six months post surgery

It’s been a while since I posted an update.  We have enjoyed a lovely few months where Riley just got to be a dog.  In the photo above, she was enjoying some outside time, and having fun gnawing on a stick.  For the most part, Riley does many of the things she was accustomed to doing before all our worlds got turned upside down.  She has even tried to wrestle with the other dogs a bit.  While the spirit is willing, she inevitably falls on her butt.  It is great to see her having fun again.  We reworked the dogs’ sandbox (4000 pounds of sand in a 10x 12 area!), and Riley loves to lie in the sand and watch the world go by.  If the spirit moves her, she will dig for a while and tear around the yard.

Stairs are still a problem, but we assist her upstairs each night with her harness.  Although Riley is pretty ungainly, she must be getting stronger, as she has managed to jump on the couch a couple of times.  Usually, she just stands in front of it and whines until her human staff helps her up.  With all the pampering that Riley has had in the last eight months, we find that she has become quite the demanding girl.  We really don’t mind, and are just glad that she can express her wishes.

This week was the three month post-chemo checkup.  The oncologist was very pleased with Riley’s progress.  No recurrence of cancer was visible either on the chest x-ray or the physical exam.  Woo hoo, that is great news.  The oncologist says that it is highly likely that there will be a recurrence at some point, although we might get lucky and Riley could be an outlier.  We continue to give various supplements daily, and Riley gets green smoothies with every meal to provide a large dose of antioxidants.  Daily stroller outings are not as far as before – because she wants to walk!  So we will go a couple of blocks, and then she will walk back on her own.

Earlier this month, we celebrated Riley’s birthday.  In our world, dog birthdays are celebrated with hot dogs all around, so it was a pretty big deal for our girl.  What a chowhound she is!  Through two surgeries and five rounds of chemo, she never missed a meal.  We are fortunate that her appetite has never waned.  For a while there, it didn’t look like there would be another birthday for her, so we are enormously grateful to have her with us.

Author: jogswithdogs

Riley 12 1/2 year old German Shorthair Pointer. She is scheduled for amputation 4/26/17 The diagnosis was histiocytic synovial cell sarcoma.

3 thoughts on “six months post surgery”

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 HAPPY SIX MO TH AMPUVERSARY RILEY!! 🙂 🙂 HAPPY RILEY BEING RILEY!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    WOW!!! Such a deeeelightful update!!! Riley is showing the world age is just a number and the fourth leg is just a spare!

    I’m grinning ear to ear hearing how Riley has you wrapped arou nd her paw 🙂 It is absolutely impossible to not spoil a tripawd!! 🙂 And why not…..they deserve it!! 🙂

    This picture is one of my all time favorites ever! First of all, she’s so very beautiful and has a great smile, but it also shows a very content Riley just lounging around doing what dogs do. And that little side glance look…so adorable! 🙂

    Tha ks for the great update and letting us know how well she is doing. Riley is showing everyone why we do what we do around here. You clearly love Riley so very much. It shows with every word and with every acrion. Having this extra bonus time is a beautiful gift…..And you two are clearly making each day magical! 🙂
    ,
    ICE CREAM AND CAKE FOR EVERYONE!!

    Love and hugs

    Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

  2. Hippy Hoppy Birthday Gorgeous! You look mahvelous!!!

    I’m so glad everything went well for you and the hardest part of the Tripawds journey is behind you. You conquered it all like the kick-butt girl that you are!!!

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