Staffyluv

Thanks haven... Ollie starts his chemo on Monday... Must confess, I am terrified... I just don't want it to make him sick... He goes in tomorrow for blood tests to make sure he has no infections and his liver is OK... Jodie

Love the smell of Aloveen but as Ollie has sensitive skin and can be prone to dandruff I use Malaseb... He has not had a skin problem since we started using Malaseb... Jodie

Since his stitches came out last Monday, I have been taking him for small walks in the park... Problem is, he wants to run, chase birds and say hello to everyone all at the same time (typical stafford) and then he is exhausted in about 20 minutes... He has not been on a real walk in about a month and is so excited to be back out and about... Should he be tired so quickly? We used to walk for about and hour to an hour and a half every morning (and that was a power walk)... Will check with our vet when we see him again next week... Our vet is using Rod Straw as the oncologist for Ollie - I believe he is one of the best Jodie and Ollie dog

for you and bondi... She is in good hands at her vet... Jodie and Ollie dog

We have just come home from the vet and he removed the last lot of stitches... We had a good chat about what can be done for Ollie... The vet is talking to Rob Strawn (sp??) a specialist in oncology and we have decided to give the chemo a go... However if it makes Ollie sick, we are going to stop it... We will not be having any more surgery, as the cancer is in his lymph nodes and there is really no point removing any more tumours that come up... We will continue with Kate from Holistic Paws here in Canberra and our vet is consulting with her... At the moment Ollie has 1000mg of vit C and one lot of drops once a week... I think we will be looking at diet this week... He has been on HSD UD for kidney/bladder stones, but I am positive that I can make a raw diet for him and exclude the oxalate causing foods - I will consult with Kate on that but if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them... The prognosis is really quite good and our vet seems to think that Ollie COULD be here for up a while yet... (Stats say that 55% of dogs with grade 2 mast cell tumours, excised with clear margins will live 3 years or more)... Ollie had clear margins but it has spread via the lymph system, so we are hoping that he does not get sick with the chemo and it puts him in remission... Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for him... Thanks Jodie and Ollie dog

Just arrived home folks and I have been getting heaps of staffy kisses since I walked through the door... Really needed them as I don't think I will see my nan again... He seems really well, the holistic drops and Vit C have certainly done no harm.. He is as bright as a button... I thought the same thing about his incision... It is clear and no redness at all... I had a good look at it when I came home and it has healed up nicely... We go to the vet on Monday to have the stitches removed and talk about what conventional medicine can do for Ollie... I have decided that I do not want to put him through any more surgery - it is just to hard on him... I feel really positive about the holistic medicine... Will update some more after we see the vet on Monday... Thankyou all for caring so much, it means more than you could know... Jodie and Ollie dog

We had our first visit with the holistic vet (HV) today and Ollie has some drops to take... Carcinosin - once a week Thuja - twice daily for one week Arsenica Album - twice daily for one week Vit C 250mg four times a day... Our HV said that she is going to consult with a chinese herbalist and she will have the necessary stuff in next week... She thinks that he seems in pretty good shape to start with... I will be making a few calls when I get back from my Nan's next week and organising a trip to Sydney to see an Oncologist, to decide if we should use the chemo as well as the holistic therapy... I will be away for the next week (so it will be major DOL withdrawal) visiting my Nan who has decided that her time has come and she is refusing dialysis... A big thanks to all those that have been a wealth of information for us at this difficult time - you know who you are... Your support and adivce has been second to none... Thankyou Jodie and Ollie dog

Ollei dog had a lot of lumps - was told they are probably fatty lipomas - after having them removed, two of them are mast cell tumours and it has spread to his lymph glands... Don't wait - request a needle biopsy... Hoping all goes well for you and Jenna. Jodie

Hugs Rozzie - a very hard decision but the kindest of all... RIP Lupi... Thinking of you Jodie

Thankyou all for you good wishes, it really means a lot... I have done heaps of research on the net and next week I will start to call around and find an holistic vet and an oncologist for Ollie - it may sound selfish but I just could not do it this week... I burst into tears at the drop of a hat - have even cancelled most of the appointments with my clients and I am not answering the phone much... I just want to stay on the puter and get as much info as possible about this terrible disease... Ollie is staying very close at the moment - I am sure he knows I am upset... I believe that there are 2 holistic vets in the ACT, one in Kambah and the other out in Hall... I guess I will call both and have a chat... Dogbesotted also gave me the contact for her holistic vet and I will call her next week as well... Hamish (vet) is on hols at the moment and will be back next week, so I thought that I would get his opinions on an oncologist for Ollie... After the initial shock, we are all pretty quiet here at present.. The boys seem to be hiding out in their rooms... I feel confident that we can give Ollie a great time, for the time that he has left with us... Here is a pic of the main tumour removal site - it looks so sore... But in true staffy fashion, he still runs around the house like a maniac... Thanks again, the emotional support you offer is very much appreciated... Jodie and Ollie

RIP Jessie... Jodie and Ollie dog

Just got the call from the vet and the mast cells are in his lymph nodes... Vet said that chemo is expensive and it will really only give him a 50/50 chance as he has a grade 2 cancer... With chemo he will be with us for up to 18 months... Without the chemo, he will only be here for a max of about 6 months... I don't care about the cost of the chemo, but the vet said that it makes them sick (I did not think it did???).. Has anyone experienced this and used the chemo? Thanks in advance Jodie

