This is a quick and dirty blog post, but I thought it would be easier to point everyone towards one post instead of writing and rewriting what’s going on into a bunch of different emails, postings, etc.
Despite her age (16 1/2), Brandy has been very bouncy and energetic on walks since we adopted her. She would even get excited and chase after Snickers or Secret when they’d run through the apartment. Her vet appointment in February was very positive; she was in relatively good health for her age! Over the past two to three weeks though, her energy level has been diminishing and it’s been difficult to get her to just walk around the block. A few days ago, she began accidentally pooping in the house (even in her sleep). By today she had pretty bad diarrhea.
We took her to the vet and she has a huge tumor inside her mouth. No wonder she isn’t feeling well! She was dehydrated as well, so they gave her some subcutaneous fluids. We have a twice daily antibiotic/anti-inflammatory for her plus a mild dewormer (just in case). They drew blood and I’m planning to take her back for x-rays tomorrow or the next day. We’ll decide what to do after all the results are back. If the tumor is cancerous or there is more than the one, there isn’t really anything we can do except treat her symptoms and make her comfy. If it isn’t cancerous – and her blood work indicates that it is safe to do so – we’ll give her steroids to try to shrink the tumor.
Either way, she’s a sick, old girl and we’re heartsick to be dealing with this so soon after having adopted her. We knew we wouldn’t have her for an incredibly long time, but we’ve fallen very much in love with her and we’re not ready to let her go. Most importantly though, we want her to be comfortable and know how dearly she is loved.
We tried to get some pictures of the three of them together after we got home from the vet today. It was tough because (1) Secret can’t do a sit stay to save her life and (2) Brandy was tired and droopy. Here’s the "at least we tried" series of resulting photos!
Poor Brandy but she’s in good hands… and Secret looks like a puppy in these pics!
i am so sorry to hear about Brandy!!! She is so lucky to be with you! Please let us know what the vet says!! I hope it is good news!!! What a lucky girl she is to have such a loving caring family around her!!!
Penny and Velcro
My heart goes out to you……I can’t imagine my baby being sick! LOVE LOVE LOVE Her until the very end.
we’ll keep her in our prayers….your wonderful people to take such good care of her & give her a home for the remainder of her life! hugs, kisses & prayers to Brandy 🙁
So sorry to hear this…we’re keeping our paws crossed for Brandy. Hope it’s not cancerous….
*nosekiss*
Hopefully the results will be positive. She’s so beautiful.
I am a huge fan of your work and of your shibas. Thank you so much for giving Brandy such a wonderful and loving home for her senior period. It is so good to know that she will be comfortable, no matter what.
We all feel for you and your puppy! We’ll be thinking about you and hoping for comfort in her life. It’s great to be loved, that’s all a puppy can hope for in their lives.
Love,
Keawe and Comet
Thanks everyone.
I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that big tumor in her mouth must be. Hopefully we’ll be able to do something about it. It can’t be removed, because she’s too old and frail for anesthesia and surgery. I will probably get the blood work results tomorrow when I take her back for x-rays.
The fluids they gave her today really perked her up, which was so wonderful to see. We’ve been so worried about how sluggish she’d become.
Bless her dear heart, she looks perkier than I thought she would – and the fluids will help do that. But you can see that she she fits in with her pack and Snick is such a handsome boy.
Awww… poor sweet fluffy Brandy. *Hugs* to you and T for having to deal with this so soon. 🙁
I’m glad the fluids helped! I’ll keep fingers crossed and candles lit here in hopes that the blood work and x-rays show that it’s local and manageable and you’re able to have some more quality time with her.
What a beautiful photograph of a beautiful dog. You’re such a good dog mom.
Much love and good energy to you and Brandy.
