Recounting

At the end, it was peaceful. We went in on Wednesday knowing, but hopeful there would be something else. But there wasn't. We exhausted all of the options. His skin was getting worse. His lymph nodes were beginning to occlude his throat. His face and eyes were sunken. 

But he was still being Leo, right up until the car ride. In fact, he tried to jump out of the car when we got there.

The End.

This blog was called “A Year With Leo” because that’s all we should have gotten. Median survival for canine lympophoma is something like 12-14 months. We got three and a half years. But no more.

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
LEO, a DOG,
who was born in Pennsylvania August 5th 2003
and died at Brooklyn Aug. 19th, 2015.
(From Byron, Epitaph to a Dog)

Tough to hear

His skin is not doing well. Whether it's skin that is affected by the lymphoma or is it just prednisone is a question, but does it matter? Under his arms, parts of his back, and even his face are affected now. There’s even a spot under his chin. He's beginning to fall apart, literally.

Different

Something is different today. Not sure what, but something… his eyes, and his face don’t look like they should. Sunken. Not right. He just didn’t seem right on the walk ths morning, and his energy is pretty low. His lymph nodes are also a getting bigger. Fast. They’re a lot bigger (or more noticeable) than yesterday, and the one on his right side has the double marble feeling. That’s not good.

Likely

After a vet visit, Leo was an honored guest at the Treatibles party at PS9. He's been a success story, having gotten some real relief from them.

What a difference a day makes

Over the weekend, I took Leo out to to the farmer's market in the Park, like we always do. I dropped off my compost, got some bread and veggies, and then sat in the park. So many people talked about him - the vendors, people in the park, people on the street. "Old timer!" "Gray-beard!" "Keep on going, old man!" "Such a sweetie!". He charmed everyone, and got a lot of comments - more than usual. He seemed to enjoy it.

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY LEO!

Yes, that is a steak with candles

There are updates, but first

Before I get to the updates (more chemo! 5 weeks of remission! healing!) there's this: In a thread about dog-washing, some of us Border Collie folks got to talking about them. This was a comment from another bc owner:

 ...because he doesn't want to get wet, he picks the spot of the beach where he thinks that the waves will bring the stick, and he's right 90% of the time without adjusting where he is standing.  Your dog wants steak... my dog does physics.