Calvin, above with his adopted sister Nina, the temperamental rat-terrier.

Another update (03/06/2012): a second ultra-sound has revealed a much smaller tumor! We are very happy.

An update on Calvin (02/25/2012): he is doing amazingly well. He runs, digs, plays, fights with his sister Nina and torments Fred, the cockatiel, every single day, just as before. During our walks, he doesn't feel tired anymore and, to my despair, he eats all disgusting things he finds (an opossum tail, as many squished frogs as possible, putrid birds, moles, mice, you name it). Now, I even allow myself to be again aggravated with his snack choices. I no longer feel "oh poor baby, it's Ok to eat the week-long dead snake because you are sick... Oh poor baby, it's Ok to puke the half digested mole on the carpet because you only have so many moles to catch..." We are both back to be who we were before: he grabs it and does not drop, I yell and tell him to drop it, to no avail. When I look at him now, I rarely think that he is sick. As a matter of fact, it's hard to believe that he is sick. He still eats home-made food, gaining about 8 pounds, takes his supplements and meds, but I can see many good days ahead of us. And maybe even another Christmas. Thanks to all who prayed for him and please don't stop.

His story
Calvin, a Beagle-mix, came to our house on a Fall day 7 years ago. My husband saw him walking up the driveway and asked: "whose dog is this?" After trying to locate his owner, for our luck he joined our family. So, to my husband's question, the answer was: "I think he is ours now." Calvin was my first dog and he made my life better in too many ways to count. He was sick when he first arrived at our house: he had heart-worm, mange and also an open sore on his head. We cared for him and he became the most beautiful and loving dog ever. He received Nina, our bad-tempered Rat-Terrier (also adopted), with open paws, despite of all her shortcomings. Calvin loves to dig and, despite my dislike, he hunts for moles, mice and baby birds, not to mention the occasional skunk. He still loves his daily walk and, since I started cooking for him, he eats as much as possible. I think he would eat all day long if the food was continually supplied. I must say that he was a finicky eater before. I'm a horrible cook, but I do my best to provide him with a wholesome, healthy, low-sodium diet. He eats chicken breast, lean ground beef, salmon (on a rotation basis), brown rice, lentils, sweet potatoes, oats, yogurt, 1% cottage cheese, cooked eggs, raw spinach, carrots and other vegetables, all mixed with milled flax seed. My husband, upon looking at yet another plate of pasta, suggested that he would gladly eat Calvin's food instead. His newly-diagnosed chemotectoma (a heart-base tumor) only slowed him a bit for a couple of days. After the vet figured out a good combination of meds, Calvin seems to be energetic and happy. Since his diagnosis three weeks ago, I started reading everything I could about his tumor: the diet I cook for him and the added supplements (CO-Q 10, E, Taurine, Fish oil) are a result of my research. However, he refuses to take the vitamin C and some of the other supplements I bought for him! I love Calvin with all my heart and will do all I can to extend his life as a happy, much loved dog. He has given me unconditional love, through thick and thin. Taking care of him now is one of the ways I find to thank him for being such a great friend. I was very sad when the vet told us that his days were counted. I cried and cried. And Calvin was very sad to see me sad. So, I decided to think positively, to take every good day as a gift and to believe that he might as well be one of the few dogs who experience spontaneous remission. And why not? I will post updates on his condition and cross my fingers that he will be the "miracle puppy."

Feed your dog the best possible diet, read about holistic approaches to cancer, meditate on positive outcomes (or pray, if you prefer), let your dog feel how much he/she is loved and how much you want him/her to fight the disease, so that you can have yet another Christmas together. Take each day at a time and pay attention to subtle signs that something is not right.