Chico is a two year old rotti. He has always been a very energetic and loving dog. I got Chico a week after my mother-in-law passed. He helped a lot with the grieving process. When my wife and I separated, Chico was all that I had. He has kept me whole. He was diagnosed in late July with Leukemia. They told me he had only a 10% chance of living 6 months because his white cell count was so high. After only 5 treatments, Chico is in remission. He is getting back to himself every day. We are not out of the woods yet though, he still requires more treatments to keep him in remission.
I have had Butterbean since he was born in March 2000. I was there for his birth because it was in my parent’s house. My mom named him because she said he looked like a butterbean. She also used to call him “Nosy Nate” because he liked to always get into things and see what everyone was doing.
I went to college at Old Dominion University in the Fall of 2000. After living in the dorms my freshman year, I got my own apartment for the next school year. I brought Butterbean and one other cat, Oscar, from my parent’s house. Turns out Oscar did not like being a “Norfolk kitty” too much and was homesick. I brought him back home after the first semester. But Butterbean… he thrived in the college atmosphere! He loved to hang out with visitors and my roommate and I. He even had his own recliner in the living room and he was loved by everyone. He has always been such a social butterfly!
After graduating college, I have since lived in Chesapeake, Springfield, Manassas, and most recently back in Richmond. Butterbean has gone everywhere with me. He’s seen all of my adult relationships and has even been through a marriage and recent divorce with me. I consider him my best friend because he has been through just about everything with me and has always loved me unconditionally. Some would say he is too cling with me but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We have a very strong bond
Due to the divorce, I moved back to Richmond in March. I noticed his health declining around late May into June. I thought it might have been due to the move from a big house into a little apartment or because he was getting older… But he started losing weight on a steady basis and he seemed disoriented. I decided to take him in for a senior screening and check-up in early July.
The doctor I went to seemed really nice. He did blood work among other things on Butterbean. I received a call a few days later that Butterbean had hyperthyroidism and we began treatment. I brought him in for follow-ups and it was not really getting better. After a visit with an emergency veterinary hospital in August, it was determined that Butterbean was misdiagnosed. Due to numerous frustrations and lack of communication I won’t get into in detail with that clinic, I received a partial refund for the misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment that lost Butterbean over a month and a half of time.
After the emergency visit, it was recommended that Butterbean have an internal ultrasound conducted to find out what was going on. The ultrasound did not show anything that could give him a definitive diagnosis. The next recommendation was to treat with medications or have a surgical biopsy on several internal organs.
I decided to return to the veterinarian that I had grown up going to with all of our family pets, Dr. Susan Ware. I initially did not go to Dr. Ware when I first moved back home because her clinic is a good 25 minutes from my apartment and Butterbean is notorious for getting car sick and making his cage and himself really messy with even the shortest of car rides. But I knew it was time to go to someone I knew and trusted based on past experience.
I decided to attempt to try the more conservative and less invasive approach with medications to see if Butterbean began getting better. I knew surgery would be risky for a cat his age and I was hoping that he would not need the biopsies. After a few weeks of antibiotics and other medications, Butterbean was not getting any better. Dr. Ware performed the surgical biopsy in October. Several days later, I got the call that Butterbean has lymphoma.
Butterbean has been undergoing chemotherapy since late October. The first week he wasn’t eating very much. An appetite stimulant for a couple of days fixed that and he has been eating and drinking water ever since. His appetite is actually what has continued to give me hope throughout this emotional time. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned to the vet that he was breathing with his mouth open while purring. He was given a chest x-ray to see if fluid was building in his lungs (which apparently would have been a sign that things were probably coming to an end). Luckily, there was no fluid seen in his lungs. Our next course of action is to re-ultrasound him to see if we can learn more of what ‘s going on.
Our Bitsy Lou was adopted from the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Powhatan back on October 24th of 2004 by an individual in the same housing area. The couple loved and raised Bitsy from the approximate age of 1 year old to 7 years of age. Unfortunately, when the original owner’s spouse passed away and then had other family medical issues arise, new owners for the adorable dog had to be found. Posters were hung throughout the complex. The same day they were placed, we saw it and inquired about the cute Beagle we saw on the flyer. We fell in love with this spunky, petite beagle and her demeanor. We thought about it overnight and the next day returned to retrieve our new family member.
She quickly became socialized with our male cat who is a couple years younger. The two know their boundaries with each other and rarely quarrel. Bitsy had regular medical appointments to receive check ups. Shortly before one of the regular visits, a small, tick size spot was seen about her right eye. The spot grew over a few weeks and she was returned to get it examined by the veterinarian. The vet surgically removed the spot and sent the tissue off for biopsy. We were contacted when the results of the test returned. It was very bad news of Melanoma. Since the growth rate was unknown, we decided to watch to see if it would return. After approximately 6.5 months, the growth returned. Since this is the second occurrence and she is less than ten years old, we want to be more aggressive in her treatment. X-Rays were taken of her lungs to verify the cancer had NOT spread. This was good news. However, treatment of this cancer to prevent spread and eradicate it is costly.
The moment I start to write about my sweet girl the tears start to roll. She is one of the most loving dogs I have ever owned and way too young to be given a death sentence. My parents got her as a puppy when they thought they really wanted a mastiff breed, but soon realized that she was too much for them to handle. I quickly agreed to take her as we had spent a lot of time together at my parent’s house and I had watched her a lot as a puppy. Also on my 13-year-old boxer Duke was dealing with a spinal disease that I knew would take his life very soon (He passed away two years ago). Needless to say she came at a great time. I started to have her full time when she was about six months old. She has been a handful at times, but after intensive training with Auburn Leach Academy and daily walking sessions with Myself or my husband she has become a wonderful companion. She spends her days with me as I work from home and she means the world to me. I have always had dogs and have dealt with losing them, but to lose her at 4 seems so unfair.
Last Monday was one of the worst days of my life…..in 8 hours I was told that my Bailey had lymphoma and my boxer Sadie has aspiration pneumonia. We almost lost them both last week with Bailey having to be admitted to the emergency vet when her neck swelled to twice its size. Prior to this I was told she just had an eye infection and was sent home with eye drops. Bailey showed no signs of any illness and was her normal self until about two days before being admitted. She has shown her true strength and has kept me strong this week. Having had chemo twice already she is showing improvement, but we are not sure how we can continue payments for these. I have also set a meeting with a holistic vet to see other things we can do to help her. I hope that you all will help me give her a chance and get to meet her.
My name is Summer, and I live with my dad in Westmoreland. I am a loving Golden Retriever who just turned 4 years old on 11/13/2012. I have an older sister named Anna. Anna comes to visit with me one night a week and every other weekend. I look forward to seeing Anna and I have watched her grow up to be an amazing young lady. She is now 11 y ears old. I love going to her softball games and practices. I also enjoy lying on the sofa with her watching TV. I have so much fun playing fetch with Anna.
I have stage 4, sub-stage A Lumphobloastic Lymphoma. I started treatments in October, and had my second round in November. I am under the care of Dr. Ed Fallin with VRCC (Veterinary Referral & Critical Care). Dr. Fallin believes that I am at 50% remission at this point. The treatments have reduced my tumors better than half. I hope to continue with my positive progression.
Please consider helping me with my medical bills so I can continue on this speedy recovery. I want to be able to continue playing with Anna and being a part of her life and watch our family grow. I want to be able to say that “I am a Cancer Survivor”.
