Almost her spazzy old self!

Scout is down to .5 mg. of prednisone every other day. It took me a few tries to successfully get her to that dosage. One night (after I skipped the daily dose), she woke me up gasping for breath. I gave her a dose of prednisone and she quickly calmed down and went back to sleep. She was fine by morning.

So I let her recover for a day or two and then tried it again. She showed no distress at all this time. She continues to grow stronger each day--whirling in circles and jumping up on the bed. I took her for a 1 1/2 mile walk yesterday and she didn't limp or seem tired afterward.

I really think she is on the mend!

I've had a hard time shaking the depressing assessment given by the last vet we took Scout to. She briefly checked Scout over, glanced at her thick wad of lab reports and medical records and said, "I don't think she has polyarthritis/meningitis. I suspect lymphoma."

We rejected her suggestion to start another round of costly tests, choosing instead to keep on with our course of treatment. Everytime Scout would have a bad day, or start limping again, I would fret. Did she have cancer? I didn't think I could handle watching my dog go through that kind of suffering again.

But this week, after Scout's struggle for breath, I decided to do some research on lymphoma. Just in case. I found out that dogs left either untreated or treated just with prednisone to alleviate pain, usually survive only 8 weeks after the onset of symptoms. It has been 9 weeks since Scout got sick.

Boy, did I breathe a sigh of relief!

New friends

Scout has new friends--both at home and work!
When my daughter, Lindsay, moved back in with us last week, she brought her cat, Penelope with her. Pen is the coolest cat ever (she didn't make a peep on the long drive up from LA), but she's never seen a dog before. She and Scout are slowly getting acquainted (although in the picture, it looks like she's shooting death-rays from her yellow eyes!)
Penelope was actually sitting outside our bedroom door when I got up this morning, acting like she was waiting for Scout to come out and play. Of course, she bolted as soon as Scout came trotting up.

Scout also has a new pal at the office--Greg's new office at Cornerstone Church, that is. Pastor Barry brings Tosty, his Cairn Terrier, with him to work everyday, so we took Scout last week so they could have a play date. Scout and Tosty sized each other up and did OK until I gave them each a dog treat. Tosty wolfed hers down and stole Scout's treat before my slow-moving pup had even taken her first bite. When Scout protested, Tosty turned wolverine and I had to pull her 5 pounds of canine fury off my dog. I'll give them treats in separate rooms next time.

I just switched Scout's prednisone dosage to 5 mg. every other day. She seems to be doing OK. She's not eating or drinking as much as before, which is good, because Scout has gained quite a bit of weight on the prednisone. In fact, Candyce--our youngest daughter who is admittedly a bit jealous of Scout--recently described her as a small yak. She's quite solid around the mid-section!

I'm hoping to be able to bring Scout to the Powell Butte hike next weekend. Pray that the weaning process continues to go smoothly . . .

Thank you, Starfleet

I have a very cool blessing to share. My friend from California, who is also a Sheltie enthusiast, knew about Scout's brush with death from reading my blog. Knowing from personal experience that vet bills can add up quickly, she directed me to the Starfleet Canine Aid Foundation. Even though Scout's case didn't really fit their criteria for aid (they usually want an an estimate--after a diagnosis has been made--of what treatment will cost), they cut us a generous check this week.

We are very grateful! And if you are a dog-lover and would like to know more about (or support) this wonderful organization, their website is: http://www.canineaid.org/

Playful

While Greg and I were away for the past week (helping our oldest daughter move up from LA), Danielle and Krispin took care of the house and of course, Scout. Danielle, who has actually lived with us for most of Scout's life, has never been a huge fan of my spazzy little dog. The fact that Scout barked at her everytime she walked through the door (Scout is kind of like the chick in 50 First Dates), didn't exactly endear her to my daughter.

Since Scout's illness, however, Danielle's sense of compassion kicked in and now she and Scout are best of friends. And after bonding for an entire week while I was gone, I'm wondering who Scout likes better now . . .

The most encouraging sign of Scout's improving health these days is her playfulness. She plays "gator dog" with Greg again and brings me her tuggy toy for a game each morning. She loves to go to the field and play "chase the ball," although she gets winded much quicker than before. She actually jumped up on our bed yesterday--she's not been able to jump since she got sick. All very encouraging signs.

I'm continuing to wean her off the prednisone slowly. When we get down to 5 mg., and she's still doing OK, we'll switch to every-other-day dosage. Scout's off her antibiotics, pain meds--she just takes prednisone along with all the supplements I'm giving her.

If she continues to improve at this rate, I'm hoping to take her on the Powell Butte hike next Saturday.