I usually write about travel because that it what I do. I sell travel and specifically cruises. But today I want to talk about the journey I am taking with my little dog Kelly. I got Kelly almost 14 years ago after a tragic incident. Her birthday is on December 26th. 14 years ago in March I had another little yorkie named Maggie. I had Maggie for 5 1/2 months and took her by airplane from Florida to New York. She fit in the little carrier right under my seat. Upon arriving at the airport, being the good pet owner that I am, I told my husband to wait for our luggage and I would walk Maggie outside. I had one of those fancy rhinestone collars on her and we walked outside. Maggie was scared from the traffic and airport noise. I had a good hold on her leash when I walked her, but she bolted. The collar broke open and she went running. There was a yellow taxi coming and I went to run after her. I saw the taxi run over but I thought she was so little maybe it passed over her. I had to stop or it would have hit me. When I got to her she was crushed. I started to scream and my husband ran out. We took our little dog home and buried her. The grief was unimaginable. We cried and cried. We loved that little dog so much. Finally after a few days, I called the pet shop Parrots of the World in Rockville Centre, NY where my husband had bought Maggie and told the owner Mark what had happened. Mark said "call me tomorrow". The next day I called, and Mark said, I have another little female Yorkie that I just got in. Come and look at her. I ran over there and it was love at first site. I wanted her but had to ok it with my husband. I called him at work and told him that Mark had another little yorkie. He asked "Is she Cute?". How can a little 1 1/2pound puppy not be cute. I finally felt my grief lifting although I know one dog cannot take the place of the one we lost. We have it in our hearts to love them both. We brought her home and named her Kelly because we got her on St. Patrick's day. Kelly was so sweet and a typical puppy, jumping around like a little maniac. I remembered thinking, when is this dog going to calm down.
It's 14 years letter and Kelly is an old girl now. She keeps getting cysts and when she had one irritating her eye, I brought her to the vet to have it removed. They did the pre admission testing to make sure she was ok for the surgery. That's when I got the devastating news. Kelly's liver enzymes are elevated and they need to do a liver scan. I gave the ok and we received more bad news. Kelly has a mass on her liver and they need to do a biopsy. I gave the ok and we received her diagnosis. Kelly has liver cancer.
This was the most devasting news. She didn't have any signs other than she is getting older and slowing down. She had the cysts but that is really common in Yorkie's. The vet, who I have trusted for all of Kelly's life told me that I should operate. The tumor is two inches big. I felt that if I operate, she could die on the table. She is almost 14 years old! I can't take that chance. The prognosis is that if you do nothing, she may have a couple of months to a year to live. What is the average life expectancy of a dog? 14 years? 15 years? 16 years? she is almost there.
I took Kelly to a Oncologist vet. There aren't many of them around. She agreed with me. (Thank God) that it was risky to operate on a dog this age. She told me that there is a new medicine out called Palladia. Palladia is supposed to stop the progression of tumors. The cancer had not spread and if they can top the growth, this would work. I agreed to the treatment.
Palladia has to be given with gloves as it is radioactive. How can I give a radioactive pill to my little girl? The medicine has to be given 3 times a week with an antacid as it could upset her stomach.
April of 2012, I started giving Kelly the Palladia. To be on this medication, blood has to be drawn once a month as the Palladia can damage the other organs. Every 3 months, she needs a cat scan to see if the medication is working. The Vet bills every month is $375. This is for the blood work, the Vet's office visit and 1 months's worth of medication. The month that she has the scans, it is over $700.00. I have spent over $6,000 for the diagnosis, blood work scans and medications. My friends and family think I am crazy to spend this amount. When do you know the right time to put a dog down?
Kelly seems ok during the days but at night she starts to pant and she is thirsty. The vet doesn't think the thirst has anything to do with medication. She may also have cushing disease which is a type of thyroid problem. We are now in November 2012 and Kelly's hair has gotten thin, and she seems frail. We have a vet appointment tomorrow. Whatever the outcome, I am glad that I didn't do the surgery. I have had almost 9 months with her that I may not have had.
It is now February 2013, and I have watched Kelly go down hill. I have increased her pain meds, given her Melatonin to keep her calm as well as some other supplement. She is taking a lot of medication. She has increased thirst and has had frequent accidents in the house because she can't control her little bladder.
During the day, she seems like she is resting comfortably but in the evening she starts to pant heavily. I don't know if it is the cancer or the cushing's disease. I turn up the air, give her a pain killer and wet her down.
