Jack - An Ultimate Survivor
Jack found his forever home on December 11, 2000. He was a young adult between 1 – 3 years old, but we’re not sure exactly how old he was at the time. He’d been dumped in the northern Nevada desert to fend for himself. A coworker saw him for several days and thought he was a local ranch dog, until she realized
he was in the same spot each day for about a week waiting for someone to come
for him. She turned down a dirt road and
he chased after her – when she stopped, he jumped into her truck. She would have kept him, but her dog had
other ideas. She called Linda the next
morning on the way to work, and he came home that day. He’d been attacked by coyotes and had puncture wounds around his head and neck. He was starving and the vet thought he would have only lasted another couple of days.
Jack had a charmed life since the day he came home with us. He had no bad habits… didn't dig, chew, or destroy anything. If left home alone, about the only thing he'd do was nest on our bed.
By October 2009 we think he was 11 or 12 years old and based on his build, personality, and mannerisms our best guess makes him a Lab/Herder (Border collie or Aussie) cross. He weighed about 68 pounds.
Jack had a charmed life since the day he came home with us. He had no bad habits… didn't dig, chew, or destroy anything. If left home alone, about the only thing he'd do was nest on our bed.
By October 2009 we think he was 11 or 12 years old and based on his build, personality, and mannerisms our best guess makes him a Lab/Herder (Border collie or Aussie) cross. He weighed about 68 pounds.
Jack’s Diagnosis
Jack actually had two terminal illnesses. In the summer of 2008, we found out he had heart disease (enlarged heart, arrhythmia, murmur, etc.). His veterinary cardiologist, Dr. Stacy Hosking in Reno, kept a close eye on it. A re-check in February 2009 showed everything was stable. By July 2009, he had to go on heart medication.
The heart meds worked well and he soon felt much better. When he started to loose energy in September ’09, we thought his arthritis was bothering him (we knew he had some arthritis in his lower spine). He seemed achy when he laid down and he didn’t want to walk much. Jack started acupuncture treatments with Dr. Hope Rinehimer at Sierra Vet Hospital with great results. But after a couple of weeks, he was losing steam at a fast rate. He was also coughing a lot and acting like there was something in his throat.
We asked Dr. Rinehimer to check out his throat during one of his acupuncture sessions. When she felt his neck, he yelped. Uh-oh.
Through all that thick fur we found lymph nodes about the size of grapes. An aspirate was done and came back as Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Who knew heart disease was the least of our worries?
Our first thought was that with his heart condition, chemotherapy was out of the question. Consultation with Dr. Hosking indicated that chemo might be possible if we’re careful which drugs we use. Jack’s specific heart issues didn’t rule out chemo.
We got his diagnosis on Sunday, October 11, 2009, and by Monday afternoon, Jack was at UC Davis Vet School (3 hours away) for a consultation with Dr. Robert Rebhun (oncologist). Dr. Rebhun consulted with Dr. Hosking and a protocol was established that they felt would be best for Jack, IF we decided to proceed with chemo.
That was not an easy decision.
Jack actually had two terminal illnesses. In the summer of 2008, we found out he had heart disease (enlarged heart, arrhythmia, murmur, etc.). His veterinary cardiologist, Dr. Stacy Hosking in Reno, kept a close eye on it. A re-check in February 2009 showed everything was stable. By July 2009, he had to go on heart medication.
The heart meds worked well and he soon felt much better. When he started to loose energy in September ’09, we thought his arthritis was bothering him (we knew he had some arthritis in his lower spine). He seemed achy when he laid down and he didn’t want to walk much. Jack started acupuncture treatments with Dr. Hope Rinehimer at Sierra Vet Hospital with great results. But after a couple of weeks, he was losing steam at a fast rate. He was also coughing a lot and acting like there was something in his throat.
We asked Dr. Rinehimer to check out his throat during one of his acupuncture sessions. When she felt his neck, he yelped. Uh-oh.
Through all that thick fur we found lymph nodes about the size of grapes. An aspirate was done and came back as Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Who knew heart disease was the least of our worries?
Our first thought was that with his heart condition, chemotherapy was out of the question. Consultation with Dr. Hosking indicated that chemo might be possible if we’re careful which drugs we use. Jack’s specific heart issues didn’t rule out chemo.
We got his diagnosis on Sunday, October 11, 2009, and by Monday afternoon, Jack was at UC Davis Vet School (3 hours away) for a consultation with Dr. Robert Rebhun (oncologist). Dr. Rebhun consulted with Dr. Hosking and a protocol was established that they felt would be best for Jack, IF we decided to proceed with chemo.
That was not an easy decision.
