my goofy dog

Hello, friends!

It has officially been four months since Bozwell's diagnosis with Osteosarcoma. We were told by our vet in November that he would not get better, he would continue to decline, and we should consider euthanasia. My heart told me to follow through with our Oncology appointment the following Monday.

Our Oncologist went over all the possible treatments to help us determine what way to go. At no point did she tell us we should euthanize him, so we felt very confident in what she had to say. We are so glad we decided to speak with her before making any decisions. 

We didn't think we would have Thanksgiving with him, let alone Christmas and we certainly did not expect to bring him into 2024 with us. We have chosen palliative care (pain management only) for Bozwell and he is doing great! He receives a Zoledronate treatment through IV every 4 weeks to target bone pain specifically. He also is on Gabapentin, Codeine, Amantadine, Galliprant and Clindamycin to treat pain and his recurring infection in the tumor.

Despite what the vet had told us, Bozwell has made a full 180 and is back to being his normal, spunky self. If I chose to listen to the vet months ago and put him down based on his recommendation, I wouldn't have been able to see him happy and playful again before saying our goodbyes.

We know he can make a turn for the worst at any moment, but we are enjoying every happy moment we have with him in the meantime! At every appointment for his treatment, they do a pain assessment and every few visits they do bloodwork to make sure he is handling everything okay and so far he is doing great. If we reach a point he is in too much pain to keep going forward with the treatment, we will make the hard decision when it is time. 

I appreciate all of your kind words!

I also did a DNA test on him through Embark. We knew he was a Catahoula but we were surprised with the results we got! I am considering running another test through another company to compare results. Here are what his results said:

Catahoula Leopard Dog (highest percentage)
American Bulldog
Labrador Retriever
German Shepherd