Early Again…Almost 3 Months

Well, the last month has been kind of up and down.  Tate was sick for a good part of it and there were so many things happening at once, we weren’t sure what it was.  First, the new puppy completely disrupted Tate’s kingdom.  Then, he had his third chemo treatment (CCNU capsules, which he’s never had a problem with) but the doctor added an antibiotic and gabapentin because Tate still had an open sore at his incision.  The very next day, he starting vomiting and had poop problems.  This went on at various levels of severity for over two weeks, with a fever of 105o thrown in for good measure, plus an assortment of new meds trying to get this controlled.  Poor little guy, and through it all he had this monkeybutt little sister biting his ears and his tail at every turn.

Finally, the vet said, “Take him off everything.”  So the poop problems subsided but in the meantime the weather turned blistering hot and he started barfing whenever he drank water.  Now he gets his water in a little bowl instead of a bucket, but he really is much less able to take the heat.  Used to be he’d rather be with us no matter what but now he stays inside with air conditioning more often.  So he’s back in reasonable health and the sore has finally healed.  (Whew!  What a relief that is!)  He had his fourth and final chemo treatment with only minor effects.  This is a normal we can live with.  We’ll see about putting him on a low-dose chemo next time we see the oncologist but certainly not if it makes him miserable or even uncomfortable.

Thanks to our own personal Tripawds Puppy Advisory Board (Ge’Lena, Shari and Charon), Little Sister Sam is now under control.  She cries at the back door to go out, she stays out of the kitchen, she sometimes drops the rock or whatever on the “out” command (even a robin one time), and most importantly, she lets up on the “be nice” command.  Then she licks his head and ears.  We don’t leave them alone together very often, and Tate’s getting plenty of time with us away from her.  So enormous gratitude to the T.P.A.B., your wisdom and willingness to share it saved the day!  Tripawds is the best!

Along the way, a number of friends have celebrated ampuversaries in the double digits and I realized, I’d been starting to count on Tate joining their ranks.  Lucky for me, I had a reminder from an Angel that every day is precious, things can change quickly.  And so my priorities are back in order…even if the garden is full of weeds.

A special note to all the Angels out there – you don’t even know the blessings your blogs spread around the Tripawds community and I’m sure to even more guests that we don’t even know about.  So an extra-special thank you to each and everyone one of you.

Author: tatespeeps

Tate came to us in October 2007, was diagnosed with histiocytic sarcoma in February 2011, had a hemipelvectomy on March 15, 2011, and left us on November 28, 2011. He was 5 years old.

8 thoughts on “Early Again…Almost 3 Months”

  1. It sounds like Tate and you have been through the wringer, it is time for some easier days for sure.
    Give her great hugs from us and we look forward to reading about her happier times with her new sister.
    Elizabeth and Sammy

  2. Sorry the CCNU is making you kinda sick — when I take it, my mom gives me Cerenia (for nausea) and metronidazole(for diarrhea) for the next two to three days afterwards. We also usually do a five day run of antibiotics. That seems to take care of my sucky days post-chemo.

    And little sisters can be such pains. My momma says I was one too when I was a tiny pup, but I’m not sure if I believe her!!!! She says I used to make my big sister, Nakita, completely crazy… Not Shasta, though, because she was the Boss and NOBODY messed with her.

    Good luck with the remaining chemos. We’re pulling for you!

    Rio (and her momma)

  3. oh tate, glad you are finally feeling better and the sore is all healed up… as for little sisters…we’re glad you are finally figuring out miss sammie and she is learning to respect you and the numero uno, big cheese, top dog, that you are!!! remember that puppies have short attention spans and even shorter memories… patience grasshopper….

    hugs to you both,

    charon & gayle

  4. Thank you everyone!

    I forgot to mention that along the way Tate had a chest x-ray and got the “All-Clear.” So that was some happy news. I mean, hoppy news. : )

  5. Yowza Tate, I’m so sorry about the rollercoaster. All those ups and downs…well, I’d be barfin everything up too. I’m just glad you’re on the road to recovery now and you knocked that last chemo treatment out of the way. The worst of it is over! Now the fun begins!

    As for Sister Sam…you have my sympathies! I never had a Monkeybutt to contend with but from what I’ve learned here, they really can be a pain sometimes!

    Cheers to the T.P.A.B. crew! They really rock this community!!!! Many thanks to Ge’Lena, Charon and Shari too and paws up to everyone here for offering their support and ideas when time gets ruff. I don’t know what we’d do without you.

  6. I am so glad I found this. Our FCR had his right hind leg taken yesterday. We are waiting to hear how he did last night. We are pretty sure he has localized histiocytic sarcoma as the tumor was on his foot. We had it removed and biopsied then to Cornell we went! The did x-rays, ultrasounds, bone marrow and lympth node test and he was clean so we decided to amputate rather than the month long radiation. So we now begin the journey and your blog has made me see what we are in for and given me hope!

    coop has a little sister too-we got her at Christmas. She is an adorable Tibetan Terrier named Bella who is so sad right now with out him! He is the best big brother in the world!

    1. I’m glad you’re finding Tate’s blog helpful. He’s doing really well right now. I hope Cooper is doing well, remember the first couple weeks are the hardest. It’ll get better soon.

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