Brillo "HoppaDoodle" Anzalone

Today marks 2 weeks and a day since Brillo had his amputation and officially entered the Tripawd era of his life. It’s hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago he came home from the Veterinary Hospital bruised, swollen and minus a limb. That he could actually walk  up our porch steps and into the house was a miracle unto itself. Our kitchen counter looked like a canine apothecary.

Every day I could see an improvement, reduced swelling and discoloration, less of a limp, a little more ease up and down stairs, weaning off the NSAIDS and pain meds, a wag of that long tail and kisses on my face telling me ‘Thank you for saving my life and letting me live more with you, the ones I love.”

Yesterday I saw my Brillo back to the Brillo pre surgery. I let him out when I got home from work. All of a sudden a red squirrel ran pel mel past him. That’s all it took! Brillo took off after that elusive chatterbox. He was leaping and jumping and running all around the yard and into the woods behind the house. I think if he could have he would have run right up the tree that the squirrel scrambled up to safety to. Brillo was happy and free! He had found his rhythm on those 3 legs and was galloping like never before. Today he started playing with his toys and trying to chase the cats. (The cats will always win. They just let him think that he    has a chance)

We can learn a lot from our dogs. They don’t have the burden of image or vanity. They live in the present always- the here and now. You can have the worst day ever and when you walk through the door, here is your dog sitting and waiting for you to love him. That makes everything better. They’ll eat the same food every day and never complain. They know when you need some comfort and lay their head on your lap.

Everyone should be so lucky as we are.

Today was an unusually warm March day. It was 70+ degrees outside. What a day! Chris and I decided to take Brillo with us when we went out to do our shopping for the week.

This is the 10th day from the surgery. Yesterday when I went out Brillo did hop up into the car by himself! I was very proud! Today though he needed a little help. He tried but just couldn’t get that back leg up. I lifted him in and we left.

We did stop at Petco and decided to let Brillo come in with us. He’s always loved going in and smelling everything and even trying to sneak a toy or two off the rack!  :0

Brillo was okay. He did well. He still isn’t his old (young) self. He walked around though only if I was beside him. My husband had hold of the leash. He sniffed and smelled the other dogs in the store and explored. I bought some treats from the ‘bar’ and we left after a few minutes. This time he hopped right back into the car. I guess he needed a little more room for a running start!  🙂

I’ve reduced the pain meds down today to 1/2 pill every 12 hours.He seems to be doing fine. He continues to eat and drink. He isn’t interested in his toys though or chasing the cats. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s only been 10 days.

Tomorrow back to the Vet for a check. I think they will be pleased.I know I am.

Could we be spoiling Brillo? He’s milking this for all its worth! 

Look how good Brillo looks at Day 6!  So hard to believe he had his leg amputated last Thursday!  He’s my boy!  His fur/hair is growing back and the bruising and swelling have lessened.    We went to the vet on Monday to have the staples removed but they decided to wait until next Monday to give it more time.

 

Last night as we were eating supper 5 turkeys came waddling out into the yard.  Brillo was very excited! He is on the mend!!

Brillo is doing great! I’ve scaled back his pain meds a bit today and will reduce the NSAID tonight as I start weaning him off it. We went for a short walk this afternoon and he loved it! I had to laugh when he lifted his leg to pee, he fell over…but caught himself. He was fine. Just more interested in all the new smells since most of our snow has melted.

Bruising is lightening up now. Staples come out tomorrow. I can’t help but be astounded how well he’s bounced back.

 

 

 

 

Brillo has officially entered the ‘Tripawds’ world. His surgery was yesterday. This was really hard to do. As usual when we pulled into the vet parking lot he knew..I went inside and asked for help to get him out of the car. We have an SUV so the whole back is his. I opened the back and he was just shaking..Poor guy. Two techs helped him out by carrying him in.

The veternarian told me what Brillo and I would expect during the surgery and after. It was so hard to leave him. I cried all the way to Portland.

Around noon I got a call from the clinic. The surgery went very well. Brillo was even trying to lift his head up immediately after anesthesia was taken away.

After work Chris and I went to see him.He was quite groggy still. He had catheterized pain medication right to the site which was knocking him for a loop. He tried to get up when we came in but couldn’t do it. That tail wagged though. That was enough for me.  🙂  We left after kissed Brillo good night and went home.

