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Meet Bozwell
This is my sweet boy. He is 11 years old and was my first rescue dog. He was at the shelter at 6 months old and by 9 months old, his time was up at the shelter and they were going to put him down. I fought for him. I fought really hard for him. They turned me down multiple times because I lived in an apartment at the time and they said he needed a fenced in yard. I argued that being in an apartment meant I would have to take him for walks and couldn't leave him in the yard alone to fend for himself, but they still would not allow me to adopt him. My friend agreed to adopt him for me. She had to show proof of mortgage, they inspected her home, and finally he was able to leave the shelter but they had no idea he came home with me. His life has been full of dog park visits, endless toys and antlers to chew on, getting a little brother and a human sister, moving across the country, snuggles every day, his favorite treats and so much more. He has lived an amazing life, but he still has so much life left in him. A few weeks ago, he had an infection in his mouth. He has never let me look in his mouth so I wasn't able to see what was going on, I just noticed the drooling which was abnormal to him. The vet prescribed antibiotics and scheduled an oral exam with sedation. While he was sedated, they found a large mass in his mouth surrounding his back 3 teeth. We scheduled a surgical visit to give a thorough dental cleaning and see if they could remove the mass or get a good amount of tissue for biopsy. They removed most of the mass successfully with minimal bleeding and the doctor was hopeful since the mass did not appear to be attached to much of anything. They sent it off for biopsy and unfortunately the results today showed that he has osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer which the doctor found very surprising as it usually does not begin in the mouth. Our next steps are to see an oncologist and have a CT scan done of his whole body to see if it has spread anywhere else and from there determine if radiation or surgery are good options, but ultimately this is something he likely will not recover from and it will likely reoccur and spready quickly. This boy is so special to me and my heart is broken. I just needed to share his story and ask for good vibes to be sent his way. He deserves all the treats, toys and snuggles. <3
Thank you for reading!
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Girl_With_A_Suitcase
Hi Leanne, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog's cancer diagnosis. How heartbreaking! Its so unfair how our pet companions only live a short life compared to us humans. Really sucks doesn't it!? I truly empathise and understand how it feels. I actually lost my furbaby Billiee (10yr old tuxedo cat) around 3yrs ago now. Not a day goes by i don't think of him or still get upset knowing he is no longer with me. Some days are really hard. My cat was diagnosed with intestinal cancer (multiple tumours), only lived 5 months after being diagnosed, which was probably caught at late stages :(((. It was my first cat so i didn't catch the signs soon enough. He went off his food much earlier and found he was less active and not so playful. Would hide under places more which was unusual behaviour.
All we can do is learn and remember how much they were loved and how much they loved us!
Keep him as comfortable as possible and never stop reminding how much he is loved.
I am so so sorry for your loss. Cancer truly is the worst! I do know most dogs with Osteosarcoma only live about 2 months after diagnosis on average without surgery or treatment. We are only treating pain and it has been almost 6 months since his diagnosis so I am grateful! I do think we found it very early and we thought it was just an infection in his mouth. Pets truly do not get to live long enough. I have lost my smaller animals (bearded dragon, rabbit, etc) but I have never lost a dog and I am so heartbroken knowing the time will come soon. Trying to enjoy every moment I can in the meantime <3
by Leanne; ; Report
bailey
dogs are my favorite. especially my goodest best rescue boy, turner. your pup reminds me a lot of him. i can't imagine the pain you're dealing with. i can say - at least his entire life with you was spent knowing NOTHING but true love.
cherish every moment. i wish nothing but the best and as much peace as possible. keep him happy and comfortable. my heart goes out to you both. i'm so sorry. fuck cancer, for real.
i hope he has a lot of happy times ahead of him, despite it all. i wish there was something i could do.
just love him and enjoy every second. make sure he is comfortable and that he's never suffering. i'm sure you will.
thank you so much <3
he is my first rescue and forever my soul dog! he wasn't expected to make it to thanksgiving even, but he is still here holding on! he has improved so much! he will always know he is loved and he is definitely getting all the toys and treats in the meantime :)
by Leanne; ; Report
i also wanted to share a bit because his story and your story getting him really resonated with me. turner was the "dog of the week" for several weeks, and no one wanted him. when i went in specifically to see him - i was in love the very moment we met. he was labeled as aggressive, not good around other animals or babies... not good with people. he's a pitt/boxer mix as far as we know - and he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. we think he ran away from some sort of dog fighting situation due to the wounds he had upon arrival to the shelter, or whoever brought him in. they had to do surgery to cut his collar out of his skin - where it had grown due to it being too small and him growing. his paw pads were ripped completely up, he was emaciated, and terrified. i don't think he had known love in his life. it broke my heart.
