Louie's Page
Weight: 90
Breed: Doberman Pinschers
Age when diagnosed: 3
Tumors:
- Osteosarcoma in the
Front limb
Louie was an awesome mix breed rott-doberman who was the sweetest dog we could have ever asked for. He was DX with OS when he was 3 years old. We took him to the Vet immediately after he came up limp one day. The X-Ray confirmed that it may be OS, and then following a dissection, we got the terrible news.
Two days later we had his right front paw amputated, which provided him much needed pain relief. A week later we were at the Animal Cancer Center at Michigan State University. Upon confirming that OS had not spread to his lungs or abdomen, they began chemotherapy.
Initially, for the first 9 months, he was on an alternating dose of carboplatin and doxorubicin for 5 cycles. After that nine months, they began another round of chemotherapy protocol on him that was pretty new. He was put on a regiment of 50mg daily of Deramaxx, 45mg/day of Actos, and 25mg/day Cytoxan. This lasted for nearly a year until he began to have complications from the Cytoxan.
Cytoxan is wholly excreted in the urine, and he began to have problems urinating. We took him in to MSU where they confirmed that his bladder was very inflamed. They gave him three infusions of anti-inflammatory to reduce the inflammation. After the third infusion, he began to vomit and resist eating.
We took him to our local vet to find that he was having kidney failure. We rushed him up to MSU where they found a blockage in the urethra, the tube between kidney and bladder.
He remained in intensive care for two days, and the doctors tried everything to "restart" his kidneys, but the blockage was too severe and the damage to his kidneys was beyond repair.
He was such a great fighter and we could not see him suffer any longer. He put up such a great fight vs. OS and we nearly got 2 years post DX to spend with him.
As I write this, I am coming on the 1st anniversary of his death. It still feels like yesterday. We miss him everyday, but we know he is pain free and running in doggie heaven.
Pictures
Louie