Was chemo the best treatment for Jack?
We were given two treatment options for Jack. First was an aggressive chemo protocol using 4 drugs, with a different drug given each week for up to 12 weeks (then every-other week for another 12 weeks). This is usually referred to as the Wisconsin Protocol. The trick is to pick the right 4 drugs for the dog’s condition. That’s where having an oncologist on the team is so important. For example, with Jack’s heart condition, one of the drugs commonly used is not advised, so another drug has to be used in its place.
The second option was to put Jack on prednisone alone to make him feel better, but this option would not significantly prolong his life. With no treatment, he would live about 4-6 weeks. On prednisone he’d have 1 or 2 months.
There was a third option mentioned, which was chemotherapy using only one drug, but it’s the drug Jack can’t have so this wasn’t an option for us.
A fourth option that we considered was a holistic approach with herbs and low-dose prednisone. This was tempting, but there were no statistics to indicate how successful it might be.
We soon learned that deciding which option you pick for your dog is an incredibly difficult and personal decision. Not all cancers are alike… not all lymphomas are alike… not all dogs are alike… and certainly not all dog owners are alike. This is NOT a one-size fits-all decision.
A couple of years ago, Linda ordered a book called Help Your Dog Fight Cancer, by Laurie Kaplan. It’s been sitting on the shelf but quickly came out upon Jack’s diagnosis. We strongly recommend this book. It helped us understand our options and what to expect in the days and months ahead.
One of the main things we learned is that you have to make a decision and make it soon. Lymphoma (or any other cancer) won’t wait. As you stall and think about it, hope things will get better on their own, and cry your eyes out at the diagnosis you’ve just been handed…cancer marches along. It doesn’t wait for you to be in a better frame of mind.
Throughout the day after our visit to UC Davis, we changed our minds several times about the best treatment for Jack. Linda talked to everyone she could think of (some of them twice), and asked all of her dog-owner friends “So, if this was your dog… what would you do?”
In the end we decided to give chemo a try. If he didn’t tolerate the treatment well, or his heart began to fail, we could stop the treatments immediately. However, if we did not try chemo, we couldn’t change our minds later and turn back the clock. At least with chemo we had a chance and we had a back-up plan (holistic approach or prednisone alone). Plus, we knew the sooner we started the treatment, the better Jack’s chances would be.
One person Linda talked to (Judy at the Starbucks drive-thru, of all places) put it in perspective. Her dog had cancer and there was nothing she could do. At least we had a chance at treatment. She also said if we didn’t take that chance, we would always wonder if chemo would have worked and may regret it if we don’t try. Above all else, maintaining Jack’s quality of life was our primary concern.
John felt that if 80 percent of dogs don’t have serious side-effects, and if Jack’s cardiologist thought his heart could handle it, we had to give it a chance. We decided that the focus of Jack’s life would remain on LIFE! He was living with lymphoma and we celebrated every day that he was with us.
Just because we chose chemo for Jack doesn’t mean that’s the best choice for everyone. Whatever you decide is best for you and your dog, that’s the right decision for you. In our experience, the key is to make an informed decision and move forward.
As for Jack, his chemo protocol was set by Dr. Rebhun and was carried out primarily here at home with his regular vet Dr. Cynthia Schneider at Sierra Vet Hospital. Dr. Schneider (affectionately known as Schneidy) has been Jack’s vet for 8 years. She did 3 treatments a month, with the 4th treatment in Davis with Dr. Rebhun. Jack had his first chemotherapy treatment on October 21, 2009, and his last treatment was April 7, 2010. He came out of remission mid-October 2010 and died November 14, 2010.
Looking back it is now clear to us that chemo was the right thing for Jack. It gave him another quality year of life and he was happy, interested and engaged right up to the end. If faced with the same situation today, we would do it all again without hesitation.
We were given two treatment options for Jack. First was an aggressive chemo protocol using 4 drugs, with a different drug given each week for up to 12 weeks (then every-other week for another 12 weeks). This is usually referred to as the Wisconsin Protocol. The trick is to pick the right 4 drugs for the dog’s condition. That’s where having an oncologist on the team is so important. For example, with Jack’s heart condition, one of the drugs commonly used is not advised, so another drug has to be used in its place.
The second option was to put Jack on prednisone alone to make him feel better, but this option would not significantly prolong his life. With no treatment, he would live about 4-6 weeks. On prednisone he’d have 1 or 2 months.
There was a third option mentioned, which was chemotherapy using only one drug, but it’s the drug Jack can’t have so this wasn’t an option for us.
