Hoover had a routine checkup scheduled for Monday with the wonderful Dr. Jeb Mortimer at Greenlake Animal Hospital. So we snuck Spackle in as well (Dr. M said he was hoping we would do so). He agreed that Spackle was looking good and said that if the massive swelling came back in a few months, it was likely to be lymphoma, and if it didn't, then it's probably an auto-immune disorder. In the first case, he said that lymphoma is the most treatable cancer a dog could have, but we'd have to explore those options when we came to it. In the latter case, he said it would be advisable to switch from the prednisone to a drug specifically designed for auto-immune problems, but that he could potentially last on that for the indefinite future.
He's been feeling well four days in a row, and while we're not reducing the doses of love and affection, it's now easier to relax and not wonder if he'll last through each day.
As for Hoover, he continues to be in fine physical health, but we did agree to have him innoculated against leptospirosis, the disease that Spackle turns out not to have had, on the grounds that any disease that could be suspected of putting a dog through this stuff was worth trying to avoid.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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I am very, very glad to hear that he is doing a little better.
ReplyDeletesending lots of good vibes to you and the canines.
ReplyDeleteContinued treats seem to be in order. We'll be by at 7.
ReplyDeleteI am also glad to hear that Spackle seems to be on the mend. I remember once reading a James Herriot story about a dog with leptospirosis, and while the exact details escape me, it has stuck in my mind as one of his grimmer tales. I'm glad Spackle seems not to have had it, and that Hoover will now be inocculated against it.
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