Toby the Dobe's Cancer Crushing Journey

Hello tripawd family! We hope you all are having a fantastic start to 2017, and we apologize for the delay in updates. It has been far too long since we’ve written to discuss Toby’s progress, but be prepared for the cuteness that is about to unload.

Our last blog update was just a few days before Christmas. Although it was difficult to overlook the big elephant in the room that punched us in the face during 2016 (cancer of course), we really wanted to make the most of the holiday with our sweet babies. After all (and it literally physically hurts to say this), this year taught us one thing for sure, we need to enjoy every moment that we have with them. Toby and Charlie were spoiled to the max with treats and toys. Below are just a few pictures to demonstrate the craziness.

Okay, okay… Maybe this treat was mostly for us but he’s the most adorable reindeer I’ve ever seen, if I do say so myself.

It was a very busy day, and the boys crashed right in the middle of all the action. Check out this brotherly love!

Toby’s next chemotherapy session was scheduled for a little over a week after Christmas. About 3-4 hours after dropping him off, we received a call from Dr. Borden at GAC. Unfortunately, Toby’s white blood cell count was too low to safely administer the ordered chemotherapy. Dr. Borden’s suggestion? Plenty of rest for 2 weeks. Toby had been extremely tired over the past few weeks so following the doctor’s orders wasn’t difficult at all!

Over the course of those 2 weeks, his energy increased and he was feeling quite spunky. I love this picture of him!

On January 19th, Toby was scheduled for his 5th round of chemo. He received a great report from the doctor. His blood count had returned to normal, vitals were good, and his lungs sounded normal. The rest had obviously done him some good so the chemo sessions resumed. As usual, he eagerly jumped in the car when we arrived for pickup and immediately headed straight for his bed once home.

He has since had his 6th treatment. We usually don’t allow Charlie to go with us to take Toby to GAC, but he joined us for the most recent trip. He was so concerned about Toby that he stared out the back window of the van and cried the whole way home. It broke our hearts… When we returned to pick Toby up, Charlie and Toby climbed right into the front seat forcing dad to take the back (LOL!).

Today we have family visiting and they’ve brought their fur-baby, Bonzo, along. Charlie, Toby, and Bonzo have played all day and are now napping (partially by choice but mostly because they have been WILD). As usual, we welcome any suggestions, comments, questions, etc. you may have. Most of all, we welcome prayers!

You can follow Toby’s story and help to spread the word on Instagram: toby.the.dobe

#cancersucks #osteosarcoma #cancercrusher #bonecancer #fightcancer #suckitsarcoma #dobermansofinstagram #doberman #dobermanpinscher #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbham #doglover #tripawd

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Hello fellow #tripawds! It has been quite a long time since we’ve provided you with an update on Toby’s progress so we have A LOT of catching up to do. First, let me say, I hope you’re all surviving the holiday madness with plenty of joy!

It’s been about a month and a half since Toby’s amputation. The first few weeks were extremely tough. He seemed very depressed and had little to no energy. He also didn’t have much of an appetite and refused to eat from a bowl so we were constantly begging him to eat by feeding him one small kibble of food at a time. Has anyone else experienced this with their new tripawd friend? I seriously began to worry that he may never eat from a bowl again! Don’t get me wrong, I would gladly feed him by hand every single day for the rest of his life if it meant he would be here to spend more time with us, but something just seemed… off. Also, the wound was continuously draining so we were constantly cleaning, changing the dressing, and rewrapping. It was exhausting to say the least… But I can’t even imagine how he must have been feeling. This was Toby about 4 days after the amputation.

Man, those first few weeks were really difficult… However, he has come a long way since this picture was taken. I’m not sure how many of you allow your fur-babies to sleep in the bed, but our’s are very spoiled. Many nights, we are left to balance on the edge of the bed to sleep because we don’t have the heart to put the dogs down. About a week after the amputation, Toby surprised me by climbing onto the bed while I went to brush my teeth. It really stressed me out because I knew he probably had done too much for it to only be a week after surgery, but I must say I was sooooo happy to see this when I came back to the bedroom. It was the first sign of “normalcy” that we had seen from him in a while. Needless to say, we gladly allowed him to sleep right where he was at that night.

