I'm a guest at Happy Dog Land

Last month, our cancer foundation had the opportunity to work a dog event hosted by the city of Chicago. While I was there, I was introduced to Billy Rafferty and Jill Cahr, whose book, HAPPY DOG: Caring for Your Dog's Body, Mind, and Spirit, just became available this month. Billy and Jill also have a blog, and they invited me to do a guest blog post about animal cancer.

Please head over to Happy Dog Land to read my guest post as well as all of the information Billy and Jill have to share.

38 Months and Counting

My friend Shanele and I spent part of the day yesterday at the University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic for Indiana's twice-yearly appointment with oncology. I'm always a nervous wreck before these appointments. Even though Indiana is doing well, it seems like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. We had a lot of bad news in the beginning, so I know things don't always go smoothly. Still, I know my dog, and I know she doesn't have cancer anymore.

I can't say as though I ever look forward to going, but it's become a pretty regular part of our lives, and I'm used to it. I take comfort in knowing what's going to happen. So of course yesterday, they had to change things. Normally, we start our visit by being led back to the private oncology waiting room, complete with couches for parents and furry kids alike. We chill out for a while until an oncologist comes to see us. They do an exam there in the little waiting room, and Indiana is taken away for blood tests, ultrasound, and x-ray. Otherwise, we all get to wait together.

But yesterday starts with a tech (not one of our regular ones!) taking us to an exam room...not our couches. I mention this, and she only says we can go to the couches later. Hmmm. I don't like change. After a very formal check-in (we've been coming here for over 3 years!), she tells us the doctor will be in soon...and not our usual doctor. Strike two. The visit with the doctor goes fine--she's one we've seen before, though she's a full doctor, not our usual resident. She has me sign forms and ok the costs for the procedures, something we've not had to do since Indiana first got sick. Huh? What's going on here? Why are we in this alternate-universe U of I???

After all that oddness is over, we are finally led back to our precious couches. Oh, sweet, fluffy couches. How I love you. You are so normal. The rest of the visit goes by much like usual. We see a couple of students, rather than a resident, because the department is short-handed right now. Indiana doesn't seem to like the unfamiliar faces. We're used to all of our usual people, who don't seem to be around today. Bah!

Overall, I can't really complain, because everything came back great. There is no sign of the cancer, and Indiana's heart arrhythmia, while still present, hasn't gotten any worse. There are a few age-related changes, which the doctor considers normal. (I'm just happy to still have a dog who's able to grow old!) Indy's BUN is high, though her creatinine is normal, most likely from her raw food diet, or from one of her supplements. I'm not overly concerned about this--I left Dr. Becker a message about it, and we'll see if she wants to run a fasting BUN sometime.

I was a tad irritated, because the release report mentioned something the vet hadn't--Indiana's adrenals are mildly bilaterally enlarged, more so than last time. I'm concerned this indicates a progression of the atypical Cushing's Disease she was diagnosed with about a year and a half ago. We'll see what Dr. Becker has to say about it.

But none of these things really worries me. The cancer isn't back, and Indiana feels better than she has in a long time. After cancer, nothing is insurmountable, and neither of these problems is life-threatening as they stand. Just like everything else, Indiana will kick ass.

Things I've Learned From My Dog: Listen!

We had a brief (and actually very minor, in the grand scheme of things) scare with Indiana this week; she stopped eating!

She's done this before, about two years ago. It's scary every time, given her history. My mind goes terrible places at first. Oh, God, why isn't she eating? Is she sick? Is it the cancer? It's the cancer, isn't it? How will I ever be able to deal with it? I can't go through this again. Why is this happening? Why? Then I take a deep breath and tell myself to shut up! For heaven's sake.

Turns out, Indiana, who isn't a picky eater, is a picky eater. The first time, she was turning her nose up at her food because we were trying to sneak pills into it. So out went the pills, and in came a new brand of food. We thought this round of food-snubbery was related to a new pill she's taking--a bit of stomach upset?--and fed her canned pumpkin that night to settle her stomach. The next day, she was still turning her nose up at the food, but she was acting completely normal. Hmmm. "Let's give her some of the cats' raw food," I thought to myself. "Let's experiment here." Sure enough, she ate that raw food like it was going out of style. Hallelujah!

We're still feeding Isis the homemade raw food, but Indiana is eating a locally-made raw food, Nature's Quest. Jim feels bad about this switch, because we were obviously feeding homemade because we felt it was the healthiest thing for our pets. I don't feel so bad about it though. It's not like we're going from raw to kibble. We're still talking about a high-quality, fresh diet, made by a company I trust (I've met one of the owners and traded emails with the other--they started feeding raw to their pets for the same reasons we did, only they decided to make a living out of it!).

