Bunnies Galore

Its interesting to me that Toby does not chase the many rabbits that we have around our house. Sometimes, he doesn't even see them. Other times, he sees and sort of goes on point, but he doesn't chase -- although to be fair, the rabbits usually freeze when they see Toby. A few days ago, we went out in the back and a rabbit was at the bottom of the steps and thus rapidly hopped away as we came out. But still, Toby didn't go after it. Maybe he had to pee too badly to think about chasing the bunny!

First Weekly Vet Visit

Toby went to his regular vet yesterday for his weekly visit. This is to do a blood draw for a CBC (complete blood count), which will measure the affect of the chemo on his white blood cells.

Unlike most dogs, Toby hates the car. He almost always gets carsick. He was panting heavily all the way to the vet and sure enough on the way back, he got sick. This is unrelated to his illness, but it will be an unpleasant consequence of these weekly vet visits.

I also heard from the vet school that the urinalysis they did when Toby was hospitalized last week showed that he does have an infection, so we will continue with the antibiotics. Probably good to do so anyway, given that the chemo will lower Toby's resistance to infection.

Looking Good

Toby has had a great weekend! He seems to be tolerating his medicines well. He looks great -- to look at him, you would never know anything was wrong. Today on his walk, he encountered friends Loki (a German shepherd) and Otis (a rambunctious Newfie). He's relaxing now, enjoying having Mommy home today for Memorial Day.

Toby's Treatment

This week, Toby had his first chemo treatment. He also started on an antibiotic because of a chronic urinary tract infection and because the chemo will reduce his white blood cell count and thus his resistance to infections; an NSAID called piroxicam which not only provides pain relief, but also has shown tumor shrinking abilities; and famotidine (generic Pepsid AC) for the stomach upset the piroxicam is likely to cause.

Interestingly, dogs do not lose their hair or nails with chemo, as people do.

Toby will have chemo every 3 weeks. He will need weekly blood tests to check his white blood cell counts. We plan on 3 chemo treatments, then an ultrasound to see if the tumor on his bladder is shrinking. If it is, we continue the chemo. If it is not, we will stop and consider our options.

Meet Toby

Toby is a collie-corgi mix who is about 9 or 10 years old. He came to live with his family 7 years ago (Mother's Day, 2001). This week, Toby was diagnosed with bladder cancer. With the help of his "mom," Toby will chronicle his battle with cancer.

Toby is a great dog. He's laid back, easy going, happy, friendly, well behaved -- everything you could ask for in a dog. He has 3 cats in his family -- they aren't especially sanguine about him, but he doesn't mind. Toby loves to eat and loves to follow his mom everywhere.