For Today I'm the Valedictorian

Let's go play over there!

It's another Monday and what a busy weekend! We didn't get our walk in - there were just to many things going on. But, this week promises to be a bit cooler so maybe one evening we can sneak outside and cruise through the neighborhood.

Part of the craziness was from me preparing for the start of my MBA classes... I was so busy last night before I knew it, it was 11 p.m.! You know it's late when your dogs start begging just to go to bed. :) Taylor was very upset he couldn't curl up in bed... he's the type of dog that needs to be everywhere you are so he wouldn't settle down. I was everywhere in the house last night - laundry, cleaning and studying. My uncle inspired today's title when he told me to remember "at least for today, I'm the valedictorian of my class" - mostly funny because we haven't had to do much of anything yet. :)

There was a progression in Taylor's incision healing... it now seems all scabs have fallen off. The deep part of the incision still looks a bit pink, but there is a nice soft scar in it's place. It's looking so pretty!! I can't wait for our next vet visit so we can show it off... it's hard to believe just a couple weeks ago it was looking so ugly.

Our house is also seeing progression...

• all barricades have been removed and put back in storage
• the cone is in the closet
• the many piles of blankets around the house are getting washed and put back in the closet

Our house is getting back to normal (this is relative of course). It's funny, I almost forgot how our hardwood floors looked... it looks like we added a ton of square footage just removing all of the added recovery items. :)

Well, it's a new week to learn and experience something new. Thank goodness next weekend is a three day weekend - you gotta love labor day weekend - nice timing! :)

Have I Metioned - We Have Wonderful Doctors

"Do I have to come out from under the bench?"

Today was Andre's annual eye exam. Dr. Roberts has once again shown me how lucky we are to have him as our opthamologist. Even though Andre wanted nothing to do with him, Dr. Roberts was patient and explaining our situation so I could understand. He went down the usual list and...

• measured Andre's tear production
• looked at his small gland tumor (filled gland in his upper eyelid)
• reviewed our current prescription eye drops

Andre won't sit still long enough
 to take a good photo! :)

Through it all, Andre had a death grip on my arm, for some reason he just wasn't excited about visit today. We even got a coupon for the over the counter eye drops we used periodically. The best part was the last... not only did we get a Saturday visit... there was not charge for the visit! Can you believe it?! Words can't explain how grateful I was to not have another vet bill right now. I totally was expecting to pay, that's what you do at a vet visit. After the girl behind the counter reassured me this was ok - we thanked her and left. All I can say is "Thank you Dr. Roberts!!"

What a great start to the day - a relaxing yoga class... then a free vet visit... if only my computer router would agree with me today. Oh well, I can't ask for more! It's been a great day - full of small surprises! I hope the weekend continues this way.

What to do This Weekend?

"That's what you call bright
morning sunshine."
(Andre the camera is over here!)

How can you say no to these cute furry faces? I have learned how to very easily - ok not that easily. But, I try withing reasoning. :)

This weekend we may need to take our first "short" walk to get rid of some of our energy. The boys both have cabin fever (me too!) and maybe this weekend they can stretch their paws outside. No "regular" walks yet... but it would be nice to go further than the back yard. Taylor's incision is looking so beautiful and the small opening that is scabbed over is getting smaller and smaller every day!

Andre has his annual eye check-up tomorrow (yes, our infamous Saturday appointment) - cross your fingers things are still going well. I can't imaging what it would be like to be blind in one eye and not produce tears in the other. He doesn't let it get him down. In a strange way, it's like he doesn't know or remember life any different. Dr. Roberts (his opthamologist) is wonderful and his staff takes such good care of us. Again. we are lucky to have such great people taking care of our boys!

I'm counting on both of the boys to help me study this weekend, with my master's classes starting on Monday, I have some reading to do. Hopefully it will be a nice relaxing weekend - conductive to studying of course. :)

It's almost here... let the weekend begin!

The Social Calendar is Filling

The boys and I made our first family social appearance (minus Jim) last night... Ok... so our social calendar isn't really filling up at a rapid rate. But, Taylor has not been allowed to play with other dogs (except Andre) up until last night. He was SO excited to see Izzy - his little cousin - and chase her around my parent's house. I'm sure other play dates are coming soon!

