Month: September 2020

Well it seems Devo’s chemo is not controlling her cancer growth. 10 days ago she had a red painful eye that turned out to be uveitis from cancer cells blocking her eye ducts and circulation. Luckily steroid drops eased the pain right away. It is still red but doesn’t seem to hurt. She doesn’t see out of that eye any more.

She also has small lumps growing near her incision site that are also cancerous. She doesn’t love those being touched, but they also don’t seem painful.

So we are very sad.

But she is just herself — chasing apples, enjoying the heck out of food, sprinting after squirrels in the yard. Maybe groaning a little more than usual? It is confusing.

We tried a new chemo drug, doxyrubicin, yesterday. If that doesn’t slow down the lumps’ growth then we’ll be done with chemo and focus on apple chasing as long as we can.

 

Devo is doing so well on three legs! Around 5 / 6 weeks she really came into her own and it is such a joy to see. She’s figured out her new geometry and started rolling in the grass, scampering, and generally getting back to herself. Pre-surgery her greatest joy was running like a maniac on the beach, and she’s been able to do that again (albeit with more rest breaks). Her hair has mostly grown back too.

Still she definitely reminds us that she’s in her final life transition. A few weeks ago she woke me up at 2 am to go outside. (I thought maybe she had to puke.) We went out into the night, and she hopped just beyond the reach of the porch light and laid in the grass. I don’t know what she needed to do out there, but I’m glad she shared it with me.

She sleeps in bed with me sometimes now too, which she’s never enjoyed until now. I like feeling her doggy body curled in my knees and knowing she’s there through the night <3