My Daily Routine Nowadays

Besides my morning walks,





the rest can be summed up below:



Sleeping anywhere my legs bring me:

Pathology Report Out

Got the BAD news last Thursday - it's malignant (oral melanoma) 😭

"They are typically highly invasive and have a high rate of metastasis to regional lymph nodes and distant sites such as the lungs....". When they reach the lungs, that's it.

My options:

1. Do a CT scan to assess whether the cancer has spread to my jaw bones and surrounding area - if yes, then aggresive and invasive surgery which involves removal of jaw bones 😱;
2. Chemotherapy - 1 session every 3 weeks for 5 sessions; or
3. Immunotherapy (Oncept Melanoma Vaccine) - initial 4 dose series, once every 2 weeks. Thereafter, 1 booster vaccine every 6 months. 

Even if we choose option 1, it will not mean end of story after the surgery. This fucking (pardon my language!) cancer almost always come back and then you keep cutting and cutting till the face is deformed 😱😱😭 

Costs:

• Surgery: CT scan alone is SGD1.5K approx. USD1.1K. Surgery cost unknown.
• Chemo 5 sessions: SGD2.5K approx. USD1.8+K
• Vaccine initial 4 doses: SGD2.7K approx. USD1.9+K 

My hoomans have decided to go with option 3, the vaccine. And, surgery only as and when necessary when the tumor/s grow again. Since everything is unknown, it is almost like a gamble no matter which option I go with. Given my seniority, enlarged heart and collapsed trachea, they do not want to put me through the scary aggresive surgery. At the moment, my lymph nodes are normal and lungs are clear (per x-ray done 22 July). So, mom and dad wants me to enjoy myself while I can and be comfortable.

The vaccine (by Merial) has to be ordered from USA submitting my information etc. It'll take 1.5 months to reach here (Singapore)!! Talk about saving lives, why does it take soooooo loooooonnngggg?????

Meanwhile, life goes on as usual though I notice the extra hugs and kisses BOL

Back From Surgery #1

🙏🙏Thank you my furriends for sending me your POTP and Love! 😘😘😘

So yesterday morning I was dropped of at the vet's; and was discharged at 5pm. I was already awake and alert when mom and dad came to get me.


I lost a total of 4 teeth this time 😢. 2 were under the lump and perhaps affected somehow cos they were already quite loose. The other 2? Was told 1 incisor and 1 "somewhere" BOL, and Mom has yet to figure out which 2!!!

Now we wait for the biopsy report which might take up to 1 week or so.

Meanwhile, am catching up with my 😴😴😴 leaving tomorrow's problems for tomorrow.

Shall update again when the biopsy results are out. Meanwhile, please keep POTP coming 🙏🙏

😘😘😘💞💞💞

Need Power Of Paws Please

Dear Furriends,

I will be going under the knife tomorrow morning (Tuesday 24th July, local time) because I've got the most dreaded "C" thingy :'(  ... ... well, it needs to be confirmed by the pathology lab after removal of the tumor and whether it is benign or malignant.

Mine's oral, and since it is difficult for mom to take a photo of it, photo below is from internet similar to what I have:
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Yup, it's black in color. But mine is not at the front like in the photo, mine's at the left upper molar's gum. Oral Melanoma.

Mom first felt a tiny-weeny growth about end of May this year but could not have a good look as I wasn't co-operative, shutting my lips tight! Even the vet couldn't either, unless they put me under GA. My pawrents were worried about me going under, with my heart murmur, enlarged heart etc... so they decided to wait a while. On hindsight, bad move! Ah well, no point talking about what had happened so let's just pray that it's benign! She finally succeeded in looking last Friday and boy, what a shock it gave her and she dialled the vet's first thing Saturday morning.

They had to take an X-ray of my chest first to see if the C has spread to my lungs as I have been coughing quite a lot nowadays. Vet said, if x-ray showed white spots then it means it has spread and even surgery won't help. AND I'll only have 2-3 weeks left!!! Mom nearly fainted.

It was the l....o....n.....g.....e......s.....t  five minute wait for the x-ray results. Fortunately, lung has no white spots except for some fluids. So I was given diuretics to clear out the fluids these 2 days.

Another thing discovered from the x-ray was, that my trachea has collapsed (even more?) which explains my worsening cough. We've known from an x-ray beginning of this year that my trachea is being compressed by my enlarged heart. But the collapsed part is now so narrow we are Mom is horrified. We are now taking 1 thing at a time and to deal with this f*cking C first.

Please please send power of paws my way. THANK YOU VERY MUCH in advance.

Love,

Bowie

Oh, some recent photos of me heehee:

Yesterday while waiting for my turn at the vet, daddy brought me to the grass patch next to the clinic:

One of my morning walkie:

My usual routines at home nowadays:

That's all for today :)

Happy 15th Birthday To Me!