Best wishes for Brandy. We’ve got all our paws crossed here. You and yours are so dear to give Brandy what she needs even if it turns out to be for a very short time. Brandy gave her life to a human for years and I’ll bet that person is already keeping watch over all of you and will be waiting for her with open arms past the bridge when Brandy’s time comes. I suspect you and yours will have quite the army of fans waiting to greet you when your time comes to cross the rainbow many, many, many years from now.
What wonderful pictures! All three are beautiful, but Ms. Brandy has the sweetest face I think I’ve ever seen. She looks so soft and cuddly, too. I’m keeping special thoughts for good results in the tests and that something can be done to shrink the tumor in her mouth.
Aw, I’m sorry to hear this. We will have to make sure we have a #pawcircle for Brandy. *ducky hugs*
Poor old girl. You all are in our thoughts.
The news today wasn’t good. Brandy’s blood sugar is dangerously low – so much so that the vet said she’ll start having seizures if we don’t get it back up. I put some syrup on her breakfast this morning and we’re going to keep giving her a little bit every two hours (when she’s awake) for the rest of the day.
The vet said the low blood sugar could be caused by liver failure and/or a particular kind of tumor (or by not eating but she’s still eating fine, believe it or not). I’m taking her back tomorrow to check her blood sugar again. Once it’s back up where it belongs, we’ll figure out the next step.
We’re so proud of all of you. She has dignity and love and a safe place to rest. If you and she decide it’s time to go, she’ll be leaving with a sense of peace she never would have had without you.
I sure hope everything turns out OK but if not, just know that you are giving her the best she has probably ever had and that has to make you feel good. Can’t tell you how many shelter seniors have lived their last few months with us. I can sleep at night knowing they did not die confused and terrified in the shelter. I just wish the people who dumped them because they were old and “inconvenient” would lose sleep over it but unfortunately, life doesn’t seem to work that way.
I am aorry you did not get better news. Me and my kitties will purr and pray hard for Brandy. *ducky hugs*
Brandy is feeling much better today and definitely has more energy than a few days ago. She’s not sick to her tummy any more and when we went back to the vet, her blood sugar tested normal again! YAY! I was so relieved.
We went ahead and took x-rays to get an idea of the tumor situation. The big tumor in her mouth as NOT metastasized, which is awesome. It also doesn’t seem to be painful to her; she doesn’t flinch at all when it’s touched. There is another small tumor that appears to be on her lung and touching her heart but it’s small. Nothing else showed up on the x-rays.
Brandy’s liver is smaller than it should be though. The vet feels, from looking at the x-rays and also comparing the blood work results to the blood work the shelter did, that her liver is slowly failing.
So, what’s the plan? Well, we’ll keep giving her a little syrup for her blood sugar at least 4 times a day (more if she seems wobbly). She’s going to finish this round of antibiotics and we’ll see if the illness returns. If it does, she’ll go back on a low dose antibiotic/anti-inflammatory indefinitely. If she starts having mobility issues or problems eating, we’ll deal with that when the time comes, but for now she’s feeling better and we hope she’ll be sticking around with us for awhile longer!
News is better than what you feared. YAY Brandi.
I’m so glad she’s better. What an emotional few days you’ve had! Yikes.
Kids never pose well in group pics but loved them anyway. =)
Hadn’t seen any more news on Facebook so came here to check. Yea for Brandy feeling better and sticking around for a while!!!
For some reason, none of my earlier comments were posted, but I wanted to let you know that I’m SO glad to hear that the news on Brandy is good. Well, at least it’s better than expected. We’ll keep you all in our prayers – puppy and human.
Monica – I don’t know what happened to your other comments! There’s nothing in the spam filter or waiting to be approved. They evaporated!
Oh, sweetie. I am sorry that Brandy is having such troubles. You are taking wonderful care of her!
Haven’t heard anything for a while. How are you, Snick, and Brandy doing?
We’re all OK. Brandy has slowed down a LOT from when we adopted her 4 1/2 months ago, but she’s doing much better than before we went to vet last week. I’m hoping she’s going to be with us a little while longer.