I don't know where he found the energy - but, I do know it ended quickly when we got home. He and Andre ate dinner and crashed on a separate blankets throughout the house. Even this morning he stayed on the bed trying to sleep as long as he could - it was like he had a hangover from all of last night's excitement.

(sigh)... The life of a dog! :)

Where's My Medicine?

"Where's my pill this morning?"

I read a good quote today,

"If you're having trouble keeping your head above water, you're probably not standing on your toes." - Liguorian

This made me laugh as over the last couple months I have often said I'm just trying to stay above water - I guess this means my toes are pretty strong. I instantly wondered if my high-heels also helped with this situation? :)

Life is good on the home front, just busy as usual. Now that we aren't watching Taylor every minute - we are able to get back to some of the basics - I hope to actually clean the house this week.

Taylor's scab was bleeding a bit last night, I hoping it was just part of the healing process. He didn't seem to care too much - more upset I was chasing him through the house with a wash cloth wanting to clean it! He was a bit confused this morning when I didn't offer him peanut butter and a pill... it's almost like he thought he was in trouble because he didn't get one.

Andre got a bath the other night... baths are always interesting. He is allergic to "normal" shampoo... so, even with a special shampoo and conditioner, the first couple days after the bath are always itchy and we find fur around the house. It is cute giving him a bath though, he loves to stand under the running water! It always makes me laugh. I often compare him to Pig Pen in the Snoopy comic - he always seems happy a bit dirty. It's almost strange when he's squeaky clean!

Funny fact: I think Taylor was a bit jealous when Andre got his steroid pill (after his bath) and there wasn't anything for him. We have created furry - pill munching - little monsters! :)

A Couple More Accomplishments

On lookout for all of the kids headed to
school in the morning! The perfect view is
from our guest bed upstairs. :)

We are at at the four week mark for our second tumor surgery and achieving many things!

• Yesterday, Taylor went his first full day in the kennel without the cone.
• Tonight, he will take his last clavamox for his latest infection.

This will officially make him cone free and pill free - this will be a first in a long time!

The incision is scabbing up... I never thought I would be so excited for a scab but it's looking great! Taylor hardly notices it anymore. Lately he is preferring to run around the house with Andre and trying to play tug-of-war with toys.

Taylor is starting to look a bit furry as we did skip his last grooming appointment to allow more time for healing. Although I love the furry look, I know with the end of summer heat it will get to him after a while. Thankfully today is a bit cloudy so the house will stay nice and cool for the boys - at least for a day.

Let the fun begin!

A Weekend of Rest & Relaxation

Rest and relaxation is just what the doctor ordered for us all this weekend.

The boys got a weekend away at Grandma, Grandpa and Granny's house - where they were spoiled (even though Andre was a bit stubborn). Taylor's incision healed even more without me checking it every 10 minutes. :)

Jim and I got a weekend away in the mountains hiking, shopping and sitting by the river relaxing (it was wonderful)! We had some great food and actually met a couple pairs of soft coated wheaten terriers - just not as cute as our Taylor! It all ended so fast, we wished we could have stayed there longer.

Now we are all refreshed - ready to continue healing and go back to school!

Sit and Stay Friday!

It's going to be a busy weekend, so we're getting ready for our sit and stay participation early for this year's K9 Caner Walk in Estes Park.

This morning I was reading the Morris Animal Foundation website - they have a place to post stories of dogs with and those that had cancer (Taylor's story is even there). I am so inspired by the strength man's best friend has. We can learn so much from them. It's so exciting to see the K9 Cancer Walk in Estes Park is exceeding their financial goal and there are over 300 participants - there were around 20 when I had first registered! It's going to be a sight this Saturday with all of those dogs. What fun for a great cause! 

For now, we will sport our event bandannas and maybe next year the boys can attend in person... until then we'll participate at home.

"So, now what do you want us to do?"

What Better Way to Say Thanks? Cupcakes!

