The Roller Coaster of Life

Kipp is doing well. He's happy, wanting to play

Except for the 2 days this week were he was vomiting and lethargic. Ugh. I was worried. And crying. But apparently it was just chemo side effects because he snapped out of it back into his hungry, happy self.

It's hard because I *know* what healthy looks like for my dogs. And when they're sick, I worry. So even though I *know* he has terminal cancer and is on drugs that can make him feel a bit lousy, I get worried when he's not himself. Because, well, what if this is the end? Ugh. Stupid cancer doesn't play by any rules and I have to adjust to this new "norm" of things not being normal from here on out.

But the good news is that overall he's doing really well. And he's happy.

And he was quite insistent during our frisbee game a few days ago :D

Keeping Kipp happy

 Switch gears to this today. For however long he's ready to live, then I'll work on keeping him comfortable and happy.

Canine lymphoma is often pretty treatable, but not the type he has. That made my decision easier but the reality of it harder.

He's now on prednisone and some oral chemo drugs. Simple palliative care.

I read the drug inserts today before giving him the meds and I for a few minute I was like "What am I putting in my dog?!?" But when it's the only option with a decent chance of giving him some more good days then, well, you do it.

And the prednisone has kicked in. And how. He's started eating again (yay!) and wanted to be a gung-ho sheepdog tonight. And telling him to back off from the sheep I was standing there thinking "jeepers - the drugs and cancer won't do him in, he's just going to self destruct with this prednisone induced bravado".  And that thought kinda made me smile as it reminded me a much younger version of Kipp. A youngster who was ready to take on the world without thinking. The dog that I had to get in his face at times and say "dude - what are you thinking? knock it off!" And he'd back off,  unfazed and with a "oh, did I do something?" look on his face.

Happy thoughts like that are good right now.