So this year, Mom decided to get me a real proper cake. She ordered it online and even went to self-collect it herself to save on delivery charges! Thanks Mom i waited for 15 years glad that you didn't tire yourself out trying to cook/bake me something yourself!

The cake just reaching home after collection and still in the box. It's a Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - yummeeee! Dog-friendly recipe with human ingredients so everybody can eat. It's too big for myself, 7 inches big!

If you zoom in, you can see the cake's frosting is sweating BOL

I need to be held or I'd lunge at the cake (cos the Stay command been lost on me if you read yesterday's post). Oh, and the candle was just 'for display' it wasn't lit BOL.

 

Nom..nom..nom...nom..

 

Shirt is recycled from last year's barkday hahaha

The cake is so doglicious! I'll get 2 wedges a day, for 3 days hooray! Can I haf barkday again tomorrow Mom? pleeze?

How Am I Doing?

Hello Hello my dear blogville Furriends! Have I been missed? BOL

It's been almost 4 months since my last post. Just some updates on me for those who might have been wondering what I'd been up to.

Besides being lazy (referring to Mom, ahem..!), mainly it was because I'd been spending lots of time napping and walking/circling in the house which means blurry photos! Seniors sleep a lot more so that's ok. Butt, apparently I have Canine Cognitive Dysfunction - what folks commonly called Dog Dementia :(

I have been displaying practically 99% of the behaviors mentioned or shown here > https://dogdementia.com/what-does-canine-cognitive-dysfunction-look-like/  It's totally heartbreaking (to Mom especially) :'( :'(  The symptoms began to be very obvious starting this year. Might have started last year but were too subtle to notice.

Here's some of my photos displaying those symptoms:

Stuck in narrow lane and just stood there

Half in half out

This has never happened before!



I have forgotten all my daily commands such as Sit, Stay. The only thing I still remember very well is FOOD glorious food! I go berserk at meal-prep times, more uncontrollable compared to last time:

• barking (in the wrong direction! eg. Mom's at 9 o'clock position but I bark facing 11 or even 2 o'clock positions) and 
• jumping (despite my bad arthritis knees!).

I have most of the times forgotten where my toilet is, peeing anywhere in the house but mostly at the balcony (Mom said that's my new toilet BOL)!

Sorry Mom, cos I make her busy wiping my pees. She even slipped on my pee recently cos she didn't notice it on our white tiles :P but luckily not injured. I've been wearing diapers to sleep only at night. Mom doesn't want my 'little brother' to be cooped up during the day too BOL, not until it is absolutely necessary.

When I am not napping, I walk almost non-stop and sometimes in circles like mentioned in the above link. It's driving Mom nuts and sad at the same time. I also go around finding Mom just like in the video on the above link. Sometimes I also make incorrect judgements of where sounds come from eg. Daddy came home and I walked towards inside of the house to find the 'sound'.

SIGH....why, why, why like that? Mom asks. Her dad, my grandpa who passed away last July, also contracted Alzheimer's Disease. He did not recognise his family members due to the disease, and now it's my turn - it's a double blow to her.

Ok ok sorry folks, getting carried away with the emotions while typing this post. We are making the best of the situation so no worries.

Till next post ...everyone take care!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Staring Power

I do usually get my share but only IF the food is not going to be a problem for us doggies. You know how hoomans can eat really unhealthy foods, right?

Usually daddy is my partner-in-crime, he quietly slips those foods to me when mom's not looking BOL... which is why I only use my staring power with him!!

Wordless Wednesday - If It Fits I Sleeps

   Back in November 2017

The Last Time I Sit Like This

This was 27 Dec 2017 when I could still be in this position to chew my bones:

Now I've yet to be able to sit this way. It made chewing my bones a little difficult, somehow. 

The last 2 times mom gave me air-dried veal ribs this past week, I almost choked! Luckily mom was fast enough to dig at my throat. The first time, she managed to take out that last bit of rib and threw it away. The second time, however, I refused to let go of that last bite after mom dislodged it from my throat. I bit hard, not opening my mouth and clamping my teeth real tight...which meant mom's fingers were also caught inside my mouth. Oh boy! She screamed in pain but luckily no puncture or anything. She managed to get her fingers out still attached and I finished that last bit of ribs. 

*Sorry, mom :P *

No more ribs to-date.

Monday Blues - My Bed Don't Fit

Mom, I need a bigger bed!

  Back in November 2017

Being A Senior

I have been displaying signs of being aged in the Golden Age (a much better term just to fool myself BOL):

Eyes (Cataract)

First diagnosed at the end of 2011. Vet said 'mild' cataract but mom could not even see anything then. She could finally see opaque-y thingy in my eyes like 1, 2 years back.