What a fun morning we had - as a thank you to Dr. Burns and the staff at South Mesa we dropped off two dozen mini cupcakes from Butter Cream. They looked yummy! We loved our so much the other day we had to share with our extended vet family. (Don't worry, we didn't forget Dr. Clara through all of this, she got flowers the week Taylor got restitched.)

On the home front, Taylor is loving life without his stitches! It's amazing how much of a difference it has made. It's so nice to pet him without getting poked by them... I've never had stitches but Jim keeps reminding me they aren't comfortable. Taylor definitely is more comfortable in his own skin without the stitches going through it. He slept a good part of yesterday - it takes a lot out of you to go to the vet! :) Last night, he was attacking every toy he could find and wanting to play tug of war (and sometimes Andre too!). It's so nice having him get back to normal - even when he does decide to bark with all of the neighbor dogs at the kids headed to school in the morning!

His incision looks pretty good... we are washing it with warm water (no soap) once a day to try to help the antibiotics with the infection battle. Hopefully, it will leave soon and the opening will scab over. It would be nice.

It's been a nice day off with my boys, for once we haven't had appointments to get to or lots of pills to take at certain times (just couple). Just a day of rest and relaxation! :)

The Stitches Are Gone!

"Is it going to hurt?"

Another milestone was reached this morning... Taylor's stitches were removed by the fabulous Dr. Burns!

The incision has healed so nicely... it's not as "Frankenstein-like" as the last one - and the small opening even looks a bit like a paw print. Once it's healed, it should blend in for the most part. You should only see the larger scar from the part that is a bit open and still a work in progress. It will be interesting to watch his fur... I suspect that it is going to grow a bit funny by the scar. It's almost like you took a section from the middle of a patterned fabric and then sewed it back together... it fits pretty good, but it's a little off. It will be cute!

"Where are you taking me? Not the table!"

No achievement is without a challenge at our house... we do have a minor infection of the area that opened up a bit. We were able to get the stitches removed from that location - but it is red and slightly oozy. So, we are back on Clavamox (antibiotics) for another week. It's almost funny - we have definitely learned to prepare for the unexpected. If Taylor can resist the temptation of licking he can continue without the cone when supervised... so far he is doing well. But, he will be coned when unsupervised at least until the opening heals up a bit more.

It was a bit strange sitting in the waiting room today. It brought me back to June when we were beginning this journey. The memories of the tests, surgeries and conversations about cancer all came back to me. It was easy to think when you first hear "soft tissue sarcoma" and "proximal neuro-sheath tumor" - that this was the end of the world and a worse case scenario. We have come so far this summer. As we all know, the vet visits won't end even though the tumor cells were removed... in fact we even scheduled our first check-up (of many) in a month. I wasn't lucky enough to get this one scheduled on a Saturday... but I didn't want to press my luck.

While paying (or at least trying to - technology wasn't on my side this morning), I saw a handout for the Canine Caner Walk in Estes Park this weekend... although Taylor is only a sit and stay participant I need to remind myself to get our cute bandannas out and have the boys start wearing them. We need to support this great cause and do our own walk - even if it is only around the back yard! Maybe I'll even submit photos of our own walk to the photo contest... the boys are so cute, they may just win!

Healing & Restocking - It's A Wonderful Life!

Sneaky dog! Found the door open to the guest room
and snuck to his favorite daytime post this morning! :)

It's Tuesday! That's one day closer to Friday than yesterday.

Taylor is also feeling better today than yesterday! I gave him some pain pills and muscle relaxers yesterday and today. We had ended them a couple days early because he seemed to be doing so well... now it is the stitches not the incision bothering him and this seems to help. I also gave him some Ace last night so we all could sleep... 24 hours to go and we get most if not all of the stitches out. Watch out Dr. Burns... we're headed your way!

Life continues for Andre. I realized yesterday, through the last three months of focusing on Taylor we have let his medicines get low. I called Dr. Robert's office to get a refill of his prescription eye drops and was nicely reminded I needed to schedule his yearly exam - they would fill the scripting but I needed to get him in soon (yes another appointment). As I was trying to figure what day I could go in late to work or leave a bit early (this seems to be a regular juggling act) the receptionist gave me another option... a Saturday appointment. Wait! I took a step back, was I really being offered a Saturday appointment?! This was so exciting! It had been forever since this was an option for me and one of the boys. Three cheers, I could have run around the counter and hugged this sweet soul - and of course we took it!

