Please pray for Josi

[butlersmom]

((((Caroline)))) thanks so much in trying to help Stacey, Brian and miss Josi in their time of need... It always helps to have someone that has gone thru it... your post brought tears to my eyes as I read and it sounds like it was a very difficult decision,

Ditto with the tears, here, too. It breaks my heart when decisions like this have to be made. My Scarlett did not have the same issue, but we dealt with mast cells that eventually metastacized. It just seems so unfair. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband, and with Miss Josi as you go through the heart-wrenching time.

 

[msjosi]

Thank you Caroline

Your story was so comforting to read and I can't thank you enough. You definitely have helped me to understand better of what may lie ahead, how to try to prepare ourselves, and what questions to ask. I know Dakota was blessed to be apart of your family and like the others, I know he will be waiting for Josi when it is her time. I can't imagine having to make that decision without my husband, so I can't even think of how much harder that time must have been for you, but you have shown me that it is not about us...it is about our babies. May I ask you another question?? Was there any rhyme or reason of when the bleeds would occur or would you say just at random? Again CAroline I am forever grateful for you sharing this difficult memory of Dakota with me to help us along our journey.

Josi is doing remarkably well this evening with blazing pink gums and ripping through her toy basket as if to tell me, "don't right me off yet ma - I still have somemore fight in me!" Without children in our lives, she is the light of our lives and although I tell it to her daily, I hope she really knows it. My grandfather and I used to sing a song together everytime we talked (You Are My Sunshine) and I have been singing it to her anytime I have to leave the house. Whenever I get to the last verse of "please don't take my Josi away from me" I can hardly get through it. I have started to question our decision not to get another dog a few years back so Josi could shed a piece of her with him/her, but the timing never seemed to work out with all her injuries or illnesses, so we just took it as a sign that she was meant to be an only child just like her mommy. She loves to have slumber parties with her doggie friends, but I honestly think at times she thinks she is above the dogs and fits in better with her human counterparts...

I wish I could do something other than telling you all thank you because it just doesn't seem like enough, but thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what Josi and I would have done without each and everyone of you. As always I promise to keep posting and reading Josi all her messages of encouragement and love

 

[WeasleRocky]

what a perfect song for you to share with Miss Josi... "you are my sunshine" she is showing each of us why she is loved so much...

 

[Slobberchops]

what a perfect song for you to share with Miss Josi... "you are my sunshine" she is showing each of us why she is loved so much...

Exactly right lovicon

 

[liamsmom]

you're very welcome. but really...there is no need for thanks. i am glad to be here. and i'm sure everyone else is happy to offer their support. we all need it at some point or another.
i can't tell you how very happy it makes me to hear when Josi is doing well. HUGS TO YOU MISS JOSI! you are truly amazing!!!
Dakota's bleeds weren't predictable. I used to ask the vet if i should restrict any certain activity (burns etc) and he said no. but at the same time he recommended that we not run a marathon either. so we just used common sense and let Dakota do almost anything he wanted to that was within reason. it was almost as if he knew his own limitations.
i know what you mean about not having children in your lives and loving your Josi as your child. Hubby and I are married 18 years and we have no "skin-kids". our boxers ARE our children. they really are. Dakota was our first dog "together" and losing him really took its toll on us emotionally.
i, too, sang a lot to Dakota. our favorite song was "Slumber My Darling" by Alison Krause. beautiful song! and i still can't listen to it without shedding tears. but the song is truly beautiful and i need it in my life.
Dakota battled a lot of things in his lifetime, too. bad allergies (if you looked at him cross eyed he'd get the hives!). he also had colitis that flaired up on a pretty regular basis so he was on a pretty strict diet. to boot....he had two ACL surgeries (one at 3 and one at 6 years old). but all those things we were able to nurse him through and "fix". a terminal diagnosis was a hard one for us to swallow.
don't beat yourself up about not getting a second dog. we got Zuki when Dakota was 4 years old. and she is a completely different dog. Dakota did rub off on her at all She's wonderful but nothing like Dakota in personality. they're all different in their own way. and, poor Zuki went through a rough time when Dakota died, too. it was only 6 weeks after he died that we adopted Liam because Zuki was sleeping 20 hours a day. she was bored, depressed and not used to being an only dog.
then 6 months after Liam we adopted Moby. we always joke about how it took TWO boxers to only partially fill the void in our hearts. but that's not really so. we adopted the two boys because they needed us and we love all three of them dearly.

 

[ForeverMama]

So glad to hear Josi is still having good days. Hope there are many more in her future. All any of us can do is take things one day at a time and you and Miss Josi seem to doing just that. Bless you, Miss Josi. Keep having those pink gums for your Mommy.

You are always in my prayers.

 

[msjosi]

Josi ultrasound appt. got canceled this morning b/c her oncologist is still out sick with the flu. Brian and I had discussed this morning about not doing the ultrasound before we got the call, since it really isn't going to do anything either way. Anyhow the rollercoaster continues...at about 3 this afternoon Josi's lips became very swollen as if she was having an allergic reaction. I immediately gave her 50mg. of benedryl and called the hospital to see if this could be a symptom of bleeding. The doctor said it was very unlikely and sounded like an allergic reaction, but to monitor her breathing and swelling in the neck and take her to our local vet if she got worse. She also said the 10mg. of pred that Josi is on daily should have counteracted the swelling, but no such luck. When Brian came home at 5 she was still swollen and we ran her by the local vet. He agreed that it appeared to be an allergic reaction with swelling in the lips,in between her back toes, and in her coochie area. He also seemed to be quite perplexed why the pred in her system plus the benedryl wasn't reducing the swelling, so he opted to give her a shot of an additional 10mg. of prednisone. I can't understand why my baby can not seem to catch a break and I am dreading her food crying this evening with the additional dose of steriod. Throughout the entire day she continued to eat and drink so I knew she atleast couldn't be feeling that bad. Unfortunately her swelling in her lips is still the same so I don't know what to think, but her gums are hot pink and she continues to breath fine so I guess that is all I should be worried about. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?? I will try to post again later this evening and update.

 

[angleheart]

Poor Josi...it's just one thing after another. Thank goodness she has such wonderful parents

 

[Gruntsmom]

Even though I haven't posted to you and Josi for awhile, I hope that you know that you, Brian and Josi have been a part of my heart for quite some time. As I sit here typing to you, I realize that my last post to this thread was with Grunt laying next to my chair at the computer. Please know that my heart had not forgotten.

Many thoughts and loving vibes going out to your sweet baby girl, I pray that she is comfortable and will remain so for as long as possible. You and Brian are doing everything you can - it is a blessing that you can keep her at home with you. That she is such a fighter is a testament to the Boxer spirit. If there is an ounce of bounce in them, they will manage to squeeze it out, no matter how sick they are. We saw this happen with our Grunt, and as much as I loved to see it, it tore at my heart and still does. How can this happen when they are so sick?!! But, it does happen, and one can't help but feel the joy that comes from being witness to it. I'm crying for you because I know. Sometimes your heart and mind are just not on the same page, and it is agony sometimes making decisions.

Give Josi gentle hugs from me, and tell her Grunt and I set streaming vibes going out to her - they never stopped! lovicon And I send you hugs too, lots of them. Please let us know how you all are doing.

 

[WeasleRocky]

Miss Josi, I hope you got passed this swelling episode hon... sending more vibes your way sweetie, and a gentle bump from Rocky...

a big hug to you Stacey and Brian for being such great parents to Miss Josi..