The little pup has been doing great for the past couple of weeks. The only major event was having the stitches removed from the biopsy sites on two of her legs last Friday. The vet said she was doing well, considering her condition. I brought her into the office on my way back home ~ she got to meet several of my co-workers. One co-worker, aware of her condition and the short time she was given to live, was genuinely surprised to see such a happy, healthy, alert dog. Willa has been happy, alert and playful (and eating everything in sight) throughout the entire illness. Of course, the anti-seizure meds made her a bit sleepy at times - but during those short periods of drowsiness she enjoys stretching out on the couch next to her family, getting he belly rubbed. Her lumps do not seem to be causing her any pain or discomfort, despite the fact they are growing steadily. Willa rips across the yard at top speed, chasing squirrels, birds and the ever elusive 'stick' ~ despite the lumps on her legs. I haven't kidded myself ~ I know we'll have to let her go soon, but I was beginning to think that she would have more time than originally predicted.

This all changed last night. For the first time almost a month she had a seizure. It hit her around 11:30 PM, while we were all sleeping together on the bed. The seizure was as horrible an experience as any other she has had in the past...but for me this one was harder to take. Any hope of a few more weeks of 'good health' for Willa...gone. As with her previous seizures, Berrian and I talked her through it, petting her, speaking softly to her about monkeys and cookies (two words she knows well). I couldn't stop crying...Berrian's voice broke a couple of times. Willa, however, was back to her usual goofy self in less than a half hour (after 'talking her down' and giving her a bath). She stayed up and played with her toys until the early hours of the morning, dropping slobbery stuffed squirrels in my lap for me to toss across the room.

When I left her this morning she was busy destroying her favorite monkey (a large stuffed ape with a voice box that screams when she bites it ;-p).

I called the vet when I got to the office this morning with an update on Willa and to tell them about the seizure. I have to bring the pup in this afternoon to have her blood levels checked and see about upping her anti-seizure meds. If the seizures can't be controlled, I will have to put her to sleep even if she otherwise unaffected by the lumps. I am not going to let her suffer just to keep her near me ~ but I don't want to take away any of the time she has left to enjoy life, either. I often find myself wondering could that happy little dog bounding across my yard, tennis ball in her mouth, be so near death?

Another update...

The little pup has been doing great for the past couple of weeks. The only major event was having the stitches removed from the biopsy sites on two of her legs last Friday. The vet said she was doing well, considering her condition. I brought her into the office on my way back home ~ she got to meet several of my co-workers. One co-worker, aware of her condition and the short time she was given to live, was genuinely surprised to see such a happy, healthy, alert dog. Willa has been happy, alert and playful (and eating everything in sight) throughout the entire illness. Of course, the anti-seizure meds made her a bit sleepy at times - but during those short periods of drowsiness she enjoys stretching out on the couch next to her family, getting he belly rubbed. Her lumps do not seem to be causing her any pain or discomfort, despite the fact they are growing steadily. Willa rips across the yard at top speed, chasing squirrels, birds and the ever elusive 'stick' ~ despite the lumps on her legs. I haven't kidded myself ~ I know we'll have to let her go soon, but I was beginning to think that she would have more time than originally predicted.

This all changed last night. For the first time almost a month she had a seizure. It hit her around 11:30 PM, while we were all sleeping together on the bed. The seizure was as horrible an experience as any other she has had in the past...but for me this one was harder to take. Any hope of a few more weeks of 'good health' for Willa...gone. As with her previous seizures, Berrian and I talked her through it, petting her, speaking softly to her about monkeys and cookies (two words she knows well). I couldn't stop crying...Berrian's voice broke a couple of times. Willa, however, was back to her usual goofy self in less than a half hour (after 'talking her down' and giving her a bath). She stayed up and played with her toys until the early hours of the morning, dropping slobbery stuffed squirrels in my lap for me to toss across the room.

When I left her this morning she was busy destroying her favorite monkey (a large stuffed ape with a voice box that screams when she bites it ;-p).

I called the vet when I got to the office this morning with an update on Willa and to tell them about the seizure. I have to bring the pup in this afternoon to have her blood levels checked and see about upping her anti-seizure meds. If the seizures can't be controlled, I will have to put her to sleep even if she otherwise unaffected by the lumps. I am not going to let her suffer just to keep her near me ~ but I don't want to take away any of the time she has left to enjoy life, either. I often find myself wondering could that happy little dog bounding across my yard, tennis ball in her mouth, be so near death?

Update on Willa

Willa was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma and given a month to live. From what I've read it isn't the easiest to treat - with a less than average response to radiation and growths that require complete excision with a large margin - sometimes amputation. With three legs and her head being involved I don't think amputation would be the best course of action for the little girl ;-p If the prognosis is that grim I don't want to put her through any unnecessary pain or discomfort if it doesn't improve the quality of her (the biopsies alone are causing her enough discomfort right now). Ideally, I'd prefer it all to just go away and she live out the 14 - 15 years I thought I'd have with her...but that not being the case I don't want to drag it out another few months only to have her drugged up on pain meds the whole time. To be honest - I don't know what is best for her.

