Hi there.
Andy is my 4th golden retriever. My first, Buddy, was pulling a stake on the end of a chain with his eyes swollen shut when he wandered up to my wife at her office. He was about 5 then, and we had him for 10 more years. He was the first therapy dog in Nashville and worked every week with pediatric trauma patients at Vanderbilt Hospital here in Nashville.
We were deep in sadness. One day I said to my wife, "Honey, there's another golden who needs us. Let's get an older dog who isn't being adopted", so we found a wonderful golden rescue group - Tennessee Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (TVGRR.com) and adopted Trevor, who was about 10 or 11. His coat was dry like straw and he'd evidently been tied up his entire life somewhere. He didn't know how to have fun. He learned to play ball and loved to swim at the lake. When his energy suddenly dropped about 2 months after we adopted him, we spent thousands of dollars on diagnostic tests (too many vets don't know what they're doing, sadly). He had leukemia. We spoiled him with pot roast and love. I petted and talked with him all night the night he died with a beautiful shiny coat and a waggy tail, finally knowing what it's like to be loved.
Next came Henry, also about 10 or 11. Someone opened a door at a vet office and let him in. That's how he ended up with the great people at TVGRR. He vomited one night 5 months after we adopted him and the next day as well. We took him to the vet. Darn it! He had an inoperable huge cancerous tumor in his belly and we held him as he went to the Rainbow Bridge.
Andy came next. We've had him for 8 years. He was about 1 or 2 when we adopted him. Like our first, Buddy, Andy's been a therapy dog for long term pediatric patients.
Well, I felt two small lumps in his neck last week. He had an operation where they removed one but left the larger one (about half the size of an egg) because it was attached to lymphatic tissue. The biopsy results came in today. Early stage Lymphoma. Needless to say, we're devastated. The economic downturn has hit us pretty hard and we don't have extra money, but we'll get him the chemo and hope it gives him more time. I just lost my sibling to cancer not too long ago. Another loss of a very loved one would be very hard right now.
Tomorrow we'll be taking him to the oncologist to start the chemo process.
Reading a lot about others experiences with lymphoma in their goldens we know chemo will only give him an extension, not a cure.
Any experiences and/or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. We're very open to holistic avenues in addition to chemo. Also, any experience you can share about anything from generic chemo drugs to holistic/diet ideas would be very welcome.
Hope and helpful information would be a blessing right about now.
Thanks so much.
PS I recommend adopting from a golden retriever rescue. So many like Andy were simply dumped off at kill shelters when they got 'big' and weren't puppies anymore.
Andy is my 4th golden retriever. My first, Buddy, was pulling a stake on the end of a chain with his eyes swollen shut when he wandered up to my wife at her office. He was about 5 then, and we had him for 10 more years. He was the first therapy dog in Nashville and worked every week with pediatric trauma patients at Vanderbilt Hospital here in Nashville.
We were deep in sadness. One day I said to my wife, "Honey, there's another golden who needs us. Let's get an older dog who isn't being adopted", so we found a wonderful golden rescue group - Tennessee Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (TVGRR.com) and adopted Trevor, who was about 10 or 11. His coat was dry like straw and he'd evidently been tied up his entire life somewhere. He didn't know how to have fun. He learned to play ball and loved to swim at the lake. When his energy suddenly dropped about 2 months after we adopted him, we spent thousands of dollars on diagnostic tests (too many vets don't know what they're doing, sadly). He had leukemia. We spoiled him with pot roast and love. I petted and talked with him all night the night he died with a beautiful shiny coat and a waggy tail, finally knowing what it's like to be loved.
Next came Henry, also about 10 or 11. Someone opened a door at a vet office and let him in. That's how he ended up with the great people at TVGRR. He vomited one night 5 months after we adopted him and the next day as well. We took him to the vet. Darn it! He had an inoperable huge cancerous tumor in his belly and we held him as he went to the Rainbow Bridge.
Andy came next. We've had him for 8 years. He was about 1 or 2 when we adopted him. Like our first, Buddy, Andy's been a therapy dog for long term pediatric patients.
Well, I felt two small lumps in his neck last week. He had an operation where they removed one but left the larger one (about half the size of an egg) because it was attached to lymphatic tissue. The biopsy results came in today. Early stage Lymphoma. Needless to say, we're devastated. The economic downturn has hit us pretty hard and we don't have extra money, but we'll get him the chemo and hope it gives him more time. I just lost my sibling to cancer not too long ago. Another loss of a very loved one would be very hard right now.
Tomorrow we'll be taking him to the oncologist to start the chemo process.
Reading a lot about others experiences with lymphoma in their goldens we know chemo will only give him an extension, not a cure.
Any experiences and/or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. We're very open to holistic avenues in addition to chemo. Also, any experience you can share about anything from generic chemo drugs to holistic/diet ideas would be very welcome.
Hope and helpful information would be a blessing right about now.
Thanks so much.
PS I recommend adopting from a golden retriever rescue. So many like Andy were simply dumped off at kill shelters when they got 'big' and weren't puppies anymore.