The past two days she is not eating her food. She will eat her cookies if I hand feed them to her but not out of her bowl. I know her time is limited and I am ready to put her down, but my husband wants no part of that. He is hoping that she will go peacefully in her sleep, but I don't think that is the case. The liver cancer that she has will only cause her to have more pain and possbibly bleed out. It is getting so that I am afraid to leave the house and my heart is breaking for my little girl. I love her enough to let her go. She is depending on me to make this decision.
It's February 26, 2013. Kelly has now stopped eating her food. She won't even eat a cookie and just about took a little piece of turkey. She is sitting up and panting all the time and I guess this is the only way for her to be comfortable. I went to the vet to see if I could give her anything stronger. My husband is not ready to let her go. The vet gave me another pain killer to give in addition to the others and advised us to come in this afternoon with Kelly for her to evaluate her. We got there at 5:30 and our vet of now 14 years, said to us we need to let her go. My husband left the room and just could not bare to see her go but I held my little girl in my arms while the gave her some sedation to keep her calm. They administered her a sleeping medication propofol and she went to sleep. The vet then administered the last medication to stop her heart. I pet her until it was over and my heart is broken but I didn't have any choice. I often wonder if I hadn't given her all the chemo medication would she have lived this long and I will never know. I had my little angel for another year and she will truly be missed. RIP Kelly 12/26/1999 - 02/26/2013. I am missing you every day,
I took Kelly to a Oncologist vet. There aren't many of them around. She agreed with me. (Thank God) that it was risky to operate on a dog this age. She told me that there is a new medicine out called Palladia. Palladia is supposed to stop the progression of tumors. The cancer had not spread and if they can top the growth, this would work. I agreed to the treatment.
Palladia has to be given with gloves as it is radioactive. How can I give a radioactive pill to my little girl? The medicine has to be given 3 times a week with an antacid as it could upset her stomach.
April of 2012, I started giving Kelly the Palladia. To be on this medication, blood has to be drawn once a month as the Palladia can damage the other organs. Every 3 months, she needs a cat scan to see if the medication is working. The Vet bills every month is $375. This is for the blood work, the Vet's office visit and 1 months's worth of medication. The month that she has the scans, it is over $700.00. I have spent over $6,000 for the diagnosis, blood work scans and medications. My friends and family think I am crazy to spend this amount. When do you know the right time to put a dog down?
Kelly seems ok during the days but at night she starts to pant and she is thirsty. The vet doesn't think the thirst has anything to do with medication. She may also have cushing disease which is a type of thyroid problem. We are now in November 2012 and Kelly's hair has gotten thin, and she seems frail. We have a vet appointment tomorrow. Whatever the outcome, I am glad that I didn't do the surgery. I have had almost 9 months with her that I may not have had.
It is now February 2013, and I have watched Kelly go down hill. I have increased her pain meds, given her Melatonin to keep her calm as well as some other supplement. She is taking a lot of medication. She has increased thirst and has had frequent accidents in the house because she can't control her little bladder.
During the day, she seems like she is resting comfortably but in the evening she starts to pant heavily. I don't know if it is the cancer or the cushing's disease. I turn up the air, give her a pain killer and wet her down.
The past two days she is not eating her food. She will eat her cookies if I hand feed them to her but not out of her bowl. I know her time is limited and I am ready to put her down, but my husband wants no part of that. He is hoping that she will go peacefully in her sleep, but I don't think that is the case. The liver cancer that she has will only cause her to have more pain and possbibly bleed out. It is getting so that I am afraid to leave the house and my heart is breaking for my little girl. I love her enough to let her go. She is depending on me to make this decision.
It's February 26, 2013. Kelly has now stopped eating her food. She won't even eat a cookie and just about took a little piece of turkey. She is sitting up and panting all the time and I guess this is the only way for her to be comfortable. I went to the vet to see if I could give her anything stronger. My husband is not ready to let her go. The vet gave me another pain killer to give in addition to the others and advised us to come in this afternoon with Kelly for her to evaluate her. We got there at 5:30 and our vet of now 14 years, said to us we need to let her go. My husband left the room and just could not bare to see her go but I held my little girl in my arms while the gave her some sedation to keep her calm. They administered her a sleeping medication propofol and she went to sleep. The vet then administered the last medication to stop her heart. I pet her until it was over and my heart is broken but I didn't have any choice. I often wonder if I hadn't given her all the chemo medication would she have lived this long and I will never know. I had my little angel for another year and she will truly be missed. RIP Kelly 12/26/1999 - 02/26/2013. I am missing you every day,
