Mostly Wordless Wednesday

 

. . .with a Headless Husky.

And his opinionated sister. . . 

See what I have to put up with - Timber is such a silly boy.

Woos - Misty and Timber

Time to join the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.

Wordless Wednesday

Woos - Timber and Misty

A fun bloghop - Wordless Wednesday - sponsored by Comedy Plus.

Remember us???

Well, we are still here, but our Secretary seems to have taken an extended leave of absence.

With a very grateful nod to Ann and June of Zoolatry for their creative work,  we are offering you our holiday wishes for a Merry Christmas.  

(Sorry to be recycling last year's card.)

We are both doing reasonably well.  Timber will be paying a visit to Dr. B. tomorrow for his annual exam.  He seems to forget that he is now 8 1/2 years old but acts like he is two.  Mom is noticing some stiffness in his bad legs and a bit of discomfort in his front upper legs, maybe shoulders.  So we shall see what the good doctor thinks.

Misty continues to deal with all her issues, including another messy burst sebaceous cyst.  Dr. B is on the move to try thinking out of the box for a possible way to control her IBD without having to resort to steroids (which she cannot have).  The first medication (Apoquel) he tried did nothing for her, positive or negative.  Right before Thanksgiving, he gave Mom a prescription for another option, an immunosuppressant med called Azathioprine.    He suggested waiting until after Thanskgiving to start it because we had a houseful of company for over a week - and it was very hectic here.  This new medication comes with some serious side effects.  Misty would have to have her blood tested every 2-4 weeks to monitor her bones. Mom has been reading a lot of reports online and isn't sure she is willing to give it a try, given its multiple common side effects.  She is going to talk again to Dr. B. about it tomorrow.  Misty reacts in the most negative way to almost every treatment tried.  Mom isn't sure it is worth taking the chance.

We got a new tree this year.  It is really pretty at night when you can see the lights. Maybe we can get another shot for you to see.

We have missed visiting our friends' blogs and hope you are all doing well.  Until the next time  . . .

Woos - Misty and Timber

We hope you like our Ussies today. Let's see who else is sharing a Selfie or Ussie on the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop sponsored by The Cat n My Head.

Happy (?) Tuesday

Do I look happy to you, Mom???  I am giving you the raspberries - I am not a happy boy right now!!!

Yes, I am in hiding, and no, I am not telling you why.  

Woos - Timber

From Mom:  This sweet boy is truly strange.  I have no idea why he is hiding, but if I ignore him, he will be fine later.   No more issues please.

Let's see who is really having a Happy Tuesday by hopping on the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.

Misty Monday

The dreaded phone call came Friday night.  Mom saw the number, looked at the clock, and knew that an 8:00 p.m. call from Dr. B. was not likely going to be a happy hello.

So my pathology report is back.  It is not all bad, but more bad than good.  The mass Dr. B. removed from my left front leg was a soft tissue sarcoma, one that goes after the skin, tendons, muscles, and other soft tissue.   It IS a malignant tumor.  It has been graded a low to moderate grade, close to a 2 on a scale of 3 with 3 being the most aggressive.  The margins were not clean enough to say that he got it all.  A 3 mm margin is needed to call it clean.  My report says it is a narrowly excised mass with only a 1.5 mm margin on the periphery and less than 0.1 on the depth.  The mass was very close to muscle and tendons, and Dr. B. was concerned about permanent damage to my leg if he had tried to excise into the muscle.  Even before the report came back, we knew there was a good chance that the margins would not be wide enough to declare victory.

In addition, a sarcoma acts like an octopus in shape, sending out "small babies" all around it,  a bit like spindle cell tumors.  There is a reasonable chance that the tumor will grow again either at the main site or with one of the "babies" because we don't have those clean margins.  I will be closely monitored by both Mom and Dr. B. for any sign of new growth.  Most dogs with low to moderate grades can live 3-4 years if there is not recurrence.  Radiation and chemotherapy are both options.  Radiation would require multiple sedations, one for the mapping of the area, and then for each subsequent treatment.  Because of how easily stressed my GI system behaves, this is probably not a good choice for me.  And chemotherapy would basically escalate my IBD to a level that would be unbearable, so that is out of the question.  Dr. B.'s opinion is that, if it comes down to new growth, he would not encourage radiation .  He is just hoping that we won't have to face that option.  And an even bigger hope is that it hasn't/doesn't metastasize to other areas of my body.

My incision is healing well, so my stitches will come out Wednesday.  I hope to shed the cone then and get the release to do stairs again.  I do have a bit of a limp, but Dr. B. says my skin has a lot of stretching to do from the flaps he had to create in order to close my wound.  Poor me, I have had CCL repairs on both knees and now this on one front leg.  I still have at least one leg free of issues.  I want to keep it that way.

It is certainly not the news we were all hoping to receive, but as Mom says, it is what it is, and we will deal with it.

Woos - Misty and her supportive brother Timber

Mom says I am still AWWW-worthy even with my gimpy leg and my silly lampshade, so let's hop along and see who else is joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.

Wordless Wednesday

Who wants to caption this???

Woos - Misty and Timber  (BFFs)

Let's see who else is appearing on the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.

Happy (?) Tricky Tuesday

 Timber, how did you manage to get yourself in there???

We think you might be stuck.

And a view from the other side.

Snooter snagged by the lamp cord.

Have no fear. Mom came to his rescue, and he is just fine.  Actually he wasn't bothered at all by his situation:). In fact he loves to camp out in tight spots. They are his caves:)

Woos - Misty and Timber

Quick Misty Update:  Still coned, incision healing well, GI gut is a mess.    Stopped all extra meds except the amoxicillin, which may be the culprit, but necessary to prevent incision from being infected.

We are happy to hop along with the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop sponsored by Comedy Plus.