some of you remember my posts about Shelby, our 11 year old female golden retriever a while back.. well, Mary has written an article for www.grreat.org news letter... from the heart: its a lesson for us
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Every Day is a Gift
By Mary Collings, Intake Coordinator
Shelby came into GRREAT in September 2003 from a shelter. She was brought in as a stray so no history was known about her, other than she seemed to be a really nice dog; so nice, in fact, that the shelter held on to her for a month to see if an owner would come looking for her. At the time, I’d been doing intakes for GRREAT for 6 months and when I got the intake information from the shelter, I agreed she sounded pretty nice. I was asked to transport her to a local animal hospital for vetting and boarding, which I agreed to do. When they brought her out from the back of the shelter, I knew the moment I saw her that I was looking at our new dog.
When I brought Shelby home from the animal hospital as a GRREAT foster dog, she walked into our home like she belonged here – she walked through the door, greeted our other dogs, hopped up on the couch, and fell asleep until she was called for dinner.
Over the years, Shelby has been such an important part of our lives and we hardly remember not always having her as part of our family. When she joined our family, it was obvious she had never played with a woobie or even chased a ball. All of the “fun things” were new to her, but she caught on very quickly! Her enthusiasm for chasing after squeaky balls in the back yard has always been endless and she loves chewing on, and carrying around, stuffed animals.
In 2005, we welcomed a second GRREAT dog, Rocky, into our home. With 4 dogs (3 of them Goldens), my husband and I agreed that life couldn’t be any better. Our dogs were happy and healthy, we were happy and healthy, and everything was as it should be in the Collings household.
On December 22, 2008, everything in our lives began to change. Several masses were discovered in one of Shelby’s lungs by our vet and after multiple tests, xrays, and a biopsy, the oncologist vet confirmed our worst fears. Our sweet Shelby was diagnosed with cancer (carcinoma). This was followed by more bad news: it’s inoperable because it has spread, chemotherapy won’t help, radiation won’t help, nothing will help. Her prognosis was a few weeks to a couple of months.
We were completely devastated. Every morning for days and days, the moment I opened my eyes from yet another night of restless sleep, I’d start to
. For about a week, I couldn’t look at Shelby without ing and I’d leave the room so as not to upset her or the other dogs. My husband had to practically force himself to go to work. He didn’t want to leave her, for fear she might suddenly take a turn for the worse while he was at work.
We quickly realized we were wasting valuable time. Not only were we wasting time that we could be doing fun things with Shelby and our other dogs, but we were wasting time by not trying to help her in every way we could. We started reading everything we could get our hands on about cancer in dogs and we called just about everyone we know who’d been through this with a dog. We became dedicated not only to educating ourselves, but also to making every moment of her life the happiest it could be and the healthiest it could be. We knew what we were up against, but we made the decision that we were going to fight this cancer with everything we could.
And here we are, April 2009. Shelby continues to be on a few medications prescribed by the vet and lots of supplements “prescribed” by us. She gets lots of meat and veggies in her kibble at breakfast and dinner, she gets apple slices and blueberries for afternoon snacks, and she gets lots and lots of play time, exercise, and love. Grocery shopping and cooking for Shelby make me feel like an active participant in her care and that I’m making a difference in her life.
Watching Shelby chase her squeaky ball in the back yard is the happiest time of my day. Sometimes when I’m outside with the dogs, I think ahead about the day that she won’t want to chase the ball or that she’ll tire out and want to stop after just a couple of throws. Without fail, I quickly put those thoughts out of my head because while I know this cancer will someday take her away from us, I refuse to let it take away today.
Every time I look at Shelby, I smile. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be with us and it’s rare that I even think about that, because I’m too busy enjoying her. What I do know is that I won’t have regrets. I know that I’m the very best Mom I can be and that I’m making every moment of every day special for her. No matter how busy I am with GRREAT or things in my personal life, I take time to go outside with my dogs and let them play or I’ll snuggle with them on the couch or bed or we’ll sit quietly and share some special moments together and most days, we do all of the above!