So, now that we are recovering well - the restocking continues. We need to pick up more of Andre's food, order some of our favorite dog treats from Three Dog Bakery (especially since there is a sale) and refill some more medicine. Hey, but it's fun. We haven't talked to some of these people in a while - anything is better than the last couple months so we can handle this!

Cones, Toys & Cupcakes

"Hot dog anybody?"

It's another Monday. It was cloudy this morning, just the type of weather that makes you want to go back to bed when you wake up. Yesterday was fun celebrating Andre's birthday and the boys are well over their short sugar high... so, back to the usual routine today.

Last night was a rough one... I woke up to Taylor licking/chewing his incision. It's healing great and he went almost all weekend cone free - I don't know why he started in the middle of the night? But, the cone came back on, I gave him a pain pill and we went back to bed. I didn't get much sleep and we both wanted to sleep more this morning, but no luck! There are things that need to get done today and we have places we need to be.

On Wednesday, we are going to get stitches out! I think this will help with the licking as the stitches in healthy healing areas of the incisions seem to be irritating him the most.

The good news in it all keeps coming... Taylor is doing and looking better than he has in a long time! He even found some toys this weekend and was playing with his brother. Its been three weeks since the second surgery... if our little spot continues to heal well, a walk isn't too far away in our future.

It's His Party & He'll Bark if He Wants To!

Happy Birthday Andre! Another year down, many more to come. :)

It's Andre's Birthday!

I can hardly believe Andre is nine today! Our little one is getting old. It was around Halloween that year that he was old enough to join our family - Jim surprised me with him one day after work. Andre has been keeping us on our toes ever since!

I feel so lucky to have him as one of our furry children and tonight we will celebrate - cupcakes for everyone!

Didn't he look innocent as a puppy? Don't let him fool you... there was a lot of spunk even back then!

One of the few moments of rest we had when he was a puppy... even Andre slept on his back! :)

To Cone or Not to Cone?

Freedom! No cone and the first time
 on the stairs in three weeks

That was the big question last night - and the verdict was not to cone! Three cheers! :)

Taylor was doing so well yesterday afternoon, we decided to "forget" to put the cone back on last night and see what he did. Funny enough, even with the kennel door open, he spent most of the night at the foot of our bed (cramping my legs up to my chest). At one point he woke me up, not because he was scraping a cone - but snoring. Then came the dreams... at one time he was chasing something and kicking me... and another he was crying - must have thought his kennel was closed again. For about an hour last night, I did catch him in his beloved kennel. I'm guessing this morning he thought it was all a dream. Seems we are getting our Taylor back, it's nice!

This morning, we have also taken him off of his pain pills and muscle relaxers... but don't worry we still have our Ace in the hole (or on the counter)! This will be really nice when we go see Grandma, Grandpa*, Granny AND all of the bunnies in their yard. *I can get away with this because my Dad still hasn't read my blog.

Tomorrow is Andre's birthday... we have to pick up our cupcakes today and prepare for the big event. It's not as big of a deal as it once was... we used to gather my family for dinner and I would make everybody sing around an ice cream cake. It was a great excuse for a end of summer BBQ! But, now it's just me and my boys celebrating... we still sing and it's still just as fun... except now we have yummy cupcakes and a couple less people. (but, more cupcakes for me!)

Good Morning Sunshine!

Nothing like some morning sunshine to
kick-off your Friday!

It's a beautiful sunny morning, can you believe it there is actually a bit of a chill in the air?! We woke up and got to enjoy some time in the sun relaxing before the day began. What a great start to the day!

Taylor is sleeping great (well as great as you can with a cone). I have a feeling we may be able to go "cone free" at night this weekend. He is focusing on the incision less and less. I think the strings from the stitches catching on things are bugging him more.

I have scheduled his stitches removal appointment. Dr. Burns will be taking care of that next week. Most likely they will keep four of five of them in, just for another week so help that open area finish healing (this is what we did after our last surgery). But, either way, it will be nice to get some of them out. This will mean we need to reschedule our regular grooming appointment, it just seems like a bad idea to be groomed while still having some stitches. But, we'll wait and see the final verdict before I cancel with Jay.

