Coop's Journey

I guess I mean the incision.  Coop continues to lick at it, but it is looking good so I don’t go after him to hard.  I put the lick guard on it while I am gone (that stuff stinks!!)  He and Bella had a ball last night…really, they were playing with the ball that had been wubba’s body.  They ran, and ran and ran some more!  This morning though, Bella had a #2 accident in the house that got mom (me) quite upset.  She is 9 months now and really should know better.  We got up, went outside, Coop did all his business but Bella found the scent of something and got very preoccupied.  After 10 minutes we went in and I should have put her back in her crate, but they started playing and…..I scolded her since she was caught in the act and Coop’s eyes got very sad for her.  She went back in her crate, I cleaned up and came to the computer and Coop came in all sad eyed and started licking my hand as if to say “she didn’t mean it, she is just a baby”.  Pre surgery he was very protective of her and would act like this when she was disciplined so I am taking this as another sign that all is normal with Coop again!  But sorry Coop, she is on leash inside the house again for awhile!  They’ll just have to have play time outdoors.  BUT it is officially the end of the first two weeks and he did much better than anyone expected so extra good treats today (I am thinking it is hot out so we need to go get some ice cream!!)

Coop got his staples out yesterday.  Jeff wanted to take him and he had to be in NYC this week so the vet said it was fine to take them out now.  He is now licking the area and I keep shaking the cone at him but he won’t stop!  I put the lick guard on and that keeps him a way for a short while until it wears off.  Gives me a couple of hours of relief from cone shaking (which does no good anyway).  I go back to work today so he better be good!  The vet will call the oncologist today to get the chemo regime.  Since it is oral, I see no reason to drive to Ithaca just to give Coop a pill.  I think our vet can handle it!  He said it won’t start until week 3 so we have a week before dealing with it!  Other than that, Coop amazed everyone at the vet’s office with his recovery.  He is as strong as ever-pulled the poor vet tech when he saw another dog while going in for his staple removal!  So things still going well.

Here is a picture of what is left of wubba and another toy.  I had cleaned up all the stuffing…it looked like it had snowed in my kitchen and I can’t have that during the 3 months of summer in upstate New York!!!

There, I killed those pesky things that invaded the house while I was recooperating!!

What a busy week we had!  Our friends left on Saturday 🙁 but my niece and her new hubby came for a visit Sunday.  Coop loves having the company and I think it has helped his speedy recovery!  He is playing with Bella again, running around the yard chasing rabbits, playing tug of war with his wubba and just generally being Coop.  Everyone is amazed he is doing so well and you can’t really tell he has 3 paws until he turns his right side toward you.  He has not had any pain meds since day 9 and doesn’t seem to notice.  His appetite is back and he is eating his kibble again (and some of Bella’s for good measure!)  He was very happy to see Josh, very happy!  Josh walked in the door and Coop grabbed wubba (he has to have something in his mouth to calm himself down) and Coop’s tail was going a mile a minute and he started to groan in pleasure.  Isn’t it amazing how they remember!  Josh was a little surprised, he thought it was a front leg so he was a little overwhelmed, but adjusted quickly to Coop’s happy  greeting.  Coop is happy to have his whole pack home again.  So now we need to call the vet to find out what is next.  We had talked about it a bit, the oral chemo (CCNU) but we don’t know the schedule.  There is one thing that concerns me and that is a lump on his stump near his tail.  I am hoping it is his anal gland being full, I know that can happen.  Not going to worry  until we see the vet.  He is doing so well and we are so proud of him.

On a sad note, a friend’s 2 year old drowned in the lake this weekend.  We are all very sad and saying many, many prayers to help them get through this horrible tragedy.  It puts everything into perspective and reminds us once again how lucky we are and to cherish each and every special moment with those we love!

So I am thinking Coop knows I am writing about him.  He likes to come in to my office and lay down and stare at me while I type!  It is early but little sis woke us all up at 5:30 with whining to go out and I have learned not to wait!  Today is a special day….my son comes home from abroad!  He is a senior in college and last semester studied in Russia then traveled to study in Germany for a month.  He has not seen Coop since January.  Coop is my husband and my son’s dog.  My son, Josh, was not home when our bichon died last fall (old age-congestive heart failure).  Josh loves the dogs.  We told him about the cancer and our decision and he knew we didn’t have a choice.  He will be happy to see Coop doing so well and Coop will love having one of his most favorite peeps home!

Coop trying to get Kurt to wrestle for the bully stick!

