Update on Sunny

I have had several people ask me about our dog Sunny and how she is doing. Sunny is doing great! Honestly, she is now running on all four legs with an occasional slight limp on her back leg. I have been in contact with a holistic veterinarian who is going to review her x-ray and give us advice as to how to holistically manage her condition. As of now, our vet is 86% sure that she has bone cancer. He advised a bone biopsy to make sure that is what she has. We are not going to do the bone biopsy at this time. According to the vet I just spoke with dogs that have been diagnosed with bone cancer will deteriorate rapidly within 2-3 after diagnosis. She found it very unusual that Sunny is now walking again and shows no signs of having a problem with her leg. She also found it unusual that her leg is not swollen. If indeed she has bone cancer there are some options. Amputation, chemo or holistically treat. Amputation and chemo we will not consider. If she does have cancer we want to be sure she is pain free most of all. She is perfectly happy as she is right now. I see no need to amputate her limb or put her through chemotherapy (heck, look what chemo did to my body, I can't do that to my dog). Whatever life she has left we want her live out happily just being Sunny as she is now. This vet lives in Green Bay and has referred me to a colleague who is a holistic vet in Burlington, a little closer for us to travel to. I will be in contact with him and then go from there.

Since Sunny's initial diagnosis we have been considering getting another puppy. John misses having a dog to hunt with. We do not know how much time she has left but we do know she will probably not be able to hunt any longer. Today we met with the breeder that we got Sunny from 8 years ago. Two female dogs will be expecting litters, one in January and the other in May. We met the moms today and the dad. We are hoping to get a female pup out of the litter coming in January. If not, we will get first pick of the litter in May. Either way, we have our name on the list for a new puppy!! Oh boy, here we go again.

I will never forget the first night we had Sunny. Both kids wanted to sleep with the dog next to her crate. They both got their sleeping bags and camped out in the laundry room with the new dog. Natalie lasted about 30 minutes with the dog howling in her ears. I don't even know how Billy fell asleep listening to the dog howling. The poor thing cried and cried. I woke up in the middle of the night to silence. I tiptoed out into the laundry room to find Billy asleep on his sleeping bag and no dog in the crate. The door of the crate had not been shut tightly and the little stinker had gotten out. I found her sleeping in the kitchen snuggled inside a shirt that had been left on the kitchen floor. Cute!!!