Through it all Andre has not been forgotten... his birthday is now two days away! We have some birthday presents waiting to be wrapped - Andre LOVES opening presents, I have never seen such excitement with a dog before. I'll be ordering his cupcakes today - finally! It will be a wonderful 9th birthday. He's getting to be a little old man, but still has a lot of spunk, spirit and attitude.

Another Friday has begun and I have high hopes it will be a great one!

Looking Back... & Forward

Nice, the dog days of summer

I was working from home this afternoon and watching some of the landscapers preparing my neighbor's yards for the end of summer and got thinking... where did our summer go? Can you believe it's already the second week in August? We are surrounded by a bunch of kids getting ready to go back to school  - ah, the days of picking out that first day of school outfit! :) Seriously, where did our summer go?

The fun part of spring is everything is new again, there are baby robins and you seem to get a fresh start. Summer is a time to kick back, relax and enjoy life! The down side of the end of the summer and fall is everything starts dying... my flowers aren't as pretty anymore... soon it will start getting cooler again. Jim keeps reminding me, football is right around the corner - I better start bracing myself I have a feeling it will be a long season. We are already lucky enough to relive old games through the power of cable television.

It was the end of May that I first found Taylor's bump - the beginning of summer. I have looked back on the blog, vet bills and photos... remembering how far we have come. We had some scary times over the last couple months and definitely a lot of sleepless nights (still have those) - but always surrounded by wonderful family, friends and doctors. Over two months later (what has felt like forever) we are nearing the final lap of recovery. Now we just need to get that small opening to fully heal and we can move into a phase of monitoring.

I keep telling myself, it's time for a change... a change in seasons and a change in Taylor's luck. We can go into this next part of the year healthier and stronger. Not only Taylor, but the whole family. For now, the cancer is gone. We will take lessons from the many journeys our boys have taken us down and enjoy life for what it is - accepting what is presented to us when it comes down the road.

For today, it's been quiet and restful. Now that we have our refill of Ace, Taylor seems to just relax with the occasional jump when we get home or bark at the neighbor's dog. He is definitely taking advantage of the last of the dog days of summer.

I'm sure the new season will be full of great adventures and new stories to share. :) But, I'll still will miss summer - I think Taylor will too... that is until the snow comes! For Taylor, if there is anything as good as jumping and playing outside in the sunshine, it's jumping and playing outside in the snow.

Talking about spring reminded me our our guests from earlier this year. Thanks to Mother Robin, we were lucky enough to have four healthy babies in our nest... Huey, Dewey, Louie and Bob (he was the surprise and my personal favorite). Even the boys enjoyed checking on them every morning. (though the window of course!) Aren't they cute!

Hakuna Matata

We made it to one week post re-stitching! Cheers! Today our motto is going to be Hakuna Matata, as stated in one of my favorite Disney movies - The Lion King - "no worries". Ok, at least for today... we had a goal to get to one week (after Taylor being re-stitched) without a major event and we did it. This is a big accomplishment for us!

Taylor's incision is finally showing more significant improvement. It still has a long way to go, but we're getting closer. The small opening (about 1 inch) that formed over the weekend is looking good, scar tissue is starting to build... the other 3½ inches is healing so pretty I get you hardly will be able to see the scar there!

If all goes well, most of the stitches will be removed next Wednesday by Dr. Burns. We are even crossing our fingers that by this weekend Taylor can sleep without his cone and in his beloved kennel. He won't be ready yet for the Canine Cancer Walk in Estes Park next weekend so it's a good thing we signed him up as a Sit and Stay participant. It's a good cause and we wanted to support the effort. I loved the idea of being able to still support from home.

Well, time to get something done with the day (and order our cupcakes for Andre's birthday this weekend). Before I sign out... a peek at what Hakuna Matata looked like at my house this morning! I wish I could have slept in with them. :)

How Much is That Doggy in the Window?

No, Taylor's not for sale! Not that anybody is asking or wants the bulldozer right now. :) This photo was just too cute, I was inspired to title the page after it. Don't you just want to open the door and let him run outside? Sorry sweetie!

