October 2007

              We adopted Peanut on July 5^th 2007. We had been looking for a dog to adopt and I knew I wanted a Husky. However, our apartment complex does not allow dogs over 35lbs. Right before I found Free Spirit I had resolved to myself that I wouldn’t ever find a husky that meets this requirement. But, lucky for me, Peanut popped up on a web search one night and I knew I had to have her!

              When we first met her, she was a little indifferent to our presence, but even by the end of our short visit at the shelter she started to come around. She even barked at us when we looked over as we left. When she arrived at our house she acclimated fairly well. She was up on the couch and bed the very first night as if she owned the place (which she practically does).

The day after she arrived I was petting her and noticed a large lump in her neck. As any one would do, I immediately made an appointment with a vet and got it checked out. The doctor felt around and decided that it was an enlarged lymph node, possibly caused by her mouth and teeth; she needed her teeth to be cleaned. When I asked how much that would be, he said up to $650.00! I was a little taken aback by this and called Karen for help. We arranged to have Peanut’s teeth cleaned with Lake Geneva, and they did it for a much reduced cost. However, as a gracious gift from the shelter, Peanut’s teeth cleaning was paid for! And I still want to say Thanks for that!

But, as most of you know, the story didn’t end there. Her enlarged lymph node was biopsied and sent out for pathology. When the results came back, all signs pointed to lymphoma. We were then recommended to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary hospital here in Madison. Upon our arrival there they did many tests and had many theories as to what it could be, was it really cancer or was it something else? We decided that getting biopsies of her gums, nose and lymph node were necessary. In fact, her entire lymph node was removed. I bet that was a tough day for her, but she recovered well from surgery.

The results of the many tests confirmed that it was lymphoma, but unfortunately it was a rare form; cutaneous lymphoma. This form attacks mucinous surfaces like gums, nose, and eyes. Of the kinds of cancers to have, this is not one of the better ones, but we will try our best and persevere to the end to make Peanut’s life the happiest and painless that it can be. Our options for treatment included radiation therapy or chemotherapy. As we can’t afford the radiation therapy, we started chemo about a month an a half ago. We have 5 doses total (1 dose every 3 weeks), and we have two more to go. She has tolerated it very well so far, and we are seeing a partial response; her lymph nodes have reduced in size, but her gums, nose and eyes are still inflamed. Peanut however doesn’t know this, and is as happy as she can be! We may not be able to treat for a cure, but we will do and hope for the best.

Peanut is an amazing dog and I have no idea how she stayed at the shelter for so long! Her personality is great and she has no bad behaviors. We go for lots of walks every day, sometimes we run when she is feeling “really” good, but it is wonderful to see her happy. Peanut also enjoys sleeping in our bed (under the covers sometimes) and going for rides for coffee in the morning (starbucks should start making a doggy-drink!). I think she is about as anthropomorphic as they come, I wouldn’t trade her for the world!

Thank you again to all who helped in our adoption process and for showing concern about our situation, it really means a lot!