A Boy and His Dog…
Today (December 8) I planned to post something inspiring and positive. However Skye, our Golden Retriever, had been acting sick this weekend. This morning we took her to the vet. Skye has oral cancer, either a melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma, near the angle of the mandible. Either of these cancers when they occur in the mouth are aggressive and have probably already spread throughout her body. Whichever cancer it is, her prognosis is terminal. So we are upset. The truth is I’m a mess!
This has not been a good month for dogs in our Clan. Early last month Jan’s brother, Jim, lost his Maddie, a Brittany Spaniel . Then after our Thanksgiving visit with them, Erin, Danny, Grace and David lost Abner (see the Dec 4’s post).
Skye is two months shy of being thirteen years old. That is a good long life for a Golden Retriever. She has been a wonderful dog as I suppose all Golden Retrievers owners will tell you their dogs are. I often tell Skye that she is the ‘smartest, best behaved and prettiest’ dog ever. No doubt she holds a special place in my heart. Boys and Dogs have a magical connection, at least in my mind. From my first dog, Duke, then my long time childhood dog, Liza, dogs have most always been there to share their life with me.
Now I may have to re-read ‘Roverandom’ by JRR Tolkien after Skye passes. It is a children’s story Tolkien first told his children in 1925 about a dog named Rover. Tolkien apparently recorded it in his diary and elaborated on the story as he continued to tell it to his children over the years. It grew until it was published much later. The introduction to ‘Roverandom’ says, in summary, that although it was published much later than his other books, it and his other children’s stories probably were the inspiration for the ‘Hobbit.’ Then after that he wrote the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
Skye will be leaving us soon for a better place, a better reality. Tolkien believed that and I do too. Tolkien’s use of mythology, legend and other-worldly imagery in his stories continues to appeal to me. Since I too believe this life we live in is just the ‘shadowlands’ of the True Reality. Although I believe this, her passing will hurt.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (I Corinthians 13:12 NKJV)
UPDATES…
On January 5th Skye returned to Dr. Huff for suture removal. She is doing well. The wounds are healed she seems to be her “old” self. The tumor may return or reappear elsewhere but for now we will enJOY her company, hope for the best and be thankful. In the process of all this, we began feeding her Alpo canned food because the tumor required the removal of two molars and chewing hard food could be painful and difficult. She had always been fed dry food. We also now feed her twice a day. She must be wondering, “why didn’t you guys start this years ago!”
Yesterday (December 22) we took Skye to Dr. Huff for a post operative visit. She is doing well. The biopsy came back as an osteosarcoma which means it will probably not metastases but will likely reoccur in the same area. This is good news!
The latest on Skye (December 19): on Tuesday Dr. Amy Huff removed the tumor from Skye’s jaw (mandible). She called it, ‘large and nasty.’ She suspects it is a sarcoma not a carcinoma. I asked Dr. Ferrel Young about oral sarcomas, since they are not common in people and I was not that familiar with them. He remembers them being more localized (in situ) than carcinomas. That was encouraging. The tumor had invaded the bone not just the soft tissue. As a result a couple of Skye’s molars were remove along with the tumor. Today we may get the pathology results. Regardless of those results Skye’s life has been extended and she can eat again without the tumor being in the way. Today, Friday, she is acting her old self.
The latest update on Skye: Today (December 15) Skye went back to see the vet (Dr. Amy Huff). She had had a good week. Tomorrow the tumor will be excised from her jaw. That will at least allow her to eat more comfortably. We will also know what kind of tumor it is and then we will just see what happens….Hope springs eternal!
An UPDATE on Skye: She is being treated like Royalty. Right now she is under the stag-horn fern which hangs from our oak tree in the front yard eating soup bone. She is doing well!
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