As Taylor continues to feel better - he continues to look so longingly outside just wanting to go and play! We remembered a major item missing from yesterday's list of things we are going to do when he feels better...

1. take a walk (lots of walks!)
2. go play in the water feature (we will finally be able to get wet again!)
3. RUN through the soccer fields
4. play tug of war
5. sleep without a cone - IN the kennel (most important!)
6. JUMP off the porch into the grass - onto the bed and sofa, up on people, we can go on and on - how could I have forgotten jumping?!

Well, I experienced a first today... I had to call an animal pharmacy to refill Taylor's Ace medication. I don't know why this is entertaining me so much? Now don't get me wrong - I have called for Andre's medicine before, but it's usually it's a call to Dr. Beadleston saying... "We need more" and he calls it in. Done deal - nothing this official. This time I had to give the official prescription number, they confirmed refills were available (it was cute!) and now Jim is picking it up. Just like humans - gotta love the small things in life that make you smile. It reminded me of one of my favorite questions about life... When was the last time... you did something... for the first time? Today, is was "officially" refilling a dog prescription at the animal hospital.

The other first is I have NEVER gone through so much doggy sedative before. I have been feeling kinda bad keeping him so sleepy - but he is doing so much better. Feeling better and recovering means we can get to that list faster. A very good thing!

I wonder what new experience I will have tomorrow? I'm sure there is something good waiting for me!

Five Days Post Re-Stitching - Three Cheers!

King of the Pillows & King of the Blankets
They tie as Kings of the Mess - do you see all of the toys!

It has officially been five days since our post re-stitching! Although the incision did open a bit this weekend - so far it appears to only be the first layer and the stitches are still holding (not the second layer - this is where we had issues last week). We are happy so far, Wednesday will be a big day. One week after the re-stitching - this will be a big deal!

Taylor is getting three "relaxation" pills a day just trying to keep his stitches from breaking. So far, they are helping and he is staying sleepy. It's kinda cute, I was thinking yesterday, someday I'll miss these quiet weekend afternoons.

I have started to make a list of things we are going to do when Taylor can be active again:

1. take a walk (lots of walks!)
2. go play in the water feature (we will finally be able to get wet again!)
3. RUN through the soccer fields
4. play tug of war
5. sleep without a cone - IN the kennel (most important!)

If I haven't mentioned lately, Andre's 9th birthday is this upcoming Sunday! Birthdays are always big celebrations at our house... better get calling the Buttercream Cupcakery and place our order. Cupcakes for all! :)

Life Just Isn't Easy

What a cute fur ball!

Day two of rest and relaxation, if I don't have an ulcer by the time we are done with this recovery it will be a miracle!

Taylor is recovering nicely, we have a small gap at part of the incision... this was an area we were watching from the start. The good news is it isn't "leaking" the way it did before our restitching. But, it's defiantly opening a bit and pushing the stitches so we are watching it carefully and trying really, really hard to keep Taylor's movement to a minimum. Again, thank goodness we have Ace to help him relax and sleep.

It's just frustrating, we are doing everything we can... we just need this to heal. I don't even mind if there is a crazy scar (from past experience it's actually a bit endearing). Just getting to a point we don't have to leash him every time we go outside or cone him most of the day would be great. I'm trying to practice my patience... I'm trying. :)

Beyond my ranting, the weekend has been pretty nice. It's nice to be home and able to focus on my boys! All three of them. :) Monday is around the corner - so we're going to relax today and enjoy the last part of the weekend. Then we just have five more days to go!

Thank Goodness it's Friday & for Pet Insurance

Good morning sunshine!

We made it to Friday! There were times I wondered. :)

Our new medication, Ace (I think the full name is Acepromazine), is a life-saver... not only does it make Taylor a bit sleepy but it seems to be a bit of an anti-anxiety medicine. I highly recommend this to pet owners in similar recovery situations!

We checked in with Dr. Clara, she was very happy with our progress report. Hip, hip, hooray!