For whatever reason, Indiana is done with the homemade food for the timebeing. She made that abundantly clear. We'll give her some time off and try the homemade food again. But it has gotten me to thinking. Even though we give our girls a good rotation of meat--a different source(chicken, turkey, lamb, or buffalo) every 5 meals and a different mix of fresh veggies and fruit every batch--it wasn't enough variety for Indiana. Maybe going back to the homemade isn't the right way to go. Maybe a rotation of different meats and different brands of commercial raw foods is right for her. It's so hard to know.

But what I do know is to listen to Indiana. She's pretty clear about what she wants, and why shouldn't I trust that?

Product Spotlight: Primal Pet Foods

This is the first in a series of posts on products I love. It was hard to choose which product would have the place of honor as the very first, because there are so many wonderful products out there, but ultimately, my gut said to go with Primal.

I discovered Primal foods several years ago when I switched over to holistic care for my pets. They make a wonderful line of premade raw meals, with meat sources like chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, quail, venison, and pheasant. The first thing that struck me about Primal was their ingredients list. Check it out:

Chicken, Chicken Necks, Ground Chicken Bones, Chicken Hearts, Organic Kale,
Organic Carrots, Organic Yams, Chicken Livers, Organic Broccoli, Organic Apples,
Organic Ground Flaxseed, Cranberries, Organic Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar,
Organic Parsley, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Kelp, Alfalfa, Mixed Tocopherols
(source of vitamin E).

Oh my gosh! Amazing! I know and understand every ingredient on there! I love that their fruits and veggies are not only organic, but they use just the right mix, so they don't have to add any artificial vitamins or minerals. Humans are always told that it's better for us to derive our nutrients from food sources, rather than from vitamins in pill form. The same holds for our animals. Love it!

We don't feed the premade stuff anymore, but we do use Primal meat in our homemade mix. Primal makes a line of "grinds," which include the meat, organs, and bone. We add our own veggies and nutrients to this. The only reason we switched to a homemade diet was because we wanted control over the vegetables and add-ins, such as the oils, supergreen foods, and such.

Primal is always the first brand I mention when I recommend raw diets to others. I encourage you to visit their website, http://primalpetfoods.com/, read their company philosophy and drool over their wonderfully amazing ingredients lists. But pretend you're a dog when you're drooling, or otherwise it's pretty gross.

Happy Birthday, Squirt!

Today is my youngest kitty Gus' First Birthday. Or so we guess. He found us on September 25, 2008, and we guessed him to be about six to eight weeks old. He only weighed fourteen ounces, so he was super tiny, but he was weaned, so we think he was just an unlucky (although eventually VERY lucky) runt.

When we found Gus, he had an injured leg which turned out to be broken. After microscopic orthopedic surgery, Gus was good to go. Well, mostly. His leg couldn't be repaired correctly, so he can't bend it and now walks with a limp. But he couldn't care less. We have been constantly amazed by his ability to adapt. I've never once seen him frustrated at his disability. I'll tell Gus' story someday soon too, as there are lessons to be learned there as well. (Look for a post soon about his internet and calendar stardom!)

So, a very happy birthday to my little man. You've brought Daddy and I such joy. We are so lucky to have found you and brought you into our lives. You make us smile and laugh every day, and we love that we never know what you're going to do next.

The cutest darn kitten ever.

Guster today. Still pretty dern cute.

Things I've Learned From My Dog: Raw Food Diets

It's no coincidence that my first real "meaty" post (oops...no pun intended!) on this blog is about raw food diets. The raw diet is probably the best thing I've learned from Indiana's experience, and something I wish with all my heart I had learned about 11 years ago when I became a parent. Alas, I had to learn the hard way. Don't make the same mistake I did! Learn about raw food now, read about it with an open mind, and give it a try. I guarantee you won't regret it.

I first learned about the raw food diet from the wonderful Dr. Karen Becker. On our first consultation with her, after Indiana's cancer diagnosis, she explained that it was vitally important that dogs with cancer eat a grain-free diet. Standard commercial kibbles and canned foods are PACKED with grain (mostly corn). Honestly, grain isn't good for a healthy pet, let alone one with a weakened immune system. Cancer feeds off carbs (especially true for tumor-based cancers), so feeding a diet high in grains is essentially feeding the cancer. Indiana had struggled with weight problems her whole life, so we had her on a kibble that we felt was the healthiest. While I won't name names just yet, it was a "premium" kibble, and it was the "weight management" formula, which Dr. Becker informed me was around 80% grains. Gasp! Aren't dogs carnivores, for heaven's sake?

And so we began our slow transition to raw foods. Both Indiana and Isis were put on canned foods alone--no kibble (canned is so much healthier for dogs, because it has more meat and more moisture). Slowly, we added in raw foods over a period of about eight months. Dr. Becker was really careful with Indiana, because of the fact that she's missing part of her stomach. We also added in a digestive enzyme, Prozyme (it's good stuff) to help. We still use Prozyme today, with all of our pets.