A fourth option that we considered was a holistic approach with herbs and low-dose prednisone. This was tempting, but there were no statistics to indicate how successful it might be.
We soon learned that deciding which option you pick for your dog is an incredibly difficult and personal decision. Not all cancers are alike… not all lymphomas are alike… not all dogs are alike… and certainly not all dog owners are alike. This is NOT a one-size fits-all decision.
A couple of years ago, Linda ordered a book called Help Your Dog Fight Cancer, by Laurie Kaplan. It’s been sitting on the shelf but quickly came out upon Jack’s diagnosis. We strongly recommend this book. It helped us understand our options and what to expect in the days and months ahead.
One of the main things we learned is that you have to make a decision and make it soon. Lymphoma (or any other cancer) won’t wait. As you stall and think about it, hope things will get better on their own, and cry your eyes out at the diagnosis you’ve just been handed…cancer marches along. It doesn’t wait for you to be in a better frame of mind.
Throughout the day after our visit to UC Davis, we changed our minds several times about the best treatment for Jack. Linda talked to everyone she could think of (some of them twice), and asked all of her dog-owner friends “So, if this was your dog… what would you do?”
In the end we decided to give chemo a try. If he didn’t tolerate the treatment well, or his heart began to fail, we could stop the treatments immediately. However, if we did not try chemo, we couldn’t change our minds later and turn back the clock. At least with chemo we had a chance and we had a back-up plan (holistic approach or prednisone alone). Plus, we knew the sooner we started the treatment, the better Jack’s chances would be.
One person Linda talked to (Judy at the Starbucks drive-thru, of all places) put it in perspective. Her dog had cancer and there was nothing she could do. At least we had a chance at treatment. She also said if we didn’t take that chance, we would always wonder if chemo would have worked and may regret it if we don’t try. Above all else, maintaining Jack’s quality of life was our primary concern.
John felt that if 80 percent of dogs don’t have serious side-effects, and if Jack’s cardiologist thought his heart could handle it, we had to give it a chance. We decided that the focus of Jack’s life would remain on LIFE! He was living with lymphoma and we celebrated every day that he was with us.
Just because we chose chemo for Jack doesn’t mean that’s the best choice for everyone. Whatever you decide is best for you and your dog, that’s the right decision for you. In our experience, the key is to make an informed decision and move forward.
As for Jack, his chemo protocol was set by Dr. Rebhun and was carried out primarily here at home with his regular vet Dr. Cynthia Schneider at Sierra Vet Hospital. Dr. Schneider (affectionately known as Schneidy) has been Jack’s vet for 8 years. She did 3 treatments a month, with the 4th treatment in Davis with Dr. Rebhun. Jack had his first chemotherapy treatment on October 21, 2009, and his last treatment was April 7, 2010. He came out of remission mid-October 2010 and died November 14, 2010.
Looking back it is now clear to us that chemo was the right thing for Jack. It gave him another quality year of life and he was happy, interested and engaged right up to the end. If faced with the same situation today, we would do it all again without hesitation.
Along Came Jenny
Jack was always a very dog-friendly guy. Dogs, people, little kids… everyone was Jack’s friend. Okay, maybe not cats or squirrels...
A few years after Jack arrived we decided he needed a buddy. We found an awesome animal rescue, High Sierra Animal Rescue (HSAR), in Portola, California (near Reno). (http://www.highsierraanimalrescue.org/)
Jenny, a Border collie, was on the website in the summer of 2004. She came from the Susanville, CA animal shelter and was rescued by HSAR. Apparently Jenny lived with an elderly lady who suddenly went into a nursing home and Jenny was left at Animal Control. HSAR picked her up and took her into their rescue program. She was their guest for 6 weeks until we found her.
We have no idea what her name was or anything about her history. All we know is that she was the perfect buddy for Jack. She watched him carefully, sniffed him thoroughly, and let us know if anything was amiss. We think Jenny is about 14 years old now (2015).
A few years after Jack arrived we decided he needed a buddy. We found an awesome animal rescue, High Sierra Animal Rescue (HSAR), in Portola, California (near Reno). (http://www.highsierraanimalrescue.org/)
Jenny, a Border collie, was on the website in the summer of 2004. She came from the Susanville, CA animal shelter and was rescued by HSAR. Apparently Jenny lived with an elderly lady who suddenly went into a nursing home and Jenny was left at Animal Control. HSAR picked her up and took her into their rescue program. She was their guest for 6 weeks until we found her.
We have no idea what her name was or anything about her history. All we know is that she was the perfect buddy for Jack. She watched him carefully, sniffed him thoroughly, and let us know if anything was amiss. We think Jenny is about 14 years old now (2015).