Cleo Update - 9/6/2011

First off, I would like to say “THANKS” to everyone for all the nice comments on our post for Power Of The Paw for Cleo.  I am sorry that I was not in a position to give more details that day, but as you read through our update you will find out that we were pretty devastated with the news that we were dealt last Thursday (9/1/2011).  Please bear with me while you read through my post, it was hard to right and sometimes I seemed all over the place but I tried to give you a picture of what happened since her last chiropractor appt and how we got to where we are today.

The week of August 24, Cleo had another Chiropractor appointment and also received Acupuncture as well.  She had held her adjustment from the previous time pretty well but had slipped out alignment in a few places.  She was adjusted then Dr. A thought maybe Acupuncture in the right areas might stimulate her Immune system.  Cleo does so well and just seems to melt in Dr. A.’s arms.  She pretty much rested during the acupuncture treatment.  Here are few pictures that I could snap before the batteries went dead.

You can see the little needles sticking out of her

The little machine that super charged her

Cleo had to lay still for 15 minutes while this treatment was taking place

Cleo held her own, began to eat like a horse (normal for them steroids), happy girl even was getting out for a few short walks on the cooler evenings.  All until Wednesday evening, when she decided to stop eating all together.  I had just gone to the vets on Tuesday and picked up a whole new case of I/D soft dog food for her, told the vet how she was a munch hound and seemed to be doing well. 

I did notice on Sunday/Monday evening when she would lay flat out you could begin to see her belly bulge; well this didn’t appear normal to me since she has lost so much weight.  Also on her left side there appeared to be a very distinct knot and when I would touch it Cleo would get up, like it hurt. As you can see in the pictures below what I am talking about, with the amount of weight Cleo has lost (12 pounds) we had not been seeing the "pot belly" effect until just late last week.

I really could not feel anything in her tummy, but that was just not right looking to me.  She had an appoint already scheduled for Thursday afternoon for blood draws so I thought we will just make sure that Dr. T checks it out.  Wednesday evening she said NO to food, meds, cheese, treats.  I did have some chicken in the freezer so I cooked that up and boiled that for and she did eat that, of course.  Well I went ahead and called Dr. T Wednesday before he closed and informed him I was bringing Cleo in first thing and not waiting till the afternoon.  I told him she wasn’t eating and something just isn’t right. 

Cleo got some very extensive testing done Thursday morning, blood draws, x-rays of her tummy, back, chest, pretty much her entire body was x-rayed Thursday (9/1).  Unfortunately, all these test have finally found the under laying problem to why she has developed the Auto Immune Deficiency.

Our family received the shock of our life Thursday (9/1) and our world was rocked to the core.  Cleo has been diagnosed with a very fast growing CANCER (Metastatic Hemangiosarcoma) that has been found in her Spleen, Liver, Spine and Lungs.  This form of cancer is usually so far advanced before it is detected, that there is little hope for any options after it is found.  We were told on Thursday that we may have 4-6 months left with her IF we removed her Spleen and started Chemo.    We have decided that that is not something we want to put Cleo through just for a few extra months with her.  We feel that her quality of life is more important to us right know then putting her through a surgery and drugs that would make her feel horrible for the remaining time we have with her.  We will have good days and bad days, but will enjoy every one of them to their fullest and we will know in our hearts when the time has come to let Cleo rest.  But for the time being we take it day-by-day and thank God for everyday that we can continue to enjoy her.

We at the The HoundDogs household, appreciate all our thoughts and prayers and continue to send us the Power of the Paw because we sure could use it about know.

Sniffs,
HoundDogMom, HoundDogDad, Cleo, Winston and Amiee