Chief's Page
Weight: 133
Breed: Great Dane
Age when diagnosed: 5
Tumors:
- Fibrosarcoma in the
Other
Chief is my rescue Harlequin Great Dane.
I adopted him from the local SPCA in September of 2005. I also had Ellie, a female Great Dane who at the time was about 7. I wasn't sure if I wanted another Dane but....Hurricane Katrina hit and I was actually calling around to see if anyone needed a foster home for a Dane (knowing that fostering a Dane would be difficult). Well there were no hurricane Danes but they had a neutered male, about 3.5 years old that was heartworm positive and an owner surrender (supposedly owners were moving and couldn't take him). LONG story short...Chief came home with me as a foster dog at first since he was undergoing the heartworm treatment. He fit in PERFECTLY. REally I can not belive how lucky I was with such a fun, easy-going well-behaved dog and what a great companion to Ellie. There is so much more I can say about how Chief has grown emotionally since we took him in...he had never ever seen a toy before, that much I am sure of, and at first for a while he would turn the other way when offered a toy. But before too long he was playing with Ellie and throwing toys up and chasing after them!! So sweet...
In November of 2006 we noticed that his right eye was looking weird...namely the third eyelid was exposed and covering up much of his eyeball. This got worse in in December we took him to the vet. She sent me to an optomologist. SHE sent me to a radiologist who did a CT Scan and a biopsy.
In January 2007 we found out Chief had a fibrosarcoma tumor behind his eye, also in/around his jaw/cheekbone. It was not likely to metestasize but was growing locally.
Chemo was not an option, but radiation was. Radiation might - I was told - shrink the tumor/slow it's growth, and it might buy him about a year. Without radiation, he gave Chief a few months. The radiation would be about $5000 and it'd be Monday-Friday for 4 weeks. Chief would be put under general each time. Possible side effects I was told about when I asked were mouth ulcerations and skin burning....I decided to NOT do radiation. Too expensive and too many possibly bad side effects. If the tumor were not in his head, I might have felt differently.
February 12: Chief is doing ok...the tumor keeps growing, right now he has a good-sized swollen area on his right cheekbone, and now he has drool with some blood in it. He is on Deramaxx and Teradol (I am not sure on spelling of last one) for pain. I am feeding him a high-protein diet (Innova Evo) with the following supplements: grape seed extract, colostrum, ellagic acid, and fish body oils.
So far Chief seems to be realively pain-free. He is able to enjoy walks and is happy to receive attention and has a healthy appetite though he can't eat anything hard like biscuits. In fact I think he isn't really chewing at all but all the food he gets is soft and in small pieces. SOmetimes I add cottage cheese or scrambled eggs to his meals, or he'll get left over chicken or meat - anything high-protein.
That's Chief's story thus far. It's a day-by-day situation. His eye looks better now but I just think that's becuase the tumor is moving around and is now more in his cheek area.
This is the first pet I have had that has been sick like this and he will likely be the first one I'll have to put down. I also have Ellie, my first dog and thus my first Great Dane, she is going on 8 and - knock on wood - is doing great. I have two cats as well.
I am just going to keep Chief as happy as possible and hope that when the day comes he'll let me know and he can go peacefully.
Update: June 2008. Chief was the best trooper I knew. The tumor for the previous several months had not been growing into his mouth like it used to but everyone could tell he was feeling worse and worse. He'd still eat like a horse (or, like a Great Dane??), wag his tail and meet me by the door when I came home but the spark was fading from his eyes. The vet hat told me a month prior that his time would be soon. On June 4, 2008 I scheduled another "de-bulking" surgery to see what, if anything, they could remove from his mouth.
The night before, I just "had a feeling." I had some moments with Chief while he was in bed. I decided that when I took him in the morning, I would tell them that once they had him under, and could see in his mouth/throat, that if it looked real bad like we suspected, to call me and I'd go ahead and let him go.
I got the call at noon, that Chief was under anesthesia but that sadly, they all felt that now would be a "good" time to let him go. The tumor had progressed significantly and there was very little they could remove.
I told them to keep Chief under anesthesia while they waited for me to come. I got there and he was on the table with a blanket over him. He was soundly asleep. We were all crying. The vet administered the drug and a few moments later verified his heart had stopped. He never once stirred.
He was my first rescue and won't be my last, and that will be HIS legacy to me. I will adopt a Great Dane again, when I am ready.
LOVE YOU CHIEF!!
Amanda, Chief and Ellie
Pictures
Chief before his diagnosis - my favorite picture of him!
Chief and my other dane, Ellie
You can see his eye tearing, before his diagnosis but we knew something was wrong