(Bailey is a Shepherd/Hound/Retriever mix. We weren't told a prognosis, and I'm too scared to ask...but with the treatment we're doing, we're hoping at LEAST another 2-3 years)

We adopted Bailey from the no-kill shelter I started working for in 2007 when she was about 2 years old. She had been at the shelter for 7 months, after arriving very pregnant and giving birth to 9 puppies (all of whom were adopted). She had emergency surgery after her spay (wasn't sutured up properly--luckily that vet is no longer in business) and tested heartworm positive. She went through slow heartworm treatment and tested negative in 2009! :) She'd also already started with some osteoarthritis in her shoulder and hip at age 4...so much for a doggie so young!

I've worked in animal welfare for going on 5 years now. We have a spay/neuter clinic with our adoption center, so I've been through many medical situations (aside from spay/neuter) and learned so much from just being at work. We are also very faithful about going to the vet and take our animals in for even remotely small issues. That is what burns me the most about my part in Bailey's diagnosis-that I didn't push for answers right away when I first noticed the spot, that I trusted the vets to notice it, and assumed when they didn't mention it that it wasn't anything to worry about.

Every summer Bailey battles skin allergies and this summer was no different, except for one thing. She developed this small, dark spot on her right booty "cheek". We were at the veterinarian's office 4 times for treatment and rechecking her allergies from June-October. Not once did they mention the spot on her booty, even when expressing her glands. So we assumed it was residual from her allergies, and didn't bring it up, thinking that if it WERE something, there's no WAY they wouldn't have mentioned it or asked about it. We watched it get slightly bigger, but it wasn't leaking and didn't seem to bother her. And the vets still didn't mention it. We really thought it was a spot from her licking her booty (like a hot spot).

Well, during Thanksgiving travel, we noticed that Bailey was licking her booty a lot more, and definitely leaking anal fluid. We also noticed that one side of her belly (back under her thighs) was hanging down lower than the other. I immediately thought mammary gland cancer and got her in to the vet the first week of December. She had her glands expressed and her belly checked (he said it was fat readjusting) and still...no mention of the spot! So I finally asked about it. His words? "What spot?"

My response?

"Are you serious? You just had your fingers in my dog's booty...right next to the quarter-sized spot on her cheek! How did you NOT see it?!"

He proceeded to feel it and manipulate around it, etc and said that it would need to be removed sooner than later and would need to be sent off for cell biopsy. He gave us a quote and we went home to talk about it.

The nice thing about where I work is that we receive discounted veterinary services. Our spay/neuter vets were in private practice for 30 years, and both have specialties (one-orthopedic surgeries, and the other-cytology and both prefer homeopathic remedies to support regular medical support). We asked them to look at Bailey and they willingly did so. They sent off a small biopsy and we received the results a week later: hemangiosarcoma.

We scheduled her for tumor removal the next day and I went home and did a ton of research on the cancer. I was devastated. I had to share the news with my husband when he got home from work that night, too, which was so hard to do-she's our baby-first adopted, and she's a Daddy's Girl through and through. We were so unsure of what we were up against.

I was slightly optimistic because she had a subdermal tumor (60% of them spread internally), but still just crushed. None of the websites said ANYthing positive.

We went ahead and did an ultrasound before the surgery to check her spleen/heart/liver/lungs, etc. and everything looked good. The cancer hadn't spread yet. She had as much of the tumor removed as the vet could get without sabotaging her anus or vagina. She is such a trooper! Even went through traveling in the car for 11 hours (each way) to visit family over the holidays with 16 staples in her booty. We had sent her tumor of to Colorado State University and received the results December 28th. She had a grade 2 tumor, and not all of the margins were extracted-the tumors tentacle a lot with hemangiosarcoma.

We started her chemotherapy (Doxorubicin) last week, on Thursday. She has 4 more rounds scheduled (3 weeks apart) and gets her CBC (bloodwork) done this coming Thursday to make sure her white blood cell count is okay. She brought her favorite toys along: Bun Bun and Bit Bit-both bunnies...Bun Bun was one given to her by the gentleman who first called about finding her on the road back in 2007-he came to the shelter a week after we adopted her to find out what happened to her. It is the only toy she hasn't destroyed-she just nibbles on it! Bit Bit (rabbit, rabbit-Bun Bun's cousin) was found by Bailey at work in the donated toys when we were in our storage area getting food from our community food bank to take to someone. She dug through the toys and came trotting over to me with it...same bunny...just fuzzy like Bun Bun used to be! Ha ha! So we named her Bit Bit! Anyhow, Bun Bun was with her through the chemo, and we chose to read a book together "One Good Dog", which seems to calm her down when I read to her during the treatment. She did fabulous during the 45 minutes of chemo (IV).

However, the side effects have been kind of rough on her. She has been so tired and has virtually no appetite, but other than that she seems in okay spirits. She was on some pretty nasty meds (Tylan) to prevent diarrhea from the chemo (word to the wise---it has an EXTREMELY nasty flavor, so if you mix it in something, make sure it's very strongly flavored and mixed well and don't mix it in their favorite bowl--it picks up the flavor--she won't even go near her food stand now :/ and thinks all food we give her is laced with something). She was also on an anti-nausea med because she has a very sensitive stomach. She threw up the first night and a little bit the next morning, but hasn't tossed her cookies again, able to keep everything else we've managed to get in her down. She's usually SO food motivated and loves to take pills in cheese, meat, peanut butter-whatever-even when we open a bottle for ourselves, she usually comes running. It's heartbreaking to see her like this.

I also went out and bought ingredients for the Canine Cancer Diet (http://www.wholisticpawsvet.com/articles/Integrative_Treatment_of_Cancer_in_Dogs.pdf)and mixed up a big batch (it made 15 cups), and we were trying to wean her onto it. dont know if it's her lack of appetite, or if it smells to veggie for her, but she's not a fan yet. We really need to get her off of her carbohydrate laden kibble. She'll be on the CCD for at least a year, and then weekly as a supplement.

She'll be getting Vitamin C and Omega-3s, too. We were hoping to get her on Mephyton (Vitamin K), and still have to speak to the vet about maybe a different idea with Vit K in it or something, because the pills are anywhere from $8-9.50/pill!!

Once she finishes her chemo she'll be starting her antiangiogenesis protocol (http://27ground.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/navyprotocolfinal.pdf) to hopefully prevent the cancer from spreading.

Anyhow, that's where we are right now-and where we're hoping to be. Our hearts go out to all fighting with their dogs against cancer; it is not easy, but support and prayers are so helpful (for at least the emotional aspect)! We'll keep you updated on Bailey's Battle! We're on Week 6 now!

Never second guess something you think might be a little off-get it checked ASAP.

Don't be afraid to reach out for support--you'd be surprised how many people in your own community are fighting cancer with their dogs!!! Even though there are so many different cancers, and so many different treatments available--sharing knowledge and experiences is a powerful tool.

Warm fuzzies to all!