A lot of people have a tough time with the idea of a raw diet. They worry about the bacteria. Well, many vets think dogs' stomachs are much more adapted to bacteria than our own, making the bacteria not a big deal. Plus, if you handle the meat properly (keeping it frozen, etc.), bacteria shouldn't be an issue. We've fed raw exclusively for two and a half years now with no problems whatsoever. For crying out load, doesn't your dog eat poo or dead animals off the ground? I know mine do. No bacteria there, uh uh.

Other parents are concerned that raw food is "gross." I'm a vegetarian, folks; if I can do it, you can do it.

Another worry about raw food is the cost. Is it more expensive than kibble? You bet. Is it worth every penny? No doubt. I won't deny that not every family can afford to feed a raw diet. But every family should consider a raw diet and see if they can swing the cost. I'm going to be incredibly unhelpful here and tell you I have no idea how much I spend each month on pet food. It's a lot. But feeding our kids the healthiest diet possible is a big priority for Jim and I, and we're willing to make budget cuts in other places in order to keep our kids in fresh meat. I feel so good about feeding raw, I'll always find a way to make it work.

The biggest obstacle you'll reach is probably your veterinarian, unless you're blessed to have someone like Dr. Becker. I'll save the drama for another post, but I'll just make this statement: vet school nutrition classes are taught by the commercial pet food brand manufacturers. A bias there, perhaps? Do your research, follow your gut instinct, and sometimes you just have to do your own thing. I actually had an oncologist basically tell us we would kill Indiana by putting her on the raw diet. Hrmph. Shows how much she knows.

So I've talked a bit about common raw food concerns. You're probably still wondering--if it's so controversial, what makes it so great? Aha. Here's where it gets good. The benefits of a raw food diet include, but are certainly not limited to:

• weight control (Indiana is at her ideal weight for the first time EVER!)
• decrease in allergies (many pets are allergic to grains)
• immune boosting (fresh, chemical-free ingredients--it's ideal!)
• improved joint function
• clear skin and shiny coat

Take those benefits and multiply them by 1000, which will then tell you how awesome the raw diet is. I seriously understate it.

It's important to mention that kibbles aren't the best diet for a pet. They're processed--highly processed. I could blabber on forever about this (and I will later, trust me), but Dr. Becker puts it best, I think:

"To think we could sustain life on a 100% processed diet is conceivable, but to thrive…it’s not possible. Much like trying to sustain your kids on Ensure© liquid beverage; it’s 100% nutritionally complete but if that’s all kids were fed generation after generation, overall health would deteriorate. All life requires living foods for health. Can you and your pets survive on canned/boxed foods? Sure. Can you or you pets thrive on canned/boxed foods? No. It’s that simple."

Over the next week or so, I'll be sharing more about my pets' diets with you. I make a homemade diet (vet-approved), so I'll share pictures of our process. I ask you to follow me with an open mind, and I encourage you to do your own research. There's a lot of information out there, both pro and con, and I suggest you read both. I'll talk about diet a lot over the course of this blog, as diet is the fundamental building block of health. I also happen to be pretty obsessed with the topic!

I'll leave you with a few great websites about food:

• Dr. Karen Becker, DVM, NMD of Natural Pet Animal Hospital
• Primal Pet Foods, makers of my favorite raw foods
• DogFoodAnalyis.com. Find out how your pet's kibble rates
• The Dog Food Project. Anything and everything about diet

Life After Cancer

Last week I shared with you the story of how Indiana was diagnosed with cancer. Today I want to talk about what happened after.

The first month or so after Indiana got sick was an emotional rollercoaster. We were thrilled that Indiana had survived her surgery, but we still had the cancer to deal with. My poor dog had been through so much and looked like a patchwork dog.

My poor dog is missing hair all over,

including her beautiful mane of neck

hair. Her legs are all shaved too. I think

her eyes tell a story of what she went through

as well. Those are not my Indiana's eyes.

The only real problem we had with Indiana was nighttime incontinence for several weeks following surgery. Indiana sleeps in bed with us, and every night she would wet the bed. There's a lot of urine in a 90-pound dog. (Though at this point, she weighed closer to 80 pounds, having lost nearly 10 pounds in the 5 days in the hospital.) We started setting our alarm clock for 1 or 2 in the morning, and taking Indiana out to go to the bathroom. Our vet explained that the urinating was probably as a result of too much cortisol in her body--that's the body's stress hormone. Her body had been through such a shock that it was producing too much cortisol and that in turn was making her have to go to the bathroom a lot. In time, probably 2-3 weeks, the problem went away, and Indiana was fine. It was yet another sign though of what hell she had been through.