Just when it seemed that Toby was starting to feel better, it was time to start the chemotherapy treatments. Dr. Borden and Dr. Williams at GAC agreed that we should use a very aggressive approach to give him the best chance at survival. Therefore, they advised we proceed with 2 different forms of chemotherapy by alternating drugs every week and a half. The first treatment of carboplatin was scheduled for November 21st. The infusion went well, and Toby even received a surprise care package from one of his Instagram followers!

They say that the chemotherapy doesn’t have the same effect on dogs as humans, but this was Toby right after treatment. He then slept almost all day for the next 2 to 3 days. Since then, he has had a treatment of doxorubicin and another of carboplatin. Each time, it takes him a few days to recover from the infusion. Thankfully, after he’s had a little time to recover he’s back to his typical self (minus the right front leg, of course). It still feels so strange to see him with only 3 legs, and I’ve even caught myself reaching to wash that leg while bathing him. Still, he never ceases to amaze me. Through all of this, Toby has taught me so much about resilience and making the most out of life. Is that weird?

Every extra day we have with our big baby reminds us of how blessed we are. His 4th round of chemotherapy is scheduled for next week so we’re going to take advantage of the fact that he’s feeling good for Christmas. Maybe he’ll even get some gifts from Santa! I’m sure he’s on the nice list and he deserves it!

Please continue to keep our sweet boy in your thoughts and prayers. We gladly welcome any suggestions, advice, or comments! We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

You can follow Toby’s story and help to spread the word on Instagram: toby.the.dobe

#cancersucks #osteosarcoma #cancercrusher #bonecancer #fightcancer #suckitsarcoma #dobermansofinstagram #doberman #dobermanpinscher #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbham #doglover #tripawd

Filed under: Uncategorized  |   Tagged under bonecancer, cancercrusher, cancersucks, doberman, dobermanpinscher, dobermansofinstagram, doglover, dogsofbham, dogsofinstagram, fightcancer, Osteosarcoma, suckitsarcoma, tripawd | 10 Comments »

For those who don’t already know, Toby is officially a #tripawd. As we were working on gaining the funds for Toby to enroll in the study at Auburn University, we were also looking into other options because well… $5,000.00 is A LOT of money to raise in only 2 weeks, and based on our daily average it didn’t seem likely that we would reach our goal. And as you know, time is of the essence when you’re dealing with osteosarcoma so we didn’t want to put Toby at risk by waiting any longer to pursue treatment. Dr. Nicki Williams, who originally diagnosed Toby with osteosarcoma, was kind enough to investigate the treatment options that were provided to us by the oncology department at Auburn. After many long discussions with each other, family, Dr. Williams, and the kind staff at Galleria Animal Clinic (GAC), we made the decision to have the amputation performed by Dr. Allen Borden at GAC. Here are a few pictures from Toby’s last night as a 4-legged baby. The tumor had clearly gotten larger and more painful. We were obviously feeling very emotional and took a million pictures…

We dropped Toby off on Monday morning for the amputation. Whew… Let me tell you… That was a rough moment my friends! Although we strongly felt that we were making the right decision, we also felt so bad for Toby. The fact is, it’s life. Things happen. People and animals get sick. No one is promised tomorrow. But when it’s your dog, family member, or friend it just doesn’t seem fair. Then the waiting began. Dr. Williams called that afternoon to report that the surgery had gone well. So that was it. The first big step to beating this terrible disease called cancer had been taken.

