A true friend has left this earth today.

A true friend has left this earth today.

Hello everyone. 

It is with great sadness that I write today letting everyone know Sam has crossed the bridge.  She passed peacefully early this AM.  She is now frapping freely in the grass, chasing rabbits and tennis balls.  Eating full bowls of food to fill up her chubby belly.   Bossing around her sister and herding her around the yard.  Soaking up the sun just sitting in the yard keep a watchful eye on what I am doing.  Sam never left my side, ever.  A true friend.  We were blessed to be graced with her love for 7 years and 9 months.  Far, far to short for a Corgi.  Sam always enjoyed rides in the car.  She loved to sleep on my lap, peacefully while driving. 

Sam was diagnosed with Lymphoma in March 2014.  Before that she became septic in 2011, due to bowel complications.  Recently she had begun to have seizures.  We were never fully able to get them under control, and she had finally had enough.  Through it all, Sam remained so very tough.  She would always bounce back, but not this last time.  I have never known a dog so strong.  She wanted nothing more in life but to just be by my side.   I miss her dearly not sitting near my feat as I write this.  It is tough to choke back the tears. 

There is so very much love for Sam and her sister Taz, who is now our only Corgi.  We will continue this love and admiration for Taz, for her, and to keep the memory of her sister close.

Please take some time this evening to sit quietly with your pups.  Dogs make life worth living.  Thank you to everyone who kept in touch with kind words for Sam.  They are appreciated more then you know.  Remember to take pictures and create lasting memories with your pups. 

I will see you again someday little Sam.  I will have plenty of tennis balls to chase and a bag full of treats when we meet again.  Until then, I know you will be watching over everything I do.

Knocked down again... but not for long.

Sam continues to amaze us.  This tough pup continues to be knocked down, but she refuses to stay down for long.

It has been an extremely tough couple of days.  We started noticing Sam favoring her neck again.   She was under very close observation by my wife and I.    Something was just “off” a couple days ago.  Yesterday morning she had another Chemotherapy treatment, a quick injection, and then we returned home.   We gave her a muscle relaxer to help with her neck.

I noticed her being very lethargic early in the afternoon.  I assumed it was from a pain pill and muscle relaxer we gave her.   I asked both Corgis to move into a quite room to sleep.  I then stepped away for three hours for some work commitments.  Then I returned I noticed Sam had severely declined.  She was salivating and miserable.   Late in the afternoon I witnessed her having a Grand Mal seizure.   This was horrifying to watch.  I ran to her, held her carefully, and tried to calm her down.  Her pour heart was racing.  I knew something had to be done.  I reached out to her Oncologist and explained what had happened.  We then witness two more Grand Mal Seizures, one I tried to video to show the doctors.   Later that evening we rushed her back to the ER.  Sleep was not an option last night.   She was rescued from the seizure cycle, and has not had an episode since last night.  THANK YOU God!  Sam has skirted another health issue.

She is currently now recovering back home.  She rested quietly today.  She is very exhausted and worn out from the seizures.  This evening she did perk up another to play briefly with her toys and her sister.   She is back resting quietly now.  Her appetite is back in force, as to be expected post-seizure.  She will be on daily medication indefinitely from this point forward, to control the seizures.  Her Oncologist knows what medication to use, and when to use it.  He is very informed and educated about the latest advancements in medicine.  

Prayers, devotion and love are keeping her going.  Thank you everyone.  We are humbled every day by this simple Corgi, that only wants to be a true friend.

Paws Crossed.

Things are well...

Things are well with Sam.   We were happy to spend time with family and other dogs over Thanksgiving.  Sam is on her final Chemo treatment once a week for three more weeks.  Just a quick shot.  No more 6 hour infusions.   We will do another full biopsy in a few weeks to get some more definite answers.   She seems to be doing extremely well.  Very alert and wanting to please.  She takes her tennis balls back outside every time we venture outside.  This is a good sign.   She never leaves my side.  Even when sleeping, she has to keep one eye on what I am doing.  We are blessed to have both of these Corgis.  They are true friends and companions.

Very happy to announce - Remission accomplished

Hello everyone,
First, thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and good wishes.  We are very happy to announce that Sam has now reached her second full remission.  At the end of last week, her Oncologist attempted to perform a needle aspirate on a lymph node.  But, they were too small to even find.  This is excellent news!  We are very hopefully this remission will last a very long time.  Tough to put a time frame around it, but we do know every day with her, and her sister, is a blessing.

This Corgi has been through quite the battle.  This was a tough round of treatment on her, but she continues to fight and bounce back.  We have had quite the emotional roller coaster with her lately, but she is now back, happy and healthy.  She has one final treatment of a Chemo drug that will be administered over a few weeks.  It is a simple administration compared to what she has been through.  This final administration is a "clean-up" type of drug, to wipe out any cancer cells that are left.

This is the Best Christmas gift we could ask for!!

A neck injury - roller coaster weekend

We had quite the roller coaster weekend.  Sam was experiencing lethargy and wobbling around.  We were very concerned and upset.  We did think that her fight was taking a bad turn.   She was seen by her Onocologist, early Sunday, on his day off.  This man is truly a compassionate vet, a true blessing.  Sam was also seen by the on call neurolgist.  Her diagnosis is  a potential disk issue in her neck.  Nothing related to the lymphoma.  She has been placed on pain, muscle relaxers and steroid medication.  She was not looking good early this morning.  But, the medication does seem to be helping.  She is still very drowsy, but does seems to be a little more alert.   We have returned home with her and she is now resting quietly.  She still has trouble standing, especially on the wood floors.  We have assembled her a comfortable bed with soft blankets.  She is eating and drinking some water.  Which is good.  She will need to remain calm for the immediate future.

 A true diagnosis for the neck injury would require an MRI.  This would require sedation.  Something we are not comfortable doing.  She has been through enough.

This dog never stops amazing me.  She is incredible with her continued fight.  She has been through a septic episode a few years ago.  Currently being treated Chemo for  lymphoma.   And now, a neck injury she needs to recover from.
Our friends and family continued prayers have helped.  Thank you for them.

Potential Seizure

Looking for some prayers.
We feel Sam had a seizure last night.   We have been monitoring her all day.  She is pretty lethargic and unmotivated.  We are taking her to her treatment center for observation and some treatment medication.  They will monitor her overnight.   We can get through this if we can get the seizure episodes under control.  Which may mean medication daily.  Something that does not harm her liver.
We are very sad to see her in this condition.  This poor dog has been through so very much, but keeps going.
Thank you everyone in advance for your prayers.

Treatment finish line in sight.

Sam had another treatment yesterday.  This time it was fairly quick.  I worked in an office while she was being treated, then drove her back home.  We did stop for her favorite Chik-fil-a grilled chicken nuggets.  We saved a few to share with her sister Taz once home.
Sam is definitely becoming very uneasy when she goes for treatment.  She will hide under a chair and attempt to make herself invisible.   The Oncologist is very compassionate and will sit right with her during treatment.   This round was fairly expensive and wasteful with regards to unused Chemo product.  It is what it is.  Sam is putting on some weight again, she has gained almost two pounds since we started her second round of Chemo treatments.  This is good.... It means her body is winning the fight and not succumbing to the cancer.  Her attitude is great.  She is bitchy towards her sister, which is good to see.  It means she is alert and not feeling bad.

Sam did puke a bit this AM, not long after eating her food.  We gave he an additional anti-nausea pill that we keep around during the Chemo treatments.  We usually see the worst side effects a few days after the treatment.  She seems to be doing fine now.

Nest week, the last in the series of round two treatments.

Go Sam Go!!!