We returned to the U of I two weeks after Indy's surgery, at which time we were out of the woods, surgery-wise. Yay! We had found out in the previous weeks that Indiana's cancer was called leiomyosarcoma, a cancer of the smooth tissues. The oncologist told us that if you have to get cancer, it's one of the best ones to get, as it grows very slowly and can be cured. The surgeon had achieved clean margins with Indiana's tumor, but we still couldn't be 100% sure that there were no microscopic cancer cells floating around elsewhere in her body. The oncologist's recommendation was 4 rounds of chemotherapy. We knew that if the cancer ever came back, and we hadn't done any type of treatment, we would never forgive ourselves. We knew the chemo came with some risks, but the doctors would be very careful, and we had to give her a final chance to beat this cancer.

Prior to Indiana's first chemo treatment, the doctors ran an echocardiogram on her heart, to make sure it was strong enough to handle the chemo drugs (doxorubicin--which can be cardiotoxic). Imagine my shock when the oncologist came back and told us they had found a mass in her right atrium. My stomach dropped, and I just felt ill. My Mom was with me at the time, and I just remember crying once they took Indiana back for her chemo. How, after all we had been through, could there be something else?

The doctor explained to me that because the mass was on the inside wall of her heart--where all of the "electronics" are located--that a biopsy would be very dangerous and even life-threatening. Because the treatment for a heart mass (most likely hemangiosarcoma) would be the same as the treatment for her stomach cancer, we easily made the decision not to biopsy.

The doctors couldn't be sure what the mass was. Maybe it was cancer (again, most likely hemangiosarcoma, one of the worst cancers out there) or maybe it was a blood clot (which could dislodge and kill her instantly) or maybe it was something else entirely different. We wouldn't ever know. Though my heart was broken once again, I actually felt bad for our oncologist, who seemed not to want to share this news with us. He was so kind about it though.

Heart mass or not, Indiana's heart was strong enough for chemo, so we started that day. The first round gave her some nausea and diarrhea (which is scary after you've seen your dog nearly die after vomiting and pooing blood before), but after dose two, we learned to administer drugs to her proactively, to prevent the upset. She sailed through the rest of her treatments with no problems! I even joked that perhaps the vet tech forgot to give her any drugs, because she didn't act any differently.

Indiana received four doses of doxorubicin, each 21 days apart. After the fourth dose, our oncologist said he felt comfortable ending there--six is the max a dog can have anyway.

After the chemo was over, we did another echocardiogram, and the mass was still unchanged. We weren't sure if it was because the chemo was keeping the mass from growing, or because the mass wasn't responding. This was pretty disappointing. We wanted with all our hearts to find the mass gone. Why wasn't it responding to one of the most powerful chemo drugs out there?

After we found Indiana's heart mass, I was so frightened. Everything with the stomach mass had happened so quickly, that I didn't have time to really process it all. We just dealt with it. But now with this new problem, I was out of my mind. I needed to do everything to help her. Out of desperation, I decided to turn to holistics, to complement the traditional treatments we were doing. Our vets directed us to the most wonderful vet in the world, Dr. Karen Becker of Natural Pet Animal Hospital. You'll be hearing more about her later, because she is my hero. I'll have a whole post dedicated to Dr. Becker.

Dr. Becker was amazing, really easing our minds about the heart mass. She was sure it wasn't cancer. She set us up with all kinds of immune supplements and helped set up a diet transition to raw food (more about that too--I'm a HUGE fan of raw diets.) I left the visit with her, having hope for the first time in a long time.

After chemo was finished, life was able to start to return back to normal. At least our new normal. No more vet visits every three weeks--no visit for three months! We did have one scary episode, where Indiana started to waver and shake. We thought for sure the mass was a clot and had dislodged. She bounced back quickly from it though, so we're not sure what caused the episode.

Gradually, life slowed down again. The vet visits got farther and farther apart, and Indiana continued to thrive. To this day, the heart mass remains unchanged. We still don't know what it is. Indiana has developed a heart arrhythmia, possibly as a long-term side effect of the doxorubicin or just because she's 11 years old. Our oncology visits went from every three months to every six. The echocardiogram is now being done once a year. Indiana still takes a lot of pills, and we still see a lot of vets, but we're thrilled that she's still alive!

This experience has certainly changed our lives, and much of my time is dedicated to Indiana and our other pets. Feeding rituals are much more complicated now, we visit the physical therapist once a week, and I practically live at the local natural pet food store and Dr. Becker's office. I wouldn't trade an ounce of it though, because Indiana is still alive and well. I even forget about the cancer sometimes.

There is so much that I've learned, and so much that I am still learning. Indiana has taught me so much, and I am eternally grateful to her. Good things needed to come from her experience. Jim and I formed The Great Good Heart Animal Cancer Foundation, to help educate others about animal cancer. We learned the hard way, but others don't have to. I'm excited to share with you all that I've learned and to bring to you new and exciting ideas for you and your pets.