5/17/2013 My pal Tonkas update

Tonka went through his surgery with flying colors unfortunately the out come is very UPSETTING ! They removed 3 tumors , all were cancerous stage 3 sarcomas. He starts chemo next week . They give him about a year with treatment .. This dog is the most amazing creature ever, not to mention his mom who is so dedicated to giving him the best life possible..I saw him last evening and he was just a silly happy gorgeous blind dog that can't walk for unexplained reasons ... but in his cart watch out he is on a ROLL !

Love yas,
Pat & Buttercup

p.s. Uncle Update.. the chemo treatment for his merkell cell carcinoma did not work this last time . so we are probably looking at radiation ... on and on .. honest this cancer is everywhere not only effecting our human loved ones.. but effecting our furbabies !

Marielle update .. still going half days to school ..getting oral chemo at home , growing like a weed and doing very well. She attends her hospital clinic for IV chemo and in her spine once a month , and is getting blood and platelets on an out patient bases as needed.

Thank you all for always reading and keeping up with our crazy life !

HUGS !!!

Happy Mothers Day 5/13/2013

To all that have sent us those beautiful vases with flowers and the stars of David ( LOL) .. we just want to say a BIG THANK YOU ! Mom is sorry we don't have time to send back the vase of flowers to everyone that sent one to us.. Her work has been very busy , combined with doctor visits with the Uncle , and getting his basement cleaned out and ready for a yard sale .. we hope you all understand .. but make no mistake .. * we LOVE you all * Happy Mothers Day !

Kisses,
Buttercup & Momma Pat

5/1/2013 My pal * TONKAS UPDATE*

We just got a message on FB from Tonkas mommy .. he had 3 tumors , 2 were in tight spots so there are a lot of hand stitches.. he is in recovery .. and that is all i know .. please keep the prayers going for him and his mommy ! They have been through so much .. and are truly so connected especially because Tonka is blind .. the good thing is the hospital is letting her stay over .. well sort of .. she is sleeping in the back of her truck .. she just doesn't want to leave in case of an emergency ! God Bless her !

Thanks,
Pat & Buttercup

10/30/2013 Catching up with news !

Hi Everyone,

My secretary has been a wee bit lax lately so i am making her fill everyone in .. First Marielle is doing very well and is back in school part time.. hopefully next week she will start full time days for the rest of the school year.

Our dear Uncle 's merkel cell carcinoma skin cancer came back so mom has been busy with another him , with another round of chemo , hospital stay , getting him home and settled back in.. we are hopeful this treatment will work as well as the last round did giving him 4 months cancer free!

I have been doing really well for as sick as i am .. i never seize to amaze mom with my strength and resilience . So for now i am getting fluids 2 times a week and that seems to be working .. i still hate going but once i am home i am usually pretty forgiving .. but dad took me on Sat this past week and i wouldn't talk to him for 2 days .. LOL ! Mom takes me and i normally give her kisses on the way home !

Now my friend TONKA .. ( a great pryrennes) who is blind and truly is amazing .. has battled open heart surgery ,due to a hole in his heart and an unknown weakness in his back extremities that has left him unable to walk but he gets around terrific in his wheelie cart .. they have just found a small mass that he is having removed tomorrow .. the biopsy came back inconclusive .. but all his doctors have meet and they all agree that it is growing pretty rapidly and it should come out.. his mommy is quite upset and nervous as you can well imagine .. so please say a prayer for TONKA his surgery is tomorrow .. and his mommy is so fearful for what they may find .. i tell her .. not to worry .. TONKA WILL BE HOME !

That is the current update .. we love you all and appreciate all the friendships, prayers and support we have made here !

Love,
Buttercup & Mom

p.s. you can read Tonkas blog at * The journey of Tonka * just goggle it .. it is amazing !

4/23/2013 GOOD NEWS !

Buttercups test came back today with good news.. Her platelets are normal as is her clotting factor ... Her kidneys are also much improved..In Feb. her BUN was 203 .. now it is 100 and her creatines were 5.4 .. now they are 2.2 .. so know where normal, but much improved.. so she can stay on the subQ fluid therapy which is helping .. woohoo !!!! The doctor said he can only think that she must of hit her tummy on something to cause the bruising .. mom says she doesn't know how unless she did something at the kamp .. because i never do steps or jump on and off furniture at home .. she is never on furniture at the kamp .. but does jump in and out of the flower beds .. but who cares .. the good news is her platelets and clotting factor are normal ..THANK GOD !THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND LOVE !

BUTTERCUP & MOM !

4/21/2013 Mom is worring !

Yesterday morning i rolled over for my belly rub and everything was great .. than yesterday afternoon i rolled over and i had a pretty good size blood bruise on my tummy ... mommy called emergency right away and they connected her to cardiology .. the doctor on call said that it was't related to my heart , or to getting the sub Q fluids .. but more than likely related to my kidney disease.. it can cause platelet problems.. they had mom draw a circle around the area with a permanent marker so she can make sure it isn't growing in size .. they told mom that as long as i am acting normal and the size isn't changing to take me to Dr. T first thing Monday morning for blood work .. mom thought we could get blood results faster at emergency but they said not on the week-end that they only have one pick up late in the day and it would take 24 hours to get back...so mom is watching my belly like a hawk .. and i am eating , drinking , barking , doing my normal routine and mom is trying to stay calm ...we will see Dr. T's associate in the morning as Dr. T is off on Mondays ... please say a prayer for me .. as i already have enough health issues ! mom will keep you posted

Kisses, Buttercup

p.s. the good thing they keep telling us is that i am not symptomatic ... no vomiting, no diahreaha , no pain , no blood in urine or stool , and i am not lethargic, and breathing fine ... .. so i have some good things going .. thanks for your prayers and continued support !