In one hour it will be Cooper’s one week anniversary (ampuversary)!  He is doing very well and really wants to play tug of war with his wubba but I am afraid he will lose his balance and fall.  When he does fall, it hurts him so I try very hard to keep him from hurting it!  He only lays on his good leg side, and that fur is getting matted so need to comb him out more.  Just a little reminder to everyone else.  I hadn’t thought of the matting.  He loves us to gently rub the shaved part of his leg.  It is a little itchy.  He still doesn’t have much appetite for his kibble, I think he just wants me to keep cooking for him.  I have told him it is slowing down so he needs to eat his kibble!  We’ll see how this goes.  Here are some pictures of Coop trying to get some one to play tug of war with his bully stick!

Bella trying to get the bully stick from Coop

Cooper in kitchen-day 6 PO

Cooper is almost a week out, today is day 6.  He is still doing great and had a fun weekend.  He did slip a few times when he got up to bark at the door, and he cried which broke all of our hearts (if he had 4 legs and cried we’d feel the same way).  So I am off today to buy more non-slip rugs for the family room.  He wasn’t allowed in at first because his incision had a lot of weeping, but it is looking good so he can hang and watch TV.  His swelling is down, incision healing nicely and his personality is totally back.  He is only on a low dose of tramadol, and we don’t really think he needs that so will probably wean him off in the next 2 days.  Just wish he didn’t ignore his little sister, but he is showing a little more interest.   Here are some pictures from today…his Uncle Bill came by to help his dad with a few things.  Coop loves Uncle Bill but really loves his cousin, Gracie.  We won’t let them play together until the staples come out so Coop was sad.  Now what is not in the picture….Dad (in Orange) opened the Tahoe to get something out.  The Tahoe is the Dad and Cooper car.  They go to the dump, haul the boat to the lake and all other kind of fun stuff.  So when Dad opened the tailgate, Cooper tried to jump in.  Dad caught him but Cooper was very puzzled as to what happened, why he couldn’t jump in the truck (physically).  This was the first challenge and it was sad to seem him so puzzled.

Uncle Bill!!

Well, yesterday was a big day!  Our best friends and Cooper’s old neighbors came to visit for a week.  Cooper jumped up to great them, wagging his big tail, and everyone was amazed.  He is only 3 days post-op and doing really well.  I would say he is 95% back to his old self.  We are all so happy.  Our friends didn’t know what to expect and other than the actual incision area, he was just goofy old Coop!  We had other friends over in the evening for dinner to celebrate our friends return, and Coop came out to sit by the pool, watch the kids play soccer (he knew better than to join them!)  He barked at squirrels, licked everyone’s ankles, drank from the pool (I don’t use chemicals, it is an ion cleansing system) and over all had fun!  This morning, day 4, he is barking at every noise outside (common after we’ve had a party) and waiting for more friends to come.  We really feel blessed that he is doing so well.

OK, I am going to try to post some pictures.  One of Coop pre surgery, one post and one of his goofy little sister (Bella age 8 months).

Cooper!

Post Surgery

Baby Bella

It worked!  I may be getting the hang of this stuff!  Well, Coop just bought in one of his new toys and wants to play so off we go!

I am so proud just had to share!  Coop ate a hearty dinner of homemade pulled pork with rice, took his meds nicely then went out to go the bathroom.  He ran around a little with his sister who was OVER THE MOON!  They came in and fought over a bully stick!  It only lasted a total of 10 minutes before he laid down exhausted.  But it was a burst of normalcy and a glimpse into things to come. 😎

Welcome to Coop’s Journey.  I have found it so helpful reading other’s blogs about their dog’s amputation and recovery so I wanted to share Cooper’s.  Coop is a friendly, loving, wonderful 6 year old Flat Coated Retriever who was diagnosed with histiocytic sarcoma, a very aggressive cancer.  We noticed Cooper licking at his right hind paw and a sore developed.  We took him to his vet who immediately scheduled surgery to remove the mass.  After the pathology came back, we were sent to Cornell to meet with the oncologist who preformed many tests including chest X-Rays, ultrasound of all internal organs, bone marrow test, lymph node test.  All came back clean so we are pretty confident his cancer was localized and not disseminated.  After much soul searching, we decided amputation was the best option for us.  So on June 29th, 2011 Cooper became a Tripaw and lost his right hind leg.  He is home and just finished his first night and it went very well!  He is very doped up, but is eating and walking around a bit, trying to follow mom while she cooks and cleans.  He whimpers a little now and then, but doesn’t seem in any pain.  I will be posting pictures, but we are new to blogging!