Chemo is no fun for anyone

Last I posted, Arlie was gearing up to meet with his oncologist, Dr. McNeill. Due to the fact I'll be talking about Dr. McNeill so much on here, from this moment on I shall call him "M". You know, like the James Bond "M"....the same that is the head of the Secret Intelligent Services. The very one that determines the cases that James Bond takes. Therefore, I shall be James Bond. Or better yet, Greg can be Bond and I can be a bond girl (hey! hey!!)

At any rate, "M" decided to start Arlie off on a low dose of chemo due to the fact we were going out of town for the holidays. I think he also knows that I am VERY skittish about this treatment and am worried we are torturing my dog for the last year of his life in order to keep him with us as long as possible. "M" is very caring and understanding and does a great job of calming me down (as shown in the multiple email responses that I have sent him in a panic).

Unfortunately, Arlie is very drug sensitive so this little amount of chemo partnered with the anti biotic he has to be on did a number on his little tummy. He has shown no interest in his food or even his favorite treats (insert stressed mommy here). We decided to go with our stand by of chicken and rice and luckily he ate that.

Today when we brought Arlie in for his weekly bloodwork, the scale showed he lost 5 lbs (or 10% of his body weight!!!!). That is significant for a dog this size in only one week. Again, insert calming "M" here to tell me that they will switch the anti nausea meds and take him off the antibiotic right now until his appetite returns. We are also giving Arlie an appetite stimulant.

We gave Arlie the meds this morning and he has eaten his food and then gobbled up his dinner! Better yet, he brought us a squeaky toy!! Here's hoping he keeps his appetite up after we wean him off the meds.

In the meantime, here's a dose of Arlie cuteness for you. This was taken the day after chemo (the bad symptoms didn't start until roughly 3 days post chemo). But check him out only 4 weeks post amputation!!!

These two are gearing up to tour:

Lastly, here's another reason why our "first born" is amazing. He loves his little brother so much and is putting on such a brave face for his "brother" and "sister". In return, they are giving him so much love and attention to show Arlie how much he means to them.

Oh...it's been BROUGHT

I know it's been sometime since I have posted an update on the schnoo. I'm reporting good news though!!!

We took Arlie off of all meds last Tuesday. I had no idea how much the pain meds were dulling Arlie's personality. As soon as he went off them, he started bounding back the the Arlie we know.

And here is Arlie reunited with his favorite furry friend, Cooper.

And finally....time for a song...

Look whose smiling again!!!

Arlie and Greg will meet with his new oncologist, Dr. McNeill on Friday morning. It will be an intro as to what to expect and if it's agreed upon, chemo will start right after. It has been almost a month since I want my little fur face there to help me drop my Jackson off for his first day of Kindergarten and to be there when he gets off the bus.

Until Friday...

Love and Paws,
Andrea and Arlie

Results are in....

Got a call from Dr. Taylor yesterday. The results of Arlie's "staging" of his arm are in. The lab confirmed that Arlie does infact have osteosarcoma. Any hope of any other cancer is now gone. The good? news is that they found the lymph nodes were clear of cancer thus far.

So off to our oncologist, Dr. McNeill, next Fri to start the first chemo treatment. My poor little baby boy. It's as if he knows and keeps looking at us for help.

No leg....no stairs...no problem

Well, we learned that Arlie can not only go up the stairs, but down as well. Sat morning Greg walked out of the shower to see a schnoodle laying on our bed. You might think...."awww....how cute he walked up the stairs!"  What I haven't mentioned is that we had blocked the stairs with 2 very large chairs, put a chair on the stairs landing, AND had blockages on the top of the stairs. I have no idea how the schnoodle maneuvered around those obstacles. But, he was stealthy and did it. Props to him.

After a chuckle and an "our dog is the most brilliant dog in the whole world" congratulatory hug, we then pondered how will he get down the stairs. Guess we have to carry him. Then, the doorbell rang. Before we could pounce on him to not do his typical barking and running down the stairs the schnoo JUMPED off the  bed, RAN down the hallway, and went DOWN the stairs all the while with Greg and me running after him screaming for him to stop. He got to the bottom and looked at us as if to say, "Bring it stairs" and he ventured to the family room to rest.