4/1/2013 Happy Easter Happy Spring !

We hope all our pals here on dogster had a wonderful Easter holiday ! Headquarters was so good to let us give all those beautiful easter eggs free.. my page looks so festive ! A BIG THANK YOU to all that had the time to send them to me ! Speaking of pages.. if you have time mom posted some new photos of me taken today as i was truly feeling good and acting like my ole self.. i was barking, rolling over for belly rubs , barking rolling over for belly ribs.. mom thought i wanted to have my picture taken .. but i wanted to go for a wheelie ride. It was pretty chilly and windy and mom kept saying no but i was very persistent and since i behaved for the photo shoot .. guess who won ! .. Mom put on my winter hoodie and bundled me up and out we went .. hehehehe.. it pays to be cute and vocal ! Mom says those fluids and prayers are working miracles !

Happy Spring everyone !

Buttercup & Mom

3/20/13 Aunty Deb update

For those of you that know my sister Debbie ( liver transplant recipient) .. she had a pretty major heart attack on Sat. morning. The anti-rejection medications have caused her to have very high cholesterol and over the last 2 years she has had to have stints in both groins and one in an artery in the heart. She has been having major GI issues so they told her to stop her baby aspirin 5 days prior to do an endoscope procedure.. which she did. They did the procedure and found nothing . ( thats the good news) .. the bad news is she had a pretty major heart attack leaving her with 35% of her heart muscle working. It was a pretty intense day as she went to the local hospital .. and than had to be air lifted to Piedmont in Atlanta where she had her liver transplant. They are an incredible team of doctors .. and did a cardiac cath right away and found that the stint in her heart had a blood clot and it was 100% blocked.. they opened it up and she got immediate good blood flow .. but the damage was already done to the heart muscle. She hopes to start cardiac rehab soon and maybe this will help her .. right now she is totally resting and trying to recuperate .Her spirits are good as usual .. as we say in our family .. we are FORD STRONG ! Thank you dear God for another miracle !

When it rains it pours as we all know. My fur cousin LILLY .. went for her cardiac check up and like me she was given bad news.. Her heart disease is much worse and she has developed a pulmonary fibrosis condition that there is no treatment for .. they adjusted her meds and added prednisone...we hope she will rebound as she isn't wanting to eat .. Please add Lilly to your prayers ..

Marielle was supposed to start her first day of maintenance on Monday .. but she woke up with a 102 fever on Sunday morning...so she had to be admitted to the hospital to make sure there was no infections .. looks like this is either a good ole cold or a flu type virus.. so no chemo treatment this week.. she hopes to get home today or tomorrow from the hospital..

Now for me .. i am doing pretty good.. although i can tell you that i am getting really nervous every time mom puts me in the car .. i am fearful of having to go the the vets for fluids.. i shiver and shake .. but when i come out i forgive mom and give her a kiss .. i guess moms know best !

Thank everyone for listening ..
Love yas, Mom & Buttercup

3/13/13 my update

First of all i want to say the POTP is very powerful .. it is really hard to believe how sick my numbers say i am .. but how well i am doing at this point. The subQ fluids every other day really help .. i hate going to the vet every other day to get them but it is worth it. I am eating well , sleeping very good which i never have done , and giving kisses . I am hardly coughing at all .. ( maybe once or twice a day ) and all my itching has stopped ( go figure) . I am a little wobbly on my feet , walk a wee bit slower and my tail doesn't curl on my back .. my eyes are bright , so for a very sick gal i am doing ok . I can tell you this .. being sick doesn't let you off the hook for a bath .. BOL !

Now for a Marielle update ,

She has a spinal tap scheduled for Monday if her numbers are good .. than she hopefully moves on to the maintenance phase of her treatment. woohoo !! she really hopes to get back to school soon .. it all depends if her numbers stabilize .. don't want her catching all those school kids germs.. that could be deadly to her ..

Spring is in the air at our house.. mom and i both love being able to get outdoors for stroller walks ! If you have all that white stuff at your house we hope it is gone soon ! Thank you all for the continued support and prayers !

Love,
Buttercup & Mom

3/1/2013 My update / I am a fighter !

Those fluids really seem to help.. mom takes me at least 4 times a week . I will not touch anything mom home cooks right now which is really strange , so mom had to go on a dog food shopping spree. ..she got an assortment of senior quality foods ( if there is such thing as quality) .. right now i seem to like INNOVA SENIOR .. for the past 3 days i have truly have eaten well for me. I am resting comfortably. Mom even was able to trim me up a wee bit and she and i hope to take a bath this week-end.. LOL ! My back end is getting weak so mom told dad that she was going to get in the tub with me so she can hold me and i won't slip. I look clean but mom says i am starting to smell like a dog .. not like the princess i am .. LOL ! Mom really doesn't want to stress me .. so depending on how i feel will depend if i get the dreaded bath !
Buddy and Angel Abby .. Thank you so much for the most thoughtful card.. we love you and so appreciate it !
We continue to thank everyone for your continued support .

Kisses,
Buttercup & Mom

p.s. Mom is getting a lesson on Monday on how to administer my fluids at home .. mom says if it was someone elses pup she could probably do it .. so she isn't sure if she will be able to do it .. but if she can it will save her a small fortune ..