Another good day for our girl. Just when we think she's failing in health, she rebounds. Today she was actually rolling in the sunny slush of snow, catching snowballs, and happy as can be. Of Course we don't throw the snowballs far and we don't let her run for more than a few seconds. We've noticed Indiana doesn't try to engage her in rough wrestling play anymore. And he seems to be staying closer to her than usual.
December 15, 2002
I am in awe that she is still with us. The vet keeps warning us not to count on Christmas with her, but yet she has stayed with us much longer than he anticipated. Dogs have an amazing will to live. One of the vet techs said she also thought that maybe Lucky sensed how sick I am and perhaps that is keeping her here with us. For whatever reason, we are very glad. She is breathing shallow and rapidly. But her gums have not lost any more color, she gets up every hour and pants to catch her breath, then lays back down. Whereas before this caused her distress, now she seems to take it in stride. All her vital signs are still regular so we are taking it day by day. We buy the predisone every Saturday to last us a week. It seems tempting fate to buy more than a week.
December 18, 2002
Last night was particularly rough. She was up every 15-20 minutes trying to catch her breath. Yet she wanted to take her walk and we ambled slowly by the river, stopping several times to listen to the cardinals sing and once we heard a hawk cry as it circled above the trees. She is happy but weak when it comes to stepping up a few steps. Her back legs crumple a little bit. Although she is breathing faster, she is alert and wagging her tail and eating fine.
December 23, 2002
Lucky has settled down again into her new breathing pattern so nights are better. She is still alert and forever hungry. This medication just makes her so starved - even after eating she still wants more. She goes everywhere with me and yesterday I visited my aunt to wish her a merry christmas and she reminded me how the vet told my cousin his german shepherd had weeks to live and Max lived for two months before he died. And it wasn't the cancer and its symptoms that killed him, his heart gave out. .
December 30, 2002
She is going to make it through the holidays. It was such a joy to have her with us for Christmas. She has fewer bursts of energy and she needs a lot of sleep in-between them. She has lost weight and is breathing even faster. Her fur is still shiny and gums have not lost any more pinkness. And she still wags her tail for us and is alert and happy.
January 3, 2003
A new year and already there are many difficult issues to deal with. She hasn't gotten any worse or better. Nights are calm. She is just always obsessively hungry and we have to watch her like a hawk when we let her outside because she has started to wander in search of whatever edible substance she can find on the ground.
January 6, 2003
We took Lucky for her walk in the park and she was prancing through the snow like a little bunny. This is the second day she is full of energy and happy to be alive. If she weren't still breathing shallow and quickly it would be easy to hope for a miracle. She has adjusted well to this new breathing pattern.
January 8, 2003
Now that the holidays are over and the hope we had that she would live through them has been realized, we are now left with a deep sadness with no hope that she will get better. We are thankful for each day but cannot see beyond that day. Her back legs are getting very weak so it is in the little things that we rejoice - like, if she is able to get up and walk with us, or take her spin around the yard.
Click on this link to read more about our last journey with Lucky.
* Links to some wonderful sites
* A poem for Lucky
* Home page