Tuesday morning we called GAC to see how Toby was doing. No answer… Our minds were all over the place. We anxiously waited to hear back about when we could pick him up. When Dr. Williams returned our phone call, she said Toby had been up moving around early in the morning with the staff but was still struggling with his balance. She also said there was a lot of fluid draining from the wound, and he had pulled a few of the staples out over night. Therefore, she made the decision to keep him 1 more night. We were disappointed and concerned, but she reassured us that Toby was being pampered. In fact, she had even kept Toby in her office with her so that he wouldn’t be alone. We chose not to visit based on her recommendation, but she did send us a couple of pictures which Toby gladly posed for in exchange for treats. Here he is looking as adorable as ever.

Finally on Wednesday, we received the news that we had been hoping for. Dr. Williams was happy to report that Toby was doing much better, and would be allowed to go home later in the evening. He had pulled a few of the staples out again. Yes, AGAIN! That little booger! But overall was doing well with movement and was more energetic.

We anxiously waited all day for 5:00. We were so nervous. Would he be angry at us? Would he seem sad? Or would he greet us as happily as usual? How would we react to seeing him with only 3 legs for the first time? We shouldn’t allow him to see us cry. Noooo… That might make him more upset. These were all questions we asked and discussed before picking him up. Maybe these things seem completely silly to most, but we would never want him to think that we feel anything other than love for him.

When Dr. Williams brought him out to meet us, we were both at a loss for words. All of a sudden, things felt so much more real. There was our boy standing in front of us with only 3 legs. He was clearly happy to see us, and we were probably even more happy to see him but it was tough. We shed a few tears, gave him a lot of hugs and kisses, then loaded him in the van to head home.

I rode in the back of the van with him on the way home. When we pulled into the driveway we were discussing how to get him out without making him spaz out. He hates to be picked up. As we were talking, I opened the back door of the van and before I knew it he had gotten up and jumped out like it was no big deal. I was amazed! He made his way to the steps, which I assumed would be a struggle, then went right up them like he’d only had 3 legs his whole life. This picture was taken right when we got home. He looks a little angry, but really he was just very tired.

Toby got plenty of rest last night and this morning, but when we removed the t-shirt (which was soaked in blood) the wound appeared to be opening up at the bottom. We quickly called GAC to let them know that he was having some issues. They made an appointment for us to see Dr. Borden this afternoon who was happy to see Toby up and moving around. He placed new staples in the area to close up the wound then we talked a lot about supplements and diet changes before heading home. This is Toby before we left to see Dr. Borden today. The first picture features Charlie’s tail. He has been a very concerned little brother.

Toby is wrapped up in a blanket on his bed snoozing peacefully right now. I’ll have updates again for you guys soon! Thank you all for the love and support!

You can follow Toby’s story and help to spread the word on Instagram: toby.the.dobe

#cancersucks #osteosarcoma #cancercrusher #bonecancer #fightcancer #suckitsarcoma #dobermansofinstagram #doberman #dobermanpinscher #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbham #doglover #tripawd

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Hello tripawds! We are new to the world of blogging so please excuse us as we learn how to navigate through all this crazy information in an attempt to share our furry (or not so furry) friend’s journey. Unfortunately, the recent osteosarcoma diagnosis of our dog, Toby, is what has ignited our interest in the tripawd world and blogging community. This is Toby.

Our 4 year-old baby boy is just as silly as he looks in all of these pictures. He has a personality that is completely goofy and elegant at the same time. I’m not really sure how that’s even possible, but he pulls it off extremely well! He’s quite big, weighing in at 100 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly! 100 pounds! But he is 100 pounds of pure love and joy. Despite his size, he is still a tiny puppy at heart. He loves to snuggle and sit in anyone’s lap. I guess he’s what you would call a gentle giant.

He brings so much joy to everyone in our house, and he is happy to deal with us hooligans despite all the wild ideas we have. He’s the best. Literally, the best.

