Koda is hanging on! He's now made it 7 weeks past his cancer diagnosis. He is at a strange plateau. He still has a healthy appetite for his raw meat & veggie meals - nicely blended for easy slurping. He has only lost a few ounces of weight in the past two weeks. He can still go out and do potty by himself. While he has increasing trouble getting up and sitting down, he can hobble around the house at will. And he comes when called for meals or medicine time.
The sad news is that his breathing is becoming worse and worse. We can see him laboring for each breath, heaving and panting. He sounds more mucus-y and raspy when he breathes. And walking in from potty makes him short of breath, his heart pounding loudly. He coughs from time to time. All of this is really hard to watch. And then knowing it will only get worse as time goes on...
Almost 2 weeks ago, he went in for a nail trim. At first it was quite an ordeal for Koda - he howled like they were torturing him when they hadn't even touched his feet yet. The vet techs kept saying, "Remember the breed. Remember the breed." Huskies have a reputation for being big cry babies. Eventually he calmed down and tolerated the pedicure.
The dremel makes quick work of filing down thick nails.
His nails were quite overgrown and probably making it hard to get a steady paw/foot plant on our hardwood floors. They also trimmed the long fur that grows between his pads and toes, to make his steps less slippery. I think this has helped him with walking around the house.
Giving him his meds has been status quo. Seems like the routine we have works. Koda still loves yogurt and ice cream. The nice lady at the holistic vet suggested baby food and spoon fed him a sample when we were there. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly), Koda likes Gerber Chicken & Chicken Gravy baby food! It's cool, creamy, and tastes like chicken - so what's not to like? (But he has lost interest in string cheese and chicken jerky now.)
Koda spends time in the evenings lounging on our front lawn, just watching the neighborhood activity and sniffing the breeze. Since it's been warm, it's been pleasant outside at dusk. Once in a while, Koda will get a wild hair and head off to one of the neighbors' homes to visit Maggie, an exuberant black lab-mix, whose whole back end wiggles when she wags her tail. Sometimes he just likes to go lounge on their lawn.
It's comforting to know that he still has "doggie interests" because we are now looking for signs from him that he is too miserable and doesn't want to endure life any more. I search his face and look intently into his eyes to see if he is trying to tell me he's had enough. But at this point, the sad countenance I see is balanced by tiny tail wags and his eagerness to still go for car rides and front yard outings.
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