Sad News

I come back to this blog to record sad news. Yesterday Lucky was "unofficially" diagnosed with brain cancer and anal gland cancer. I say unofficially because I cannot, in good conscience, put a nearly 13 year old dog who has suffered from Addison's Disease for a decade under the stress of the diagnostic tests required to confirm it.

I will some time come back to detail the events that led up to his diagnosis. But I wanted to record a few things here.

They aren't kidding when they say the breed is tenacious. And that it doesn't slow down until they're 20. He wants to do so much of what he originally used to do - jump up on couches, go up/down stairs, etc. and gets frustrated with me when I don't let him or try to help.

But it is the things he no longer does that I seem to miss the most.

Since that Thursday, he has not barked. This from a dog who you generally could not shut up. Even though he's been pretty much deaf for a good while, he would almost always start barking when his sister started up. But on Friday we had someone ring the doorbell and, while he perked up that his sister was barking, he did not. He has whined a little bit, but not a great deal. It is the silence that is most unnerving.

He also does not seem interested in play. That could be blamed upon his equilibrium issues. But I do wonder if it's related to the above. Wolf puppies play and bark. Adult wolves do not. I wonder if these two behaviors are still in the same center of the brain in domestic dogs? I'm sure behavioral scientists have mapped this out and know the answer, but it is interesting to me, as a non-expert, to see what behaviors he has lost or changed as a result.

Also, he cannot turn left. The side that is most affected due to the tumor is his left side, so this makes sense.

Altitude adjustments (jumping up/down) seem to bother his balance the most.

He still adores food. He was back to trolling the kitchen table today (in a mobility-limited way). He still loves his boys. He still loves scritches. He is NOT a fan of being groomed, but he can't get away as easily so he "tolerates" it more.