I'm afraid to tell the docs at his follow up this Thursday that our Arlie is NOT a direction follower.

Ladies and Gentlemen....we have lift off!!!!

He peed outside!!!!! I know to most people this isn't exactly newsworthy info, but for Arlie it is. It took almost 5 days but he finally figured it out. He can't lift his leg anymore. He's now a squatting dog and although he isn't thrilled about it, he is doing it.

Another great bit of news...we finished our antibiotic!! He's only on one pill a day and after taking almost 11 a day, this is big.

Why yes...that IS a tennis ball in his mouth

Putting his best foot forward

Both of my boys. One is explaining why he loves the other so much

3 steps forward....

I did it!!!!!!! By jove....I've done it. I have outsmarted the schnoodle!!!! How you ask??? Dr. B had told me that maybe making a "meatball" out of bread and giving it to Arlie might disguise the pill. I tried that. He laughed (the way a dog can) and walked away. Then I thought...meatball....disguise....I raided my fridge and pulled out...

That's right. I went all American baby. I stuffed the pills in a cheese meatball, hyped it up to the point that Arlie was licking his lips and went in for the kill. Arlie put it in his mouth and spit it out. Then he decided to give it a go by showing me that I can't fool him and ate the top layer, convinced the pills would pop out. But NOOOOO....I went in DEEP for this meatball. He looked at me, picked it up again and licked it and spit it out. Looked at me....then GOBBLE .....ONE BITE!!! Went down the hatch.

If the above show could have been done in our family room, we would have been front row. Greg and I were literally jumping up and down...high fiving eachother....calling people...telling them WE DID IT!!!!!!!

The next day I started thinking....uh oh...can a dog eat this much cheese? Quick email to Dr. Taylor and he said we were in the clear. One problem, we ran out of American cheese. I ran to the store and got more Kraft slices, not reading the label. That night, I put his pills in our cheese meatball and gave it to him. Then, something horrible happened. He sniffed the meatball and turned his head and when I ran to the package I noticed I bought swiss cheese!!! What was I thinking???? Clearly this dog goes all American!!!! Luckily I had bought reinforcements. I got some meatballs, extra yummy for Arlie and stuffed the pills in there. He ate the meatball and then spit out the pills. I was so frustrated I took my pill gun and put them down his throat. Problem solved.

Great news is that today Dr. Taylor told us we could wean him off 2 of the pills leaving just his antibiotic (which he will be done with in one more day) and another pain pill that can now go every 12-24 hours with pain. Wooohooo!!!!! Insert celebration fireworks when he told me that.

Now, we have another issue. Arlie has forgotten how to go to the bathroom outside. He was a leg lifter and by habit he still lifts that side and falls. He's tired of falling. So he's given up and has had 2 accidents in the house. Today was beautiful so I was outside with him the whole day. Walked him every hour. No luck. This has been going on since we brought him home but we were so concerned about the pills and were so convinced he would finally get it, that I didn't blog about it.

So now, I'm onto the next outsmarting method. Two steps forward.....

Arlie has become quite a little celebrity. We are getting such nice notes from schnoodle owners and those that are also going through this horrible cancer with their pooches. He's even gotten some get well cards and gifties!

Cousin Jessie

BFF Cooper

Wonderful cards from his cousins. Notice that the dog in the pic also has 3 legs and a poofy tail. Love it.

Yummy treats and a squeaky toy

From his girl Lily

 

He also got a great card from his Mima and Pop Pop. Unfortunately my kids got to it as well and it's one of those cards that sing so they cardnapped it. Arlie heard it though and loved it. Thanks Mima and Pop Pop!!

Arlie is walking so much better too!

More videos to come! Thanks for stopping by Arlie's blog!