Our first reimbursement checks have arrived, thank goodness for pet insurance! Many people laugh when I mention our boys are insured. But, we have seen some great reimbursement with all of our expenses from Taylor's soft tissue sarcoma diagnosing and surgery. We use VPI pet insurance - three cheers to them! It definitely makes decisions with your pet a whole lot easier, especially when faced with these types of health care decisions. We have taken advantage of the full coverage and wellness plan many times over the years... if only we had signed up for the additional cancer coverage earlier in the year.

I was reading the VPI newsletter the other day... they are featuring their Hambone Award -  these are some crazy stories! The award features the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year - it makes me feel better. We aren't the only family that has everything that can go wrong, go wrong. There are a bunch of us out there! I'm happy we haven't had to deal with some of the issues other have been so lucky to experience - we have had our own challenges.

I'm ready for the weekend, a couple days of relaxing and healing... maybe in between I can give some love to my flowers and plants outside, they have been a bit neglected in the hot summer sun over the last month.

What IS Andre Thinking?

"I see my brother in the window with his cone...
I'm so glad I'm not alone."

I looked outside today and laughed as I saw Andre sitting all alone in the Colorado sunshine. He sat there for about a half hour... just sitting and watching.

It got me wondering... what was he really doing? Watching the kids playing outside? Warming up in the sun? Maybe just enjoying being away from his bulldozer brother? Whatever it may be, it was cute and he was happy. He is such an independent and strong spirit. These are the moments I look back on, when things get rough, and smile - the times life is good.

Aren't animals funny things? There are so many times I wish they could tell us what they are thinking. But again, it's more fun to sit and wonder. :)

We're Getting Sleepy (Finally!)

"I'm so sleepy!"

With this journey it has definitely been two steps forward... one step back. Slowly but surly we are getting there.

Last night was a long one, Taylor just couldn't get comfortable. I kept hearing the cone scratching the walls, bed and dressers. Just when I thought he was asleep, he was moving around again. At one point I even grabbed a pillow and curled up on the floor with him... he looked at me... and jumped up on the bed and curled up in my spot, even putting his head on my other pillow. What's even more crazy is I actually considered for a bit to let him stay there... anything for us to finally get some sleep! For the record: I did get my spot in bed back, I just shared.

I am excited about our new pill in the arsenal... Ace (it even sounds great!). It's our new sedative, we tried it last night just to see how it works... from the earlier paragraph you see how that went. BUT, when I woke up this morning, Taylor was super drowsy. He even went to lay down while we were going through the morning pill routine. So, we tried it again this morning -  just for a short time while I had to go to work.

I was so scared to come home after being gone this morning - I just didn't know what I was going to open the door to... I was just hoping Taylor was ok and the Ace worked. Well, it's wonderful! It totally took the edge off for Taylor, he is more relaxed than I have seen him in weeks. He isn't barking at every little thing, usually not an issue, but makes things harder when you have a 4½" hip incision trying to heal.

So we are day one post "re-stitching" hopefully we can go the full two weeks before seeing a doctor again (and according to tradition we have three more nights before we all start sleeping well again)! Starting from scratch isn't fun, but the surgical site is looking SO much better than before, Taylor's appetite is still healthy and everybody is in good spirits.

Tomorrow is Friday, and I am as excited for this weekend as last. It should be fairly uneventful allowing for a lot of healing. Just one more day to go!

And He's Down...

We didn't make it too far past the garage
door... at least he picked a spot close to
my laptop so I can work easily!

Our Taylor is home... again... this is becoming a trend we would like to break.

Dr. Clara to the rescue! It turns out there was a pretty large opening inside the incision where the second layer of stitches gave out (turns out there are four layers of stitches... who knew!). She cleaned the incision out and stitched it up with a different strategy... he's looking good again. A little more like Frankenstein again. :) We may see some drainage for a couple days but not what we were seeing before. That's great news - especially for the furniture.

We got to meet another surgeon today... Dr. Laura... she will be covering the next couple weeks while Dr. Clara is enjoying some time away (we hope she isn't trying to run away from us!). It's amazing talking with them how similar philosophies of patient care are between people and animal hospitals - with both, patient care is so important.

