As of today, Mick is done with his vaccine treatment!

Over the weekend, we had some downtime to hangout and take the dogs on a couple of adventures! Firstly, Sunday morning we went to a neighborhood park to throw the ball for Toby, and for me to check Mick’s mobility by having him chase me. Boy, he’s not as fast as he used to be, but he’s still an all terrain dog!

Mick chasing Steve.

After a break for lunch, we met up with family and friends at a winery to enjoy the afternoon sun. Mick and Toby had fun playing, getting many treats from the little kids, and all the pets from the staff.

I know he’s basically back to his normal self is when I get his food, he does little “hops” in excitement. I’ll get a video next time.

-Steve

Hi friends!

Sorry for a lack of update last week, a lot of personal things came up and couldn’t get to a post.

Last week, Mick got his T-cells back, and boy was he feeling the side effects of that. Super lethargic, and was low energy for a good 18 hours. Happily, he turned back to his goofy self.

Today, he started getting his immune boosters, Interluken-2, and will get them every 48 hours for 5 doses (1mL per). The vet showed me how I can do it at home, and with Arielle being a nurse, she’ll lend me a hand on administering his doses.

Overall, this was an adventure. Mick has been a trooper, and being with him daily with no pain, and back to normal really has made me think about life in general. How we can always overcome anything with help and encouragement.

The plan after this step it’ll be to setup a 6-month follow-up to get x-ray, blood, etc to confirm complete remission. Until then, it’s to enjoy life, treats, cuddles, and adventures back into the real world!

Thank you to everyone commenting! It’s been great to read comments showing that Mick can be a model to help others in trying times with their pets.

Steve

Hi all,

Finally got the first part of the album done! Since the size is too big for the site, I used my Flickr page to host it. I’ll continue to add photos to the album as I can.

Mick the Tripawd Album

-Steve

Hey everyone! Mick got done with his apheresis yesterday, and things are looking good.

A few notes from the vet:

1. It was one of the fastest apheresis they have done, so he gets a small award for this achievement
2. He’s been very tired last night and today; however, he still has bursts of his normal self
3. No collars for 48 hours. (This is due to the catheter used around his neck during the procedure)
4. Take anti-biotics every 12 hours.

He’s been doing amazing since the procedure, and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Monday, Arielle and her sister took Toby and Mick to the park to try and wear out Toby (being a staffordshire terrier, he has an ungodly amount of energy). Arielle had Mick chase her around in the grass and play tug-of-war with a soft rubber frisbee he loves, and that afternoon, he slept like a baby.

After this apheresis step, is the immune boosting! When I visit with his oncologist, I will see if we can do it at home and no need to take him in for that.

I should have an album done this weekend and linked so everyone can see his journey on being a new tripawd, and then it should it should be semi-regular post of his adventures around the state of Colorado!

-Steve

Hi all,

Sorry to not have an update done earlier this week. Arielle and I both got hit with a post vacation cold (the joys of traveling with family). Now that we’re feeling better, it’s time to get ready for Mick’s apheresis appointment on Tuesday.

Talking with the vet, starting today (Saturday), he’s given baby aspirin, with doses on Sunday and Monday.  On top of that, Monday night and Tuesday morning he’s given trazadone since the procedure will be quite awhile and he’ll need to be lightly sedated. I know, generally, what this procedure will do, and should be very low risk to Mick, but it’s always a concern because you never know what will ultimately happen.

On other news, the pool noodles have helped Mick walk better and better, and since I’m not sick anymore, we’re going to start short 5-10min walks around the block to keep building up his strength. Car rides are still a tad odd, so going to find a good harness/seatbelt combo to make sure he’s not getting jostled around too much.

It’s so fun to see him back to his normal happy-go-lucky self. His mannerisms of doing small “aroos” when he hears a noise he’s not used to, the excitedly waiting for Arielle at the door when she gets home from work, and his “snarl” smile when he’s happy to see new people! Plus, he’s been getting much better on the more slippery surfaces and not accidentally doing the splits or sliding down on his belly.

I’m still get pictures and videos gathered to put into an album and will be sharing that here when it’s all done.

I’ll post an update after his procedure on Tuesday.

-Steve