Meet my Sadie-girl! Isn't she just precious?! I could eat her up I love her so much! 4 years ago, while strolling through the pathways at Birkdale Village on a beautiful fall day, I saw her for the first time. There she was, basking in the sun on the bright green grass, just as snuggly and precious as you can possibly imagine! She was there as part of a dog-rescue/adoption awareness event and I knew right then and there that she NEEDED to be a part of our family!!! We weren't looking for another dog (we already had Autumn), but something about her just struck a chord in each of us and we signed the papers that very day to bring her home. What a delight she has been everyday since! Sure, we've had our up's and down's . . . like the time when I walked into the house after work and saw the projectile poop all over my dining room wall, or when she ate nearly all of Chris's brand new rainbow sandals (just given to him as a Christmas present days before), and yes, there's always the incessant barking everytime she wants to go outside or play . . . but 90% of the time, she as perfect as a little angel and we couldn't feel more blessed! She has added an element of joy and overall comfort to our home that has been missing for a long time and I can absolutely say that she has become more than just a dog to both of us, she is our best friend!
With great sadness, however, I must report that we received a phone call from her Vet yesterday informing us that she has been diagnosed with Lymphosarcoma (cancer of the lymph nodes). My heart just sank. We knew this was a possibility as we observed her over the last few weeks, but was really praying that it was only an infection and with time would simply go away. We noticed the symptoms about a month ago. Well, one major symptom really. Her glands under her neck were quite swollen, but they seemed to vary in size on any given day. Some days the swelling wasn't as bad as others. So about 2 weeks ago, Chris did some basic research online and read that it could be anything from just an infection to, of course, cancer. I had the day off of work on Monday, so I called in an emergency appt. at the Vet to have her looked at. They took her blood and a sample of her white blood cells to send to the pathologist. She said we'd know more in a few days after the results came back. And even though she's in excellent health otherwise, she was fairly confident that the problem was indeed cancer.
So after countless hours of sobbing my eyes out (for like the hundredth time this year alone!) and spending every possible minute I have with Sadie, we have resolved to meet with the Oncologist to have her observed and staged and to go through our treatment options. We don't want to impede on her quality of life in any way, but selfishly we'd like to prolong her life as much as possible. You'd never know it to look at her, she's just as healthy and playful as any other dog of her age, and fortunately it doesn't appear to have spread to any of her internal organs, so we're hopeful that we'll be able to find a non-invasive treatment that will add to her quality of life for the remainder of the time we have with her, and not take anything away from it.
This is terribly depressing news for us indeed. We have both become VERY attached to her over the years and it is unimagineable for us to think about life without her. So as silly as it might sound, your prayers are certainly coveted . . . once again . . . as we deal with yet another bout of depressing news.
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| Chris & Sadie snuggling in the mtns last Thanksgiving |
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| The girls first trip to Mt. Mitchell |
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| Our precious little family of 4 (2010) |
