March 2023 – Page 2 – The Journey of Ellie the Great Pyrenees Mix

Ellies Home!

I just took my first full breath in about 48 hours. The hospital was fantastic with letting me know when Ellie went in, when she came out how she went through the night. I only heard positive things (except for an upset tummy that was resolved with an anti-nausea), but I couldn’t really imagine her state and kept ebbing towards the negative side. To add insult to injury it snowed alllllll day today so I was stressed about how she would do in the snow (which is so weird as Ellie would live in the snow if she could).

When I went to the hospital my mind strained trying to guess how she would look/feel. So when I see her walking through the door with no assistance, I was utterly flabbergasted. I about fell out of my chair when she laid down on her own and then stood back up! The resident said she was a great patient and that she was the favorite for many of the students.

I ended up borrowing my mom’s Subaru which has a much lower clearance than my Xterra. I was most nervous about loading her in and out of the car, but it proved very easy.

this evening has been overall smooth, she readily ate her dinner and medication and drank quite a bit of water. She settled down pretty easily, and I was able to ice her incision. She did end up having one little accident, I’m not sure if I missed her signals or if she was just still super drugged up.

she did have 2 stumbles which I blame myself for not being there to steady her. I’m still not completely sure how much assistance to give her, she doesn’t love me helping, but obviously needs a little help.

Overall, I’m just so happy to have her home, and so thankful that she’s doing as well as she is. I know we have a long road ahead, but this is one huge one down.

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Surgery Day!

Just dropped off Ellie for her surgery. We took a nice long walk this morning, since we won’t get to for awhile. She was her same happy dorky self evident by the below picture. She is just too precious!! Healthy Vibes Ellie!

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Diagnosis

I have read countless times that people were caught blindsided that their dogs had cancer, and even more so that it was a intensely aggressive cancer. I am absolutely in that group. I took Ellie to the vet on March 9, 2023 95% confident that she had just strained something in her front leg. She had been favoring it for about 2 weeks, but was still full of energy and had a veracious appetite. She was her same happy self, but just tweaked something…or so I thought.

The vet was pretty confident that it was osteosarcoma based on xrays alone, and we chose not to do a needle aspiration since the bone had deteriorated so much she was worried about causing more damage. Ellie was put on pain meds (Rimadyl and Gabapentin) and put on strict exercise restrictions since she was at a large risk of fracture. We also got chest xrays that thankfully showed no signs of metastasis and her blood work came back looking good.

I reached out to 4 oncologists to try to get an appointment as soon as possible, I also am very lucky in the respect that I live in the same town as CSU which has one of the best Veterinary Schools in the nation. I reached out to them to see about possible clinical trials for Ellie.

On Monday the 20th and 21st I met with 2 different oncologists and received very similar news about Ellie’s condition. From their explanations I opted to proceed with Ellie getting her leg amputated ASAP. This would eliminate the main source of her pain, and allow her to be a dog again since currently she is not allowed off leash outside due to the fracture risk. Thankfully, there was also a trial she qualified for that I am very comfortable with and thankful that it will allow me to do all I can for her without going into debt.

Her amputation is scheduled for Tuesday March 28, 2023. I am extremely anxious about it since it is a front leg, and she is a giant breed. I have always been a quality of quantity animal owner and even though I know *most* dogs handle the surgery well, there are plenty of horror stories and I’m terrified of being in that group. With that said, she deserves the chance to have more time.

I have been preparing for her recovery. I don’t have any steps she needs to go up or down to go potty, I do have concrete floors but they are mostly covered in rugs. When I get anxious I try to focus on what I can control so I went out and bought a comfy cone, a sling, and a ramp for my Xterra. I’m most anxious about her having to get in and out of the Xterra, it’s not like I can easily pick her up. I might need to rely on friends and family to help me out in the beginning (bless all of you who have already volunteered to help!), but hopefully she’ll adjust to the ramp- I got an extra long one to hopefully make it manageable for her.

Any advice is welcome on things that could help her moving forward, I’ll give an update when I can!

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Introduction

Hi, my names Whitney and I am the very proud pet parent of Ellie a Great Pyrenees German Shepherd mix. At the time of this she is 7 years old and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma a week ago.

I wanted to create this blog to track her (hopefully very long and healthy) journey through this diagnosis not only to keep friends and family up to date with her progress, but also others who unfortunately will be going through this awful disease with there own gentle giants. I have really appreciated reading the stories (heartwarming and heartbreaking alike).

Without further ado… I got Ellie as a rescue at 8 weeks old down in Colorado Springs, I went down planning on visiting with several puppies before making my decision (there was a litter of 8), she was the first one I saw and she quietly crawled into my lap and snuggled up… I didn’t see any other puppies after that.

Since that time she hasn’t met a living thing she doesn’t love and has brought nothing but joy in one goofy 100 pound package. You would think any dog this size would be at least a little intimidating, but most strangers who meet her say “Oh, I can tell you’re nice!” as she walks up to say hello.