It's still amazing to me how closely cancer centers both human and animal work together to make the world a better place for everybody. I learned about a program the CSU Cancer Center participates in to partner animals and children with cancer together... pet therapy on a whole different level - incredible!

I don't know if I have mentioned lately how grateful we are for such great physicians so close to us!

Oh No... the Stitches Broke!

Watch out, Andre may look cute and scruffy
when sleeping but he's wild when awake!

What a morning... Taylor is currently back at the CSU Cancer Center with Dr. Clara getting stitched up.

This morning we woke up and the small opening that was forming yesterday (two staples were failing) was now a gaping hole. Although, it wasn't that deep... two staples and one main stitch threw in the white flag and decided to stop working overnight. Dr. Clara and Polly (our sweet nurse) seemed ok with fixing it, I guess it wasn't a worse case scenario, but it means another procedure to fix it correctly.

To make things worse... as we were rushing to the hospital this morning I realized I was almost out of gas! When it rains, it pours!

So, today Taylor was back under anesthesia - getting put back together. This time we will get some medicine to help "keep him calm" for a bit to help this recovery. Bummer, we will have to start the two week countdown for stitch removal again (can't win them all). I'll get to pick him up soon, the procedure went great... it sounds like some of the lower stitches failed first causing the outer ones to give up. Thankfully, we have a wonderful surgeon... thank you again Dr. Clara!!

On the positive side... Andre is snoring on the blankets enjoying a quiet afternoon. :)

The Challenges Never End

Hanging with mom while she's working

Another day down, although we received the GREAT news of clear margins from Dr. Clara yesterday... we'll be visiting her again tomorrow. Some of Taylor's staples and stitches are failing us. So, Dr. Clara in all of her wonderfulness found some time to take a look at our furry bulldozer tomorrow afternoon.

Hopefully, after tomorrow we'll be all stitched up and on our way (finally) to healing and getting back to a normal routine.

I continue to struggle with keeping Taylor still... it's a battle... we want him feeling good and not letting the surgery and process get him down... but on the other hand I wish there was a way we could get him to just relax and heal up. His incision is in a hard place, with all of the tissue that has been removed, it's just so easy for it to pull.

Through it all, there is nothing more enjoyable than coming home and seeing our happy boys welcoming us through the door. No matter how hard - life is good.

It's that time of night that the cone has come off and he is relaxing more... so in turn the rest of us get to take a breath. Where there's a will - there's a way - the journey will continue!

If It's Gone... Why Do I Sill Have My Cone?

Let's Celebrate!
(Even if I have to wear this cone)

Cheers, we got clear margins... at least for now the cancer cells are gone!

We heard from Dr. Clara this afternoon with great news... the surgery was a success and the final pathology report is in - clear margins! This is incredibally great news!!

It's like Taylor could understand, he started jumping around and barking in celebration. We had to remind him he was still healing and needed to relax. I can understand though, we are all celebrating!!

Our journey is not done... we received instructions to visit our vet:

1. every month for the the next three months
2. every three months after until one year
3. every six months after one year

I'm off to eat a celebratory dinner and we will all be resting better tonight. We owe a HUGE thank you to:

• Andre - for showing him strength when dealt a bad hand
• Dr. Clara and the CSU Cancer Center
• Dr. Burns and South Mesa
• Our friends and family
• And you - for reading my rambles!

Thank you, for all that has been done for us over the last couple months - every prayer and happy thought - we wouldn't be at this point... and can't go forward without it all. Don't forget, it's still a journey and I'll be documenting it all!

Tonight I am grateful for our healthy family and the wonderful people that support us!

Kennel, Sweet Kennel

"I'm never going to leave!"

Happy Monday! It's a new week, hopefully today we will hear back on Taylor's pathology report. Until then, it will be another Monday.

At last! Last night, while we were doing laundry, we opened the door to Taylor's kennel to see what he would do. (We had his cone off for some "break time.") As you can see, he loved it! Believe it or not, he left before we had to ask him to... we had started to wonder how we were going to get him out after we let him in.

The countdown is on... 14 days until Andre's 9th birthday... I wonder which type of cupcake we will get him this year. I better call the bakery today.

So much to do, so little time in a day!