Love and paws,
Andrea and Arlie

Curse you pill gun!!! Cuuuurse youuuuuu!

Arlie before pill dispense:

 

 

Arlie during pill dispense:

Any ideas???? Anyone?????

On another note, this afternoon I stepped away for about 5 seconds and came back to find that Arlie had jumped on the couch to take a snooze. I'm pretty sure the docs would frown on this and we might need to "Arlie proof" the house. I was just in the next room!!!! Two days past amputation!

I told Dr. B today when he called that when we got Arlie we thought it was great to have such a smart dog! I mean...a mix of a Giant Schnauzer and a Poodle. This dog will be brilliant! That's wonderful right? Yah, I'm thinking that maybe we might be getting outsmarted by a dog. Greg is very smart...he has his Masters in Law and I went to grad school for teaching....yet, we continue to be outsmarted by a schnoodle. (shaking my head)

Day 2 and running races

Last night we had sort of a rough night with our Arlie. He has to take 3 different pain meds and one antibiotic. Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones in which your dog doesn't mind taking pills. Not our Arlie bear. He clamps his jaws shut and looks at us as if to say, "Are you sure you want to do that?" Then after a battle I feel so victorious because I thought that he swallowed the pills. I am then crushed to see that the little stinker had managed to hide the pills in his huge cheeks and then when it started to disintegrate he spit it out.

Enter...the pill gun. I'm going hard core now.

 

His next round of meds are at 2:30. It's me and the pill gun vs. the schnoo.

Now, here comes the best part. You remember how he was walking in yesterday's post? Here's day 2!

From that point on....."I was runnin!!!!"

He's heeeeeeeere!

This morning when the docs called, they told me that Arlie was already walking around and even trying to run a bit. I tried to act all cool and calm but then started telling them that I just knew he would be their star pupil and although I know they take care of a lot of animals, it was ok to say that Arlie was their favorite. I mean...it's true so they might as well just admit it. Not like it would shock me.

Greg and I were pretty nervous to pick him up. We were worried he would be so angry and hurt that we would do this to him. Here's the first time we saw him:

 

 

As you can see, Arlie is still getting used to being a tripawed pup. Greg is all ready to bring a bed to the main level of the house so that Arlie doesn't have to worry about steps and to make his recovery easier.

Arlie with his ice pack on his shoulder with Daddy giving him love love

Tomorrow I'll continue to take more video of day 2 of his "ampuversary". Get ready to be amazed!

Surgery went as expected

Dr. Taylor called us around 5pm to let us know that Arlie's amputation was successful and that he was a very strong guy. They are sending the arm to the lab (ew...I know) for tests to determine what stage the cancer is.

Yes, I said cancer. There was no sign on the biopsy of infection so now almost all signs are pointing to osteo. My poor little guy.

It's now 8:47 and I have called the docs once already (hey..they told me I could call them as much as I want to check on him---I'm THAT parent). They told me that he is on an IV narcotic to take away any pain so that he can sleep.

Next blog update...PICKUP!!!!!!!!

Tri-pawd

Last night Greg and I had such a hard time sleeping. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw Arlie's CT in my head and when I would actually fall asleep, I dreamt of Arlie guarding his right side.

We arrived at the clinic at 7:30 and met with Dr. Taylor. He showed the CT scan to us once again and it proved that we are doing the right thing by Arlie. In just one week, his bone has almost disintegrated on the inside and he has a hairline fracture. One week!!! I don't know how he was still hobbling around let alone jumping off our bed just this morning. He's amazing.

Dr. Taylor told us what to expect with the amputation and...you would have been proud...but Greg and I kept it together (mostly). We felt we needed to be strong for Arlie because he's scared enough. Before the limb amputation, they will do a biopsy to see:

a) What kind of cancer it is. Although it is mostly osteo there may be 2 others that disguise themselves as osteo and aren't AS aggressive (i.e. we may get 2 years with him instead of 1)
b) It's a serious bone infection in which case they would do aggressive treatments in trying to save the limb.

