Ok, so I posted this on FB yesterday so most of you had seen it but I figured I needed to explain myself here too. I've been really quiet about Kaylee lately and I wanted to say why: My Buttface girl has Bone Cancer.
I have a tendency when things upset me to avoid thinking or talking about them in the vain hope they go away. Classic head in the sand approach. But that's not fair to Kaylee to be pushed to the back of my mind because it makes me feel slightly better when she's the one that has cancer.
I struggled with the decision to amputate or not but in the end decided we're not going to amputate. It's her back leg and she's a poorly built, big dog with bad hips. I can't put her through surgery, take her leg and then have her try to walk with one bad hip (her hips were one of the reasons it wasn't spotted earlier, she's had a bad gait for years).
Instead, we're doing pain management, lots of time to roam and sniff and pee on things, snuggles under the covers and more food than she should probably be getting. It's gotten bad in the last couple weeks and I figured it was time to say it "outloud" finally instead of keeping it in the family.
Luckily, she's got a high pain tolerance and a sunny attitude so she's doing alright. It's wearing on her though and I can see her using the leg less and less. But she still has zoomies, runs around the house, gets into things and stands on her head in my lap. When she stops being able to be her I'll deal with that but for now she's happy being my Cow Dog.
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
This wasn't meant to be a pity party or a memorial. I just wanted to give an explanation along with some pictures of my Buttface dog.
I have a tendency when things upset me to avoid thinking or talking about them in the vain hope they go away. Classic head in the sand approach. But that's not fair to Kaylee to be pushed to the back of my mind because it makes me feel slightly better when she's the one that has cancer.
I struggled with the decision to amputate or not but in the end decided we're not going to amputate. It's her back leg and she's a poorly built, big dog with bad hips. I can't put her through surgery, take her leg and then have her try to walk with one bad hip (her hips were one of the reasons it wasn't spotted earlier, she's had a bad gait for years).
Instead, we're doing pain management, lots of time to roam and sniff and pee on things, snuggles under the covers and more food than she should probably be getting. It's gotten bad in the last couple weeks and I figured it was time to say it "outloud" finally instead of keeping it in the family.
Luckily, she's got a high pain tolerance and a sunny attitude so she's doing alright. It's wearing on her though and I can see her using the leg less and less. But she still has zoomies, runs around the house, gets into things and stands on her head in my lap. When she stops being able to be her I'll deal with that but for now she's happy being my Cow Dog.
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
Kaylee by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
This wasn't meant to be a pity party or a memorial. I just wanted to give an explanation along with some pictures of my Buttface dog.
