St.Bernard Thurston

HOPPY 6 MONTHS AMPUVERSARY!!

Hoppy Ampuversary to meeee! My mom is getting stingy with the presents and treats. She said with my birthday and Gotcha Day I don’t deserve ANY more presents or cake or party hats. Not even waffles today! All I got was a bully stick and everyone KNOWS what those are made of.  That is so NOT a celebration treat! My mom is worried that I may be getting fat. Everyone but HER knows that it is MUSCLE!

I am posting to tell the world the truth. Enough of this fake news! My Mom is WRONG!! and she knows it! All I had to do was look at her with my big floppy brown eyes (which NEVER show up in pictures) and  her heart melts. So today I am having pulled pork sliders and I’m not sure yet, but there MAY be a cake going into the oven later. I did tell her that I can do without the party hat tho.

She is still letting me sleep in her bed. HaHa! I have her trained really well. I take up 3/4 of the bed and then I kick her all night while I am dreaming that I am chasing squirrels. She gets a little mad with me when I get up during the night. I told her I can’t stay in that bed all night with her electric blanket on… she turned it off! Guess she loves me after all.

We go to back to the University of Wisconsin on December 6 for X-rays and recheck. I can use a few prayers, please! My mom is starting to show signs of concern. She will get much worse as the date draws nearer. OK, back to my nap, now. Woof Woof and hugs, hair and slobber to all! I cant wait for Thanksgiving. My mom has soooo much to be thankful for cause I AM HOPPY! I can almost smell that turkey and I am plotting how to steal it off the counter!

Hallelujah!! I have made it thru Gotcha Day. Been with my Forever Mom for 6 whole amazing years! My mom was soooo worried I wasn’t going to make it this far but I am PAWESOME! I am doing whatever I want to do and I am shedding and drooling all over the place and my mom just smiles and says, ” Thank You, Jesus!” I am loving this!! Just yesterday I shook my head and my drool hit my mom square right in the face! I was laughing so hard as she said “Ewwwe”, wiped off her face, washed her glasses and gave me a big kiss and a treat!

Mom even told me I am a much better dog than I used to be. I love it when she praises me and compliments me but I love it even more when she cooks for me and makes me a CAKE! I am sooo looking forward to Thanksgiving when she will make  a WHOLE TURKEY for me!

October 11 marked my 5 months Ampuversary! We were at The University of Wisconsin on that date for our follow up exams and Chest Xray. Needless to say my mom was so worried that I got McDonalds for breakfast on the way to the hospital and I was forced to listen to her praying all the way there!

I was at the hospital for a couple hours because in order to position me for the correct view of my chest Xray they had to sedate me. I’m not the easiest dog to get flat on my back with 3 legs up in the air! Ha ha! My results were good, no signs of cancer and I don’t get any more meds or follow up until December 6! My mom was so happy she got me Popeyes Chicken Tenders and let me listen to The Beatles Channel all the way home to celebrate.

November 1 is the 6th Anniversary of my Gotcha Day, when I came to live with my forever mom. I am looking forward to more cake and ice cream and maybe even another party hat! Meanwhile, I am going to Day Care to enjoy the pool and I am having fun shedding my hair and drooling all over the house! My mom lets me sleep in her bed now, too. She says I can do anything I want now!!! Ahhhh… Life is VERY good and I am very grateful!

 

 

Thanks to God and to the team at University of Wisconsin, Thurston  has completed all the treatments he needs for now. Yipee!!! Woof! Woof!

Diagnosed on 4/22/18, he has had his amputation (5/11)  followed by 4 doses of Carboplatin, 3 weeks apart. After he finished chemo he entered the Listeria Study at UW. They gave him 3 doses of attenuated Listeria bacteria 3 weeks apart. This included a full day s

tay an the hospital for monitoring plus labs again in the morning following the dose. This Study medication hopes to stimulate the immune system to attack any remaining cancer cell. He tolerated the medication really well and he hopes he has contributed to a knowledge base that will help both other dogs and humans!

He will get his next chest X-ray on 10/11 and if everything is ok, he will get repeat X-rays and follow up exams every 2 months for Study. Information related to this study is available from UW if anyone is considering additional treatments for their Tripawd with Osteosarcoma. There is no charge for the study or monitoring. I kind of like the idea of having him monitored regularly but then it makes me anxious about whether they will find mets. I guess its best to know early, tho if he he shows any relapse. So far, so good!

Thurston wishes to give a shout out to his Oncology Team at UW and to his Airbnb hostess Jo who has a wonderful yellow house in Oregon, WI where we spent the nights during treatments. If anyone needs a nice place to stay during treatments at UW, Jo in Oregon is easy to find on Airbnb and only 15 minutes from the UW Hospital. Message me for details. Close but not too close.

 

Tuesday 10/2 we went to Physical Therapy at UW for an evaluation as suggested by Rene (Tripawds). The therapist offered suggestions for MASSAGE!! Thurston was VERY happy to let her demonstrate! He is doing really well and is able to do just about everything he wants. So able that I am really afraid he is going to hurt himself!  He is able to jump up onto the bed and climb down. Courtney suggested I keep the door shut so he doesn’t go jumping up onto the bed without supervision. He does well with the 4 steps to get in/out of the house and he gets in/out of his car easily. Yes, HIS CAR.  He has his own car. Its a 2009 Nissan Cube and I took the back seat out so he fits really well in there. I have to do the driving for him since his amputation, but it keeps the hair and drool out of my car!

We will keep everyone posted on Thurston’s progress and we really appreciate prayers and comments. Love and Woof! Woof!!

This is a preamputation of Thurston’s talents BEFORE he got sick. He has not sung since this surgery but now whenever he drinks water or when he exerts himself he whistles! The vet says this is probably cause he was intubated for the amputation!