Dr. Taylor told us to expect a diagnosis of osteo though. I said there might be a chance it's something else? And he looked at me and said, "Yes, but I think you are leading towards an osteo diagnosis. Stats show this is the most common types of cancers." 

You know the movie Dumb and Dumber? The scene when Jim Carrey is trying to get a date with Lauren Holly's character? He's asking for his chances and says, "Like one in a hundred?" and she says, "More like one in a million." A big smile comes on his face and he says, "So you're saying I have a chance!!!!"

Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

I'm Jim Carrey's character and the doc is Lauren Holly's. Let's root for a bone infection! Come on bone infection!!!!!!

It's 12:30EST and they expect to start the procedure in the next hour. The whole thing takes about 90 minutes plus the anesthesia process. We hope to pick him up tomorrow by 1:00.

We are anxiously sitting by the phone willing it to ring. Now, I'm like a high school girl waiting to be asked to the prom. I'm checking to make sure the phone is charged and works. Calling it from Greg's phone to make sure the ringer is on and loud. RING!!!!!

About to be brought back. He's so brave.

Bring it Dr. Taylor!!!

Love and paws,
Andrea, Greg, and Arlie

CT Scan complete! Amputation scheduled.

Last I posted, Arlie was going into his CT scan in which we would find out if the cancer had metastisized. Well, that particular CT machine broke. So that included another day of waiting. Then today Dr. Manley (Arlie's oncologist) called to say that another center here in the DC area had an opening for a CT scan! I loaded 2 kids and a dog into my swagger wagon and off to the Hope Center I went.

It was there I met Dr. Monaco (not like the country....more like Mo-knock-oh) who was his surgeon performing the CT scan. I filled him in on the situation and off Arlie went to the depths of the clinic to have his insides photographed.

The CT showed that the cancer had not metastisized to his lungs (woot woot!!!). Unfortunately this cancer is really horrible and the cells are most likely already in Arlie's body. So there's no cure.

Tomorrow, we are dropping Arlie off at 7:30 am to talk to the surgeon (Dr. Taylor) about the amputation. Arlie will then have his surgery in the afternoon and the doctor said that they will keep him overnight.

We also had a chance to speak with anther vet at the Hope Center for a third opinion. Funny story is that his kids go to preschool with my kids! This doctor said just what I needed to make this surgery and the upcoming chemo worth it. I can have another year with my sweet schnoodle bug. I'll take it.

We have struggled with this decision but today Arlie showed signs that he is in terrible pain. He is guarding his right side and has a pronounced limp. He's not running to meet us at the door anymore and is hesitant about going up the stairs. It's time to make his pain go away.

I found this video online about a Rottweiler who also faced osteo. Check out how amazing he is on three legs. Everyone is talking about how incredible he is but they haven't met my Arlie Barley!!!!!

Kids knew Arlie had a boo boo so they wanted to make him as comfortable as possible

Seriously the best dog ever

Pillow Pet

Arlie was a bull for Halloween. He was a trooper.

Say what????? Osteosarcoma????


After we dropped Arlie off to get his CT scan the kids had some questions. It went a little something like this:

J-"Mommy, where's Arlie going?"
Me-"He's going to have a picture of his bone"
J-"Why?"
Me-"His bone has a bad boo boo and the doctors need to see what's wrong"
G-"Why?"
Me-"The doctors need to know so that we know how to make Arlie feel better"
J-"I know what will make him feel better....if I can get dessert"

So J got his dessert and that means....Arlie Bear will feel better.

A little history of the schnoo

Arlie is coming out of the airplane the day we got him! You don't know this, but he was barking away and letting everyone know he was there!

 

Here's the schnoo before we got him. The pic is turned around but you get the gist, he's a little fluff ball of sweetness.

Proud mama

Daddy reading the "instruction manuel" from the breeders.

Arlie showing the mailman whose in charge

That's right, we enrolled him in puppy preschool. Here's Arlie checking out some friends

Rawr!!!

