It's a very sad day

This is the last picture of Tulie and Emma taken about the middle of December.

We said good-bye to Tulie on Christmas Eve, and yesterday we had to say good-bye to Emma. We were so hopeful after her first chemo treatment last Wednesday because she seemed to feel so good on Thursday. Friday she was not doing well and by late morning on Saturday she couldn't walk, couldn't hold her head up and had even stopped drinking water. We took her in to our own vet since Dr. Macy is no longer in the desert.

As much as it hurt to make the decision, we decided it was time to let her go. I am just so incredibly sad and lonely without her, but Dr. Williams and the staff at All Creatures reminded us she was going to meet Tulie at the Rainbow Bridge. She and Tulie were very close. Before we left the office, we picked up Tulie's ashes. Emma's ashes will be returned in a week or so.

It's very quiet here now but we still have Harley. We always worried about losing Harley first because he has so many allergies, arthritis, very little fur and he's losing what little he has, his ears never went up, and his little legs are bowed. Scotties are supposed to have very straight front legs. But with all that's wrong with him, he has a great personality and he makes us laugh with all of his antics so we are grateful to have him to help us through this. At some point we'll want another Scottie, but not for a while. Harley loves attention and belly rubs, neck rubs, feet rubs, so he may enjoy being an only dog for a while, but I think he'll be a little lonely, too.

Ups and Downs

Emma isn't doing so well today. She's refused any food and so we haven't gotten her pills down yet this morning. She's sleeping and refuses to leave her pillow. She's depressed and lethargic again today. She lost control of her bladder over night and again this morning.

I didn't expect to see such a down-turn after seeing her feel so well yesterday. I guess I have to expect ups and downs but I didn't expect them to be so drastic.

A more hopeful day

Dr. Macy was able to give me a cautious ray of hope for Emma. He has used a combination of newer drugs to treat other dogs with MH. Her cancer is not operable and there is no long term treatment, but he thinks we should try this regimen to see if we can stabilize her, bring back her appetite, and bring some quality to her life.

She began her chemo yesterday with a stay in Dr. Macy's office of 90 minutes for her first iv treatment. She came home with several meds and information about chemo in dogs.

This is the first morning in two weeks that she's taken her roast beef in the morning and has stayed near me. She's even gone up to the landing to get some sun with Harley. I am very hopeful that treatment may give us more quality time with her.

Thanks for your prayers.

Definitely not a good start to 2008

After having just lost Tulie on Christmas Eve, our Emma has just been diagnosed with Malignant Histiocytosis or MH, a rare, fast moving cancer that has no cure, no successful treatment and from time discovered to death is a matter of days or weeks. Not a very good prognosis. She remains depressed, lethargic and refuses food but occasionally takes water.

We have an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow afternoon. Dr. Macy flies from Colorada to the desert twice a month to treat his patients. Luckily, he is currently in the desert and our vet was able to get us in quickly. We need a miracle.