SO here we are to tonight..Chris and I picked him up after work. We went over after care instructions and time tables and dosages of medications. Then they brought Brillo to us! He walked right to us..Already walking!  Oh, he falls every now and then, he still hasn’t regained all of his balance yet and hasn;t figured it out but that’s just a matter of time. I am so amazed at his recovery! The techs said that dogs that are not overweight do so much better than obese ones. It’s astoungding how fast they bounce back.

Brillo had to be helped into the back of the car so we could drive home. I asked Chris to take the route that has the least amount of frost heaves and pot holes (yes, it;s spring in Maine  🙂 ) so Brillo’s ride would be as comfortable as can be.

When we got home he hopped right out. Can you believe it? Not 30 hours before he had his right hind leg amputated! We’d be whining and groaning and thinking the world came to an end. All Brillo cares about is that he has us  and he is well cared and a place to poop and pee! Living in the moment!

Brillo went up the 3 steps on the porch and right into the house! He ate his supper and then went outside.I was nervous about peeing but boy oh boy, not Brillo! Down over the steps and let the river start! He even wanted his treat that he gets for coming back in. (Brillo loves to go on walkabouts in the neighborhood when he shouldn’t)

Brillo is trying to figure out how to lie down.He keeps hop walking in circles then finally letting his back leg bend and then gets down.

So here we are this first night at home. So far so good. I am extremely grateful for all the skillful and caring staff at Veazie Vet. I am especially thankful for all the support on “Tripawds” site.

 

You know when you pray and pray that you’ve made the right decision, when you lie awake at night thinking about it and second guess yourself? I do that a lot.

Tonight I received an answer to my prayers and with that answer a very generous gift. I am so grateful for this gift and so thankful to and for my daughter Elizabeth. I am so humbled. It brings me to tears. She and I have been through so much together, some really tough times.

Brillo’s surgery is Thursday. I am keeping positive that he will make a complete cure. He’s lying at my

feet now playing with his toys and loving us. He has complete trust in us that we will take the best care for him as we can. …And we will.

I thought I’d start this blog to share our journey with others.

In November2006 we lost our Chocolate Lab to Osteosarcoma. He was 12, arthritic and not a good candidate for surgery. It was offered but as hard as it was we decided to give him the best quality of life we could in the remaining life he had. Ultimately we had to make that most painful decision (for us, probably not for him though) and let him go.

After Hershey died, the house seemed eerily quiet.It was just my daughter Elizabeth and I. Oh, we had 2 cats but it wasn;t the same. I told my daughter that I did not want another dog. It was too much, too expensive, too this, too that, you know how it goes…:)

Then in August of 2007 in a moment of weakness Elizabeth asked me to ‘just go look’ at the dogs in the shelter. “Just to look, mama, nothing else.”  I said, “Okay, I’m holding you to this, nothing else.”

We got to the shelter and really it was easy to ‘just look’.As we walked up and down the aisles of ‘cells’  or ‘blocks’ of the new residents of Bangor Humane Society they didn’t speak to me. Well, they did speak…very loudly and angrily and constantly. Everyone one of them except one..Here was this black curly haired, leggy, skinny,homely as all get out young dog shaking and shaking in the corner of his cell. Not a peep came out of his mouth. I walked up and down the aisles..several times,always coming back to this one…I guess you know what happened. Brillo, our labradoodle, was adopted by us.

Fast forward to December 2011.. During Christmas break I had asked my niece Josie if she’d watch Brillo while my husband  ( I had remarried in Oct 2010) and I went to Ohio to visit his family. She happily accepted and we dropped our Brillo off in her capable care. When our visit to Ohio was over we went to pick Brillo up. Josie told me that when she was patting Brillo she noticed a large lump on his right hind knee. I palpated it and sure enough there it was. Brillo hadn’t been groomed in a while and it was hard to notice anything different just by looking at him. He wasn’t limping or favoring it.He ran and played like always. He didn’t seemed bothered by it. When we got home I called the vet and they took him right in.

They took a biopsy and the results came back as a soft tissue sarcoma, the kind that travels through the nerve sheaths. When I took Brillo in the mass was 15cm large.When we went in a second time about 3 weeks later it had grown to 20cm and there are more smaller ones now. We have a chance to save Brillo. He’s young, in very good shape, active and happy. If we choose not to amputate this cancer will take him soon.

I made an appointment for Thursday March 8th to do the surgery. I am really nervous about this. My husband Chris and I were told that the leg up to the hip would need to go in order for a good chance for a longer life. I hope we are making the right decision.  I can’t help but be sad.

 

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