they didn't want to let me take him home either, despite the fact that if i didn't, he was due to be euthanized that day. they said they felt unsure about it because, at the time, i had just moved in with my now fiance - but we were freshly dating at that point. he had another dog (which we brought in for a meeting between the two of them and provided all of her vet records so they could see we were responsible and do take great care of animals...) there was a man there who was so SO sold on the fact that i didn't deserve to take him home since we were in a new relationship (he kept asking, "what happens if you break up?") to which i finally said, "you're here to find animals good homes. not be a relationship therapist. can you just do your actual job? all we are trying to do is love this sweet boy and give him a good life."
there was a red headed lady that worked the front desk, and they had agreed to keep him alive for a few days so we had time to arrange the meeting with our other dog and bring in her records, etc. she finally did an over-ride on his decision and said, "come on. pick out a leash and collar. we are going to get you guys going home." my fiance's dog met turner, and they got along fine. he wasn't aggressive at all. never showed one sign of it - and even if he had, that wouldn't have stopped me... it would have only made me want to love him more and try harder and pour so much care and patience into accommodating him and working with him. it was insane.
i'm so sorry you had to fight so hard for your boy too, but i'm glad you did. i think that should be a sign on its own that we can provide the homes and the love and effort they need to thrive. it clearly is what it meant for the both of us and our boys.
he has known nothing but a life of love with you. i hope he has a lot of time left, and i'm sending you healing vibes and a miracle. please keep us updated! miralces happen all the time, and he deserves one. while i think it's important to keep a level head, i do believe in the power of energy... and i hope that it can make a difference here.
no matter what, you've changed his life. you've been the best dog mama and i'm sure he loves you so, so much for it. you saved him just as much as i'm sure he's saved you.
by bailey; ; Report
oh my gosh! i am so glad he's still hanging on and even that he's showing improvement! that is so wonderful. he's a fighter for sure. i really hope for the best. i'm so sorry. my pup is my soul dog too. i've had lots of animals over my life, and i can't say i've had any less love for any of them... but turner just is on another level when it comes to our connection and his emotional intelligence. it's a bond i don't have words for. i dread the day when he has to go. i really do. my heart goes out to both of you and i am sincerely hoping for the best! i really hope for a miracle.
by bailey; ; Report
oh my gosh, turner is so lucky to have you!!! It's so sad we had to fight so hard for them, but I'm so glad we both got what we wanted and saved their lives! bozwell was due to be euthanized as well. he had been there for months and they keep dogs for 90 days. I am full convinced the only reason he was held for so long is because I kept showing up and saying I wanted him. they wouldn't even let me meet him, but I knew from his picture that I was just meant to be his mama. he was 3 months old when he was brought to the shelter and 9 months when I took him home. they had every excuse and reason why I shouldn't bring him home with me. my husband and I had just gotten together around that time as well, but they never even got to the point of learning anything about me. they only asked if I owned my home and I said no I live in an apartment, and they said they don't adopt to anyone in an apartment because he needs a fenced in yard. he has never lacked exercise and has never been left outside without us, but that was all they could see. I ended up needing my best friend to adopt him for me, and when she did she had to show proof of mortgage, proof of the fenced in yard and had to bring him to all his vet appointments that they scheduled. I ended up taking him to the appointments and giving her name lol. it was a long process but so worth it and he has known nothing but love since the day I brought him home. he's a handful and was rather naughty as a pup but he is my everything!
by Leanne; ; Report
DeryckEleven
He’s such a good boy. I hope he doesn’t suffer.
Thank you. He’s the best! He is on a new pain regimen and is doing very well! His comfort is my top priority 🩷
by Leanne; ; Report
I’m glad to hear he’s doing so well
by DeryckEleven; ; Report
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I'm sorry to hear about that. :( Your dog sounds like he's really amazing and sweet!
thank you! he really is the sweetest ^_^
not the news we were hoping for but we will definitely be giving him all the love we can!
by Leanne; ; Report