This last few months, the cataract in my right eye suddenly looked much worse. 

  Can you see the whitish thingy on my right eye? It looks worse off-camera

Mom thinks it is 99% (if not 100%) blind. Because, I am oblivious to any movements on my right side. We don't need any dogtor to confirm it.  Given the recent 'scare' of the dental-anaesthesia, cataract surgery is NOT an option.

Just the other day, she accidentally put down my food bowl from my right side and I was still looking at her waiting for my food! I also did run into the room knocking my right side of my body onto the wardrobe, etc :'(

Mom's giving me this holistic eyedrops that supposedly help to prevent the cataract from becoming worse. Anything other than surgery is worth trying now!

Hearing

I used to be very alert and reactive to noises at my doorstep.  Now? A burglar can come in with keys jingling and I can sleep my way through (ok, maybe not through but halfway) :P

Playing

Not playing with my stuffies anymore, let alone fetch. My stuffy-buddies are now collecting dust in a drawer. 

Dog Dementia

Mom is worried I might be having doggy dementia and is watching out for symptoms :'(

Just like humans, dogs can suffer from many of the these symptoms:

• Sleep-wake cycle disturbances - I have been sleeping much more during the day & quite the same for the night.
• Generalized anxiety - I have been an anxious pup since young.
• Lower threshold for aggression - Still pretty much the same (only dislike my butt area being kissed).
• Decreased activity levels - This is a resounding 'YES'!
• Inappropriate vocalization (howling, barking or whining) - Yes, mom says my whining is quite unbearable nowadays, especially when I have no share in their foods!! BOL
• Repetitive behaviors (pacing) - quite a bit of pacing though mom's not sure cos' I could be just taking a stroll.
• Elimination disorders - another 'YES'! I have been peeing everywhere in the house (hallway, living room, balcony, NEAR-to-peetray) but I still do it correctly at my pee tray at times. Recently mom has put on the diapers for me at night otherwise she'd have to wipe clean the floor middle of the night. 
• Staring at walls - staring at the floor yes, walls no.
• Disorientation (getting “lost” in the house) - I still know where my water bowl and toilet are.

Another classic sign is getting stuck in tight spaces. This happened once just the other day. I walked into the narrow lane between hoomans' bed and window ledge. Then I just stood frozen at the end without knowing how to reverse my way out. But then that was also coincidentally during the period my legs were 'acting up' (this was in my last post) so we cannot be 100% sure that this incident was due to dementia or legs problem.

Arthritis & Heart Enlarged

These were in my last post as well.

*SIGH*

Dec 31, 2017

The last day of 2017 did not end that well for us.

Suddenly that day, I was just walking weird. Walked like a drunken chicken, I could not balance well and was wobbly. First day 2018 still like that. Second day same! Mom was worried sick and started imagining the worst of what was happening with me -- I was stumbling when I walked and fell hard on my face a few times!!!

This was how I was walking Dec 31, 2017 - Jan 3, 2018:

No video or photo of me falling (collapsing might be a more proper term!) mom says it's scary and she was heartbroken!! :'(

January 3, mom quickly made a dogtor appointment and we went down. I was made to stand on that scary metal table and touched all over! My legs were manoeuvred and then I was made to "catwalk" on the floor. Then I was 'dognapped' into a scary room full of weird machine where the dogtor could see the insides of my body! Holy Sh#@!

Some 5-10 minutes later, I was returned to mom and dad. Dogtor told them the insides of my body show that:

1.   Hind knees are arthritic (right knee being worse);

• No wonder I was unwilling/unable to "squat" properly and unable to stand too long. Have trouble standing up too nowadays. When I sit down, my bum would hit the floor hard instead of lowering it gently...
•  See how my hind legs are not fully extended?

2.   Degenerative signs on the lumbar (lower back) section of my spinal discs (X-Ray unable to show whether the discs are herniated ie. slipped discs; only a CT Scan can);

• I have been arching my back like a camel. Dogstor thinks perhaps due to my spinal nerves being 'pinched' and in pain. But I am not dragging my feet which is a good sign.

3.   Heart is enlarged and pressing on my trachea

• I had been diagnosed with heart murmur in 2011. No coughing till recently it happens more frequently. Not a good sign. I can have heart failure anytime when it gets worse and worse. Will have to consider giving heart medication, or not.

For now I've been prescribed pain relief med for 2 weeks and anti-inflammatory med for 4 days. Follow-up check in 2 weeks.

January 4 and 5:

Slightly better than last few days.

January 6: slight improvement over 4th and 5th.


That was not quite bad compared to the before med!!

Today, January 7: even better than the 6th. Behaviour wise, last few days I was rather quiet (no mood for anything) didn't even whine when hoomans were eating (whining for my share of foods has been an ongoing behaviour nowadays). Today I was back to my usual whining BOL and more awake. 