Willa has been great - it took her a bit to get used to the anti-seizure meds...they still make her groggy, but she recovers pretty quickly now. She is hyper and puppy-like, still grabbing large branches in the front yard and dragging them around, destroying all 'monkeys' (stuffed animals) She chews for hours on her Kong toy and Booda (sp?) frisbee (made out of some sort of dog-resistant rubber/plastic, designed for chewing). She does seem to tire more quickly - but some of that could be because it is getting hotter and I'm watching her more closely. Her appetite is great ~ she eats like a little piglet (and is starting to look like one now). She does seem to have difficulty with harder foods (cookies, dry food)...but not enough to keep her from carrying the entire box of cookies to her bed and try to gnaw through the box (plastic box at that). She snores more loudly and more often now (sometimes when she is partially awake)...and has difficulty sleeping because of it. I think when she is relaxed it is harder for her to position her tongue where the growths underneath do not cause her discomfort or cause her tongue to interfere with her breathing. She's been sleeping on the couch with me for the past two weeks - I haven't had much sleep because I worry that she may choke in her sleep. Despite the lumps on her legs, she is still jumping around like a rabbit - from the ground all of the way up to the Jeep seat (which is butt high to me). She does the 'BT 500' lap (top speed running) around the yard when we first get home.


I'm letting her do practically anything she wants (besides swallowing her toys and playing in the street). She's eating 'people food' for practically the first time in her life. She loves pizza...especially with pepperoni. She had her first bit of Chinese food last night (the fried noodles used for soup, some rice and a piece of meat from our Mongolian Beef). She goes ape over McD's fries (I swear they put crack in those things - I crave those things like crazy, too).

She's picked up one of my habits - eating ice cubes. I guess it makes her tongue feel better. Rather than feed her ice I bought frozen dog treats - peanut butter doggie ice cream cups and Bil-Jac yogurt treats.

I changed my schedule at work so I could take an extra-long lunch to go home in the afternoon and take care of her. That way she's only alone for 3-4 hours at a time. Stoopid dog has separation anxiety now...whenever I leave the room she has to tail me or she gets upset. I've created a monster ;-p

Sick Puppy

While we were in Florida last weekend my little Willa developed a lump on her shoulder. At first we thought one of my nieces had injured her - or that she was having an allergic reaction to something she encountered in the wilds of my brother's yard. The lump was almost half the size of a golf ball, and almost as hard, when it was first discovered. Upon closer inspection it felt like she was a bit swollen around her neck, too. My sister suggested giving Willa some baby benadryl to see if it reduced the swelling. The following day it did seem to be a tiny bit smaller - but we were still puzzled as to why she had the lump. By the time we made it back to Georgia the lump was the size of a golf ball, two smaller lumps appeared under the same arm and both of her hind legs were covered in bumps. Despite the size of the lumps, Willa didn't seem to be experiencing any pain (she's an indestructible little brick, that girl). Will is perky and playful as ever ~ zipping around the yard at high speed, playing fetch and dragging tree branches about despite the giant lumps on her legs. The only behavior that seemed out of character was, for the first time in her short four years, she acted disinterested in her food - even her treasured 'cookies' (we now know the lumps under her neck were making it difficult to chew/swallow without pain). Recently, her seizures have been hitting her more frequently (she is epileptic) but we were told to expect the frequency to increase eventually. Not showing any signs of illness other than the lumps and her existing epilepsy, I would have never guessed that it could be something as serious as what her doctor was to tell us...

We took Willa to her vet for examination of the lumps - the prognosis was rather grim. According to the doctor it could be one of two things ~ infected lymph nodes or lymphoma. She told us to prepare for the latter, as Willa did not seem to be suffering from a severe infection. If she did have a system wide infection she would be so sick she would barely be able to raise her head, according the vet. The lumps were aspirated, blood taken...we get the results sometime today or tomorrow. From what I've read on lymphoma in dogs, and based on how widespread the lumps are across her little body, Willa would seem to be in stage III at the very least (lord knows what is going on inside her little frame). For now she is on an antibiotic in the event the lymph nodes are swollen due to infection (*fingers crossed*) and a strong anti-seizure medication that is leaving her listless and more than a little freaked out by noises and sudden movement (poor girl isn't into the heavy drugs). Keep your fingers crossed for our little girl ~ she's such a sweet little dog.

Charity Event Benefiting the Atlanta Humane Society 04/16/2005
15th Annual Atlanta Humane Society Pet Parade

For the second year in a row Wilhelmina and I ~ along with Hexy & Molly ~ are participating in the fifteenth annual Pet Parade benefitting the Atlanta Humane Society. Pet Parade is Georgia's largest pet walk. This year, hundreds of pets and their human companions will gather at Candler Park to walk the approximately one mile course. Your pledge will help us reach our goal while benefiting thousands of animals in metro Atlanta.

To donate now, enter the amount that you would like to donate Here:

If you have trouble with the above link ::click here::.
***All Donations Go Directly to the Atlanta Humane Society***
All proceeds from the Pet Parade benefit the Atlanta Humane Society. As Atlanta's oldest private non-profit charitable organization, we care for approximately 6,000 lost, unwanted and abandoned animals each year, with no time limit on adoptable arrivals. The Atlanta Humane Society receives no support from tax funded grants or the United Way. We rely primarily on adoption fees, donations and special events like the Pet Parade.
Thank you,
Wilhelmina & Jo





Thank you, thank you, thank you to those that have donated to the Atlanta Humane Society so far! It's a great cause ~ and Willa has a fabulous time doing her bit of charity work.

*winks* It's not too late to donate to a very worthy cause =)