Hi Carol,
I am sorry I haven't kept in touch. Work has been horrible this fall. Bailey settled in terrifically. He is so sweet and I love him dearly. He even greets me every morning with great enthusiasm wagging his goofy back end! He loves walks and will rub his face into me to show me how happy he is. I feel bad because I figured out his original owners never played with him -- he doesn't know how to play! He eats tennis balls (well peels them first, then eats them). He has made himself quite at home here and he and Kabuki get along great. Kabuki has got stepped on a couple of times so he usually takes a bit of a wide berth when walking past Bailey but then comes in for a secret sniff -- quite funny to watch.
I needed to let you know, though, that Bailey is in trouble. He started excessively drinking and urinating in the last week and when I took him into the vet (Robert Galloway in Richmond), he suspects that it is kidney failure. We are sending the urine in for testing, so I will know for sure on Monday.
The more worrisome issue though was that he lost 25 lbs in the last 3 months and he is guarding his abdomen. The vet palpated a splenic tumour, just like my dog that passed in June. That explains the weight loss. The tumour would be a hemangiosarcoma, which, as you know, has a hopeless survival rate. The vet feels that he wouldn't even pull through surgery if we removed it, especially if his kidneys are shutting down. The tumour type is so agressive, it will probably have already metastisized. I am going to keep him comfortable and let him know how loved he is but the vet estimates that he will leave us within a month.
I am so devistated, Carol. I love him so much. I am so sorry to have to let you know what has happened to my dear old boy. You did your best for him as have I. I will continue to do so, until he isn't he isn't having fun anymore. He doesn't give me any signs that he is in pain. He has always been quite mellow, so the doctor feels that as long as he isn't overexerting himself he shouldn't be in pain.
im so sorry michelle. but youve given bailey the best possible ending...a happy one. thank you for keeping us in the loop.