So hopefully the medication works its magic, making me pain free able to walk properly and happy again! Please send me some POTP mom says i need 'em. Thank you All.

My Wagon

Mom has noticed quite a dramatic decline in my-everything these recent months. They just seem to happen overnight 😢

This post I'll just talk about one of them. Arthritis.

While I can still jump around when there's food, I am walking like I'm making conscious steps and my hip kinda sway around. She tried taking video of me walking but as always, I refuse whenever there's a camera involved!

Mom wants to bring me along to visit Grandma. You can say that we are staying on the same street, like about 3 bus-stops away. I used to be able to walk there on my own but I am walking so slow now, we'd probably take 3x longer to reach, and back!

So Mom thought of getting me a pet pram. But she was worried I won't like it after buying. So again, she came up with a silly bright idea!💡

Putting me into a grocery shopping cart to test!

Not those BIG supermarket trolley but a small personal cart that she uses to lug back her groceries! [This is a common personal cart that people in Singapore use to shop from nearby supermarkets within walking distance. Very useful for people without vehicles eg. Mom 😅 ].

No Dog was abused during the above test. Mom put me in and pushed me around in it at our balcony for a couple of minutes. After a few tries, Mom was convinced I was okay with riding in one.

Ta-daa-aaaaaaaa

Picture grabbed from internet, dog not included with the purchase ok?

We got exactly the same one.

With a big mesh so Mommy can see what I'm up to inside.

 A smaller mesh front-view. With the mesh it is ok even when the hood is down.

From the video, you can see that there's an even smaller mesh on the top of hood!

So, all's good when the weather is fine.

Once, we were still walking home when it started to pour! OMD!
It already started to drizzle when we were just leaving Grandma's apartment but Mom thought she would take a chance. Well, she was wrong.

Mom quickly had me my wagon wrapped up (with me inside) with plastic sheets. Luckily I remained dry while the wagon got a little wet. Mom was the wettest cos' she had to push me with 1 hand and held the brolly with other hand trying to shield me (the rain could still seep in as the plastic sheet was not big enough!).

    See? So UN-GLAM!!! BOL.  Oh, I was in the wagon but you can't see me😅 😅 😂

Aftermath of Dental Scaling

I had my first dental works in Dec 2011 when I was about 8.5 yrs young.

Then 2 years later in 2013 (10.5 yrs young); and

again another 2 yrs in 2015 (12.5 yrs young).

Why 2 years? It's just Mom's stupid silly idea because all those chewing on tendons & manually cleaning with gauze don't seem helpful that by around 1 year plus plaque would have built up. Yet, she's worried about me going under so it was a battle between Plaque and Anaesthesia. So 2 years it is - by hook or by crook I must have dental scaling.

SO! This year (and month) the 2 years is up! I'm now 14.5 yrs not-so-young.

2 weeks ago I was scooped up and to the vet we went at 9am! Poor me, left shivering and hungry (cos had to fast) at the vet's to wait for my turn. In all fairness, Mom couldn't sit still at home either worrying about me. Finally, it was over and I was fetched home at 3+pm.

Guess what! It was NOT only dental scaling I was worked on!!! OMG!!!!!


There was a wart that grew on my lower back near the spine. So mr. Nice Vet had it removed surgically while I was unconscious sedated. It was slightly big (ahem...it was slightly smaller than a green bean!) and needed to be stitched up! Looked, my nice fur had to be shaved, What The FISH??!!

   That was me lying in bed at home, though conscious but still weak in my limbs unable to stand!

Wait. Those were NOT ALL.

I also had these skin tags on my right hock and on my right upper lip.

The skin tag about the size of a long grain of rice, looked like this:

This was on my left muzzle but somehow it disappeared; must had dropped off on its own.

Below is my right hock where the circled area is where the skin tag used to be:

The skin tags on my hock and lip were removed by electrocautery, I think? similar to using laser to burn off... Easier to manage, just need to apply cream afterwards for about a week.

Skin tags can usually be left on their own unless they cause problems. But as I was sedated so might as well.

Oh, I forgot to mention that 1 pre-molar was loose and extracted!!! *cry* 

I had 4 teeth removed during the 2015's dental. That made a total of 5 to-date!

Good news was besides the dental works which we had to pay, the wart and skin tags removal were free of charge.

For the rest of the afternoon and night, I was groggy and had to be carried from place to place. Could barely stand up to pee! It seemed that anaesthesia-recovery got worse and worse as I aged :(

I didn't even eat for that whole day. Luckily I got better the next day though wobbly and fell several times, phew!

See you in 2019, Dental Scaling! But I'll try not to and keep up my efforts to keep my teeth clean.