats in a muffin pan with tennis balls on top – great idea from Jessica at Milo and Me in Lakewood. We use scent games to work on stay as well, as one dog takes a turn finding treats and the other waits.

Grooming

This is your chance to really work on getting your dog to cooperate for grooming. I decided to use this time to work on teeth brushing with Hunter (Roscoe only has a couple teeth — they were bad before I adopted him 😀). I have really been slacking in this area, relying on bones and dental chews to care for his teeth. We are going to start an at home tooth cleaning routine now that we have time to work on this at home.

This time at home is a good opportunity to work on grooming with dogs that are not a fan of brushing or nail clipping or teeth brushing. Make your grooming session a fun snuggle time for your dog, or bring in a lot of treats and toys to try and get them associating grooming time with a more fun activity. You can take it slow and just do small amounts of brushing or teeth cleaning, followed up with lots of snuggles and quality time to make this a more fun experience and hopefully get them more comfortable with grooming.

Explore the Metroparks, find new trails

Luckily, we can still get outside! I still have a list of parks that I want to visit, so we will definitely be going through this list on nicer days (as long as it’s not raining at this point, since we are so desperate to get out). This is your chance to really explore the area and find some new parks and trails to love. Here are some of my favorites: https://dogsinthecle.com/2015/10/22/5-favorite-fall-hikes

Just be together

We really take for granted how much our dogs spend their lives waiting for us to get home. They are our constant companions; their lives truly revolve around us. We’ve been given an opportunity to spend a significant amount of quality time with our dogs and we should really take this time to just be with them and give back some of the love they are always giving to us. Take some time to do whatever your dog loves best, snuggle, play fetch, take a walk, do whatever it is you can to really appreciate this extra time we get together.

Stay healthy everyone, we will get through this! I know it’s a scary time but I am trying to focus on the positive, and one of the positives definitely is getting more time at home with my dogs.

And, please send me any ideas or pictures of how you are spending this quarantine with your dog.

 

 

 

The winter tends to drag on here in Cleveland, and even when we get some warm days we often have to deal with trekking through muddy slush if we want to get our dogs outside. It can be difficult to figure out things to do with your dog that don’t end up in a bath for him (or you) this time of year.

If your dog is bored and you’re tired of dealing with the cold and snow, the Cleveland area does have some indoor activity options. Whether you just want to drop your dog off to burn off some energy for a few hours, or have him try swimming or agility, check out these options this winter:

Indoor dog park

Did you know K9 Cleveland has an indoor dog park? The doggie day care located near the Flats allows you bring your dog to play for an hour or so, while you stay and hang out with him. I was excited to see this option since I am not that big of a fan of dropping my dog off for play. From my experience with doggie daycare, Hunter just sits there and waits for me to come back. I like having an option where he can play with me and play with other dogs.

This option is only available on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is $2 and you have to show proof of rabies, DHPP and Bordetella, and pass a basic temperament test. Visit https://k9cleveland.com for more info.

Swimming and Activity Room

If you haven’t checked out the Canine Country Club, you really need to! It is so exciting we now have this option for indoor play here in Cleveland. With a large dog pool and an activity room with agility equipment, this is the perfect destination for your dog this winter. You can sign up online for your dog to do a half hour swim session with their staff, or if your dog is experienced swimmer, you can sign up for open pool time. You just have to go through the swim initiation first, so they can assess your dog’s swimming ability.

They also have an activity room that you can reserve some time to play with your dog. The room includes agility equipment so you can work on that with your dog. The Club also offers the option for owners can drop their dogs off for a half hour play session with an activity assistant. Find out more about this or swimming options at: https://www.caninecountryclubcle.com/

Drop off play time

If you need to run some errands and just want to have your dog run off some energy, a few doggie day care facilities allow you drop your dog off for two hours of play time. The Dog Stop Plus near downtown, Stay Dog CLE in the Detroit Shoreway area and Double Dog Day Care in Stow, are a few of the places that allow dogs to be dropped off for some short-term playtime.

Playgroups

PetPeople stores host dog play groups on certain days, although I think it’s down to only the Hudson location that hosts these currently. Small dog socials are for dogs 30lbs or less. I don’t see any large dog socials on the calendar locally here for this month or next. Visit https://www.petpeoplestores.com/calendar.html to find out more.

Dog Classes

Training your dog is one the best ways to keep your dog active in the winter. We do a lot of training at home (it’s very easy to make your own agility course or do nose work), but it’s even better to get your dog out to try out some new skills or brush up on his or her obedience training.

Fortunate Fido is one of my favorite training centers. We’ve done about every course we can there. They offer Rally training classes, scent run trials, as well as various other obedience training classes. Cleveland All Breed Training Club offer agility classes if you’re looking to get your dog into that, as well as scent run trials, obedience training and Canine Good Citizen courses.

There are good training facilities all over Cleveland, so do a search to find the perfect one for your dog.

What do you do with your dog in winter to keep him or her entertained?