On October 26, 2016 we made a visit to the vet’s office due to a knot we had noticed near the joint on Toby’s front, right leg. We both have been educated in the medical/health professional community so I suppose we should have been more prepared. I think we were probably in denial. You never think about these sort of things until… BAM! You get smacked right in the stinkin’ face. Maybe a fungal infection? Maybe arthritis? Maybe a torn ligament? These are the questions we stumbled over in the days leading up to the appointment. Never once did we let that nasty word cancer fall out of our mouths. At first glance, the vet immediately seemed a little nervous and said that on the surface it unfortunately looked like osteosarcoma. Wait… What??? I think we both almost fell into the floor at this point. It couldn’t be. Not our Toby. They whisked Toby away from the room to do radiographs. After what seemed like an eternity, they returned with this image on a computer screen.

As you can see, the right leg (left side in this image) has an abnormal growth and remodeling of bone located above the joint. This is a classic, textbook image of osteosarcoma. You can read all about canine osteosarcoma here. It is very common in dogs of Toby’s size. We were left with 3 options:

1. Palliative care
2. Amputation
3. Specialized treatment options.

Being so young and in such good health otherwise, we immediately ruled out palliative care as an option for Toby. We felt that we would always regret making that sort of decision, and would be left with a sense that we had given up on him too early. That left us with amputation and/or specialized treatment options. We chose to pursue the last option, and made an urgent trip to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine the following day. There the veterinary oncologist informed us of a clinical trial being led by The National Cancer Institute and sponsored by the Morris Animal Foundation. After further testing to determine if the cancer had already spread to either the lymph nodes or lungs, Toby was determined to be a great candidate for the clinical trial. As a part of the trial, Toby would be placed into 1 of 2 groups:

1. Standard of care (amputation and 4 rounds of chemotherapy)
2. Standard of care + rapamycin.

I’ll admit, I too quickly let out a big sigh of relief being that I assumed we would have the opportunity to pursue treatment for this terrible disease at little to no cost as a part of a clinical trial. But life is full of surprises, right? If we choose to allow Toby to participate in the clinical trial, we would need to pay for the remaining tests and amputation that would allow him to be a participant. This would amount to over $5000 in costs. While many will say we are crazy, this is about providing Toby with the best quality of life for his remaining time here on Earth while also helping others. You see, this isn’t just about Toby. This is about the 12,310 people that are estimated to be diagnosed with a soft-tissue sarcoma by the end of 2016 in the United States. Of those, 4,990 will die from this terrible disease. Here the American Cancer Society answers questions about osteosarcoma in humans. Rapamycin could be the best chance that many of these people have at living a long, pain-free life. But only time and results will tell.  You can read more about the clinical trial by visiting this link.

As for Toby’s prognosis, if we are unable to pay for amputation, the bone in Toby’s leg will continue to soften as the cancer destroys the healthy bone and replaces it with abnormal bone until it eventually shatters. The pain will be unbearable. The cancer will spread to other parts of the body, most commonly the lungs, and will cause difficulty with breathing. At some point over the next 1-3 months, we will be forced to make the decision to say goodbye to end his suffering. With amputation and chemotherapy, he will be able to live a normal life with minimal pain for approximately a year or more.

Participation in this clinical trial will provide Toby with the opportunity to serve others during his remaining time here with us, and to be pain-free while doing so. He is still so young, and has a lot of life left to live. Toby must receive the amputation within the next 2 weeks in order to enroll in the trial. The clock is ticking quickly, and we are working hard at making some difficult decisions. We’re staying positive though because we know our tough boy will crush this cancer, and we’re looking forward to whatever time we may have left with him. We’ll be making the most of it for sure!

You can follow Toby’s story and help to spread the word on Instagram: toby.the.dobe

#cancersucks #osteosarcoma #cancercrusher #bonecancer #fightcancer #suckitsarcoma #dobermansofinstagram #dobermans #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbham

Filed under: Uncategorized  |   Tagged under bonecancer, cancercrusher, cancersucks, dobermans, dobermansofinstagram, dogsofbham, dogsofinstagram, fightcancer, Osteosarcoma, suckitsarcoma | 10 Comments »