I’ve learned a lot in recent months about cancer and special diets and supplements, but the most important thing I’ve learned is that every day is a gift.
**********************************
Every Day is a Gift
By Mary Collings, Intake Coordinator
Shelby came into GRREAT in September 2003 from a shelter. She was brought in as a stray so no history was known about her, other than she seemed to be a really nice dog; so nice, in fact, that the shelter held on to her for a month to see if an owner would come looking for her. At the time, I’d been doing intakes for GRREAT for 6 months and when I got the intake information from the shelter, I agreed she sounded pretty nice. I was asked to transport her to a local animal hospital for vetting and boarding, which I agreed to do. When they brought her out from the back of the shelter, I knew the moment I saw her that I was looking at our new dog.
When I brought Shelby home from the animal hospital as a GRREAT foster dog, she walked into our home like she belonged here – she walked through the door, greeted our other dogs, hopped up on the couch, and fell asleep until she was called for dinner.
Over the years, Shelby has been such an important part of our lives and we hardly remember not always having her as part of our family. When she joined our family, it was obvious she had never played with a woobie or even chased a ball. All of the “fun things” were new to her, but she caught on very quickly! Her enthusiasm for chasing after squeaky balls in the back yard has always been endless and she loves chewing on, and carrying around, stuffed animals.
In 2005, we welcomed a second GRREAT dog, Rocky, into our home. With 4 dogs (3 of them Goldens), my husband and I agreed that life couldn’t be any better. Our dogs were happy and healthy, we were happy and healthy, and everything was as it should be in the Collings household.
On December 22, 2008, everything in our lives began to change. Several masses were discovered in one of Shelby’s lungs by our vet and after multiple tests, xrays, and a biopsy, the oncologist vet confirmed our worst fears. Our sweet Shelby was diagnosed with cancer (carcinoma). This was followed by more bad news: it’s inoperable because it has spread, chemotherapy won’t help, radiation won’t help, nothing will help. Her prognosis was a few weeks to a couple of months.
We were completely devastated. Every morning for days and days, the moment I opened my eyes from yet another night of restless sleep, I’d start to
. For about a week, I couldn’t look at Shelby without ing and I’d leave the room so as not to upset her or the other dogs. My husband had to practically force himself to go to work. He didn’t want to leave her, for fear she might suddenly take a turn for the worse while he was at work. We quickly realized we were wasting valuable time. Not only were we wasting time that we could be doing fun things with Shelby and our other dogs, but we were wasting time by not trying to help her in every way we could. We started reading everything we could get our hands on about cancer in dogs and we called just about everyone we know who’d been through this with a dog. We became dedicated not only to educating ourselves, but also to making every moment of her life the happiest it could be and the healthiest it could be. We knew what we were up against, but we made the decision that we were going to fight this cancer with everything we could.
And here we are, April 2009. Shelby continues to be on a few medications prescribed by the vet and lots of supplements “prescribed” by us. She gets lots of meat and veggies in her kibble at breakfast and dinner, she gets apple slices and blueberries for afternoon snacks, and she gets lots and lots of play time, exercise, and love. Grocery shopping and cooking for Shelby make me feel like an active participant in her care and that I’m making a difference in her life.
Watching Shelby chase her squeaky ball in the back yard is the happiest time of my day. Sometimes when I’m outside with the dogs, I think ahead about the day that she won’t want to chase the ball or that she’ll tire out and want to stop after just a couple of throws. Without fail, I quickly put those thoughts out of my head because while I know this cancer will someday take her away from us, I refuse to let it take away today.
Every time I look at Shelby, I smile. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be with us and it’s rare that I even think about that, because I’m too busy enjoying her. What I do know is that I won’t have regrets. I know that I’m the very best Mom I can be and that I’m making every moment of every day special for her. No matter how busy I am with GRREAT or things in my personal life, I take time to go outside with my dogs and let them play or I’ll snuggle with them on the couch or bed or we’ll sit quietly and share some special moments together and most days, we do all of the above!
I’ve learned a lot in recent months about cancer and special diets and supplements, but the most important thing I’ve learned is that every day is a gift.
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