 

Loving the outdoors. He's such a boy. Loves to get dirty.

Arlie and Daddy working hard on Greg's thesis

Schnoodle nose

Arlie's first birthday party!!!! In this pic with him are Cooper (his BFF) and Lucy (his girly)

Happy Birthday Arlie! You are ONE!!!

Arlie and his BFF have no shame

Arlie was used in my classroom during Reading Week. That's right, even schnoodles like to learn a thing or two!

"That can't be....he's only 7!"

Hi. This is Arlie. Actually, his full name is Arlington Bear Hayken but most of you know him as Arlie or Arlie Bear or even Arlie Barley....you get the gist...he has a lot of names.

His story begins the day after Thanksgiving on Nov 23, 2012. He had been limping for a week and Greg and I thought Arlie had sprained or pulled something jumping off the bed or chasing squirrels (his favorite past time). When we walked into the vets office, his limp miraculously disappeared and I thought we were golden. Dr. Bruzzese (our wonderful vet...I'm letting you know his name as I think I will be talking about him a lot on here) did an exam and ordered an xray.

As we waited for the results, I still assumed that the vet would say it was a pulled muscle. When he walked in the room, his face told a different story.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news", he said, "Arlie has bone cancer." I just sat there...stunned...and when I asked what that meant Dr. B explained that the life expectancy of a dog with osteosarcoma is about 4-5 months. At that moment, I completely lost it. How could MY active 7 year old mixed breed get this??? Can it be cured??? What will I tell the kids??? Is he in pain??? Did Dr. B make a mistake???

It was then that Dr. B said, "Andrea, I'm not telling you there is a slight chance that Arlie has bone cancer. I'm telling you there's a high chance he has bone cancer." 

I took Arlie home that night and Greg and I spent the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend, hugging Arlie and crying. Everything that we read said that this bone disease is a death sentence and we would be lucky to have him in our lives much longer.

 I had looked up the stages of grief:
1) Denial
2) Anger
3) Bargaining
4) Depression
5) Acceptance

This seems about par as I spent the whole weekend saying, "No no...they messed up the xrays. It was a different dog. Arlie's so young, he just turned 7 last weekend. He's a mixed breed. It's an infection....not cancer." I guess you can say I'm in the denial phase.

After a horrible weekend of waiting for the oncologist to open, we got an appointment this morning. Again, I expected her to say that this was in fact NOT a malignant tumor but a benign tumor. This was all a big mistake. Unfortunately she told us the tumor is quite large and has done quite a bit of damage to Arlie's bone. We decided to do a CT scan to see exactly how far the cancer has invaded our little schnoodle and so we can get options.

Options:
1) It is in his lungs already in which case we make him as comfortable and happy as we can and shower him with even more love until we don't see the Arlie bear in the big brown eyes that we know.

2) It is not in his lungs and we amputate the arm which will take his pain away. Dogs are able to recover quickly from this major surgery and we have no doubt that OUR Arlie is such a fighter and will do just fine.

3) We amputate and do chemo. You are probably thinking chemo on a dog is the same as chemo on a human. It's not. It's such a low dose that it does not kill the cancer. Instead, it slows the rate of the spread to hopefully get us another year with our puppy. Again, it will not cure Arlie. It will just prolong his life and maintain his quality of life that we know he has. It won't make him sick. It will just maintain the same quality of life for a bit longer and we will have our Arlie what we hope a few months more.

Second stage....Anger....I'm SO angry. WHY my dog???? Why a dog that is so good and so kind and loves his family SO much??????

I know you are probably thinking...why are they doing this to themselves. Why do chemo for just a year. The answer is simple...he is our first child. He was there for us through moves, having children, loss of grandparents, first days of school, kissing the tears and boo boos away and never has asked for anything in return. He puts his paw on us, looks us in the eye, and makes us feel better. He's our Arlie.

Once we hear from the doctor with the CT results I will post again. In the meantime, thank you for your support and Arlie says, "Woof".

Love and paws,
Andrea, Greg, and Arlie