Thanks for the offer of the crate Mel but he howls like a banshee if I get out of sight at the moment... I went out the front yesterday to trim the roses and I could hear him crying inside... I tried to keep his lead on and tie him up so he would not walk around but that made him cry more, so I just keep him with me (not that I had a social life before )... Cheers Jodie

He seems fine but a little depressed as it has been 2 weeks since he has had a walk in the park... I might ask the vet next week if I can take him to a quiet area and let him have a walk... He always seems sad when he does not get his daily walk... Jodie

He is home... Looks like half of his rump on the right side is gone... The vet is confident that he got all the tumour And all we have to wait for is the all clear on the lymph node biopsy... Typical stafford, acts like nothing has happened... I will have to put his lead on and tie him up so he stops walking around... Cheers Jodie

Thanks all... dogbesotted, I would very mcuh appreciate any information that you can supply... Hamish (vet) is great and has given me some info and I have researched on the internet but it is the same info over and over again... To hear from people who have pooches that have had this and survived or gone to the bridge is great... We have all our fingers crossed today for him.. I dropped him off this morning at 8am with his blanket... Must say he was not very happy about it - quite vocal in fact... Thanks again, will update when he comes home and when we have more information... Jodie

Thanks guys, I just feel so bad about the poor little fella having to have more surgery tomorrow.. He had the last lot 2 weeks ago on Monday and has not been out for a walk since then and he is so miserable and now it will be another 2 weeks until this lot of stitches come out and he can go to the park again (it is his favorite place)... Have been reading up on this stuff all day... Please keep your fingers crossed for us... Thanks again Jodie

Well folks the results are in... The lump on his rump and the one on his foot were a grade 2 mast cell tumour... He goes back in for more surgery tomorrow morning to remove more skin, fat and tissue from the rump. It looks like they got the whole tumour from his foot... He is also having a biopsy done on the local lymph glands to see if it is spreading... I am absolutely devestated... I don't know anything about this ;) Jodie

Shek, most of Ollies lumps appear to be fatty lipomas... They can grow quite quickly and often the dog will get more than one, so multiple lumps can appear... They are also harmless.... Ollie had 2 lumps that need to go the pathology as they were not lipomas and the vet just wants to make sure that they are nothing sinister... I am confident that Ollie dog will make a full recovery... Your vet can do a needle biopsy on the lumps to see what they are, before the trauma of surgery... As for the breathing, I am sorry but I don't know anything about that... Hopefully you will have some news soon... Please keep us updated... Cheers Jodie

Don't know... But my thoughts are with you... Ollie just had 6 lumps removed, so I know how you feel... Good luck Jodie

Just a quick update for those interested... Ollie is on the mend - the op has not hurt his appetite at all... I think he thinks that he should have a constant supply of food to make up for what he has been through... He is pretty sore today and tends to be very careful when he sits down... Poor little buggar has 3 legs with incisions, plus one under his tummy and one under his chin... So he is limping (when he remembers)... If he finds a toy, he seems to forget about the limp... He gets his stitches out around the 18th November, so hopefully we will have the results back of the 2 lumps that Hamish was concerned about... I will try to get some pics of all the incisions he has... Hubby was bored (he is home with a broken leg) so he counted the stitches Ollie has and there are 42... Will update when we have more news... Thanks for all the well wishes Jodie

Ollie had his surgery today... Hamish found another 2 lumps, so that is 6 all together that have been removed... The 2 largest ones have about 6 or 7 stitches in each, then there are 2 a bit smaller with about 4 stitches and the smallest 2 have 1 stitch each... The poor little fella has cuts all over him... He was crying when I first got him home but seems to have settled a little now... And is even eating some chicken and veges (no HSD-UD tonight, he can be a bit spoilt for a while)... Both front and rear right legs had the 2 biggest lumps removed, so he is limping a fair bit... 2 lumps are being sent away to pathology as they were different to the lipomas that were removed... Fingers crossed they are nothing at all... Will update when we know more... Thanks Jodie and Ollie dog

Scary isn't it... We nearly lost our boy the same way a few years ago.. I have anithistamine on hand and give it to him if he is stung but that really does not give us that much more time... Ollie had to have an adrenalin injection, then antihistamine, then cortisone... The little buggar still won't leave bees alone... We have been through this 3 times now... Ollies reaction is not as rapid as it was the first time, so hopefully he will become desensitised to the bee sting... Jodie

Hugs to you and you little dog... Sounds like she has had a great life... Still it is never easy saying goodbye, we will be thinking of you in Tuesday... Jodie

Hamish decided to over Ollie this afternoon and he found another 2 lumps... He has taken a needle biopsy of each of the 4 lumps in total and Ollie is booked in for surgery on Monday... Hamish thinks that 2 of the lumps are just lipomas but he said he is not sure about the other 2... To top it off, I have been at the hospital this morning with my hubby as he has broken his ankle in two places... So fingers crossed here that it is all OK on Monday... I have absolute faith in Hamish and his team and I know that he will take great care of my munchkin mutt... Cheers Jodie