Dylan and Kali

Dylan's Story

June 10, 2002- I've struggled with whether to write about this or not, mostly because it is hard for me to even think about, but I thought it might do some good and give others who might be facing this some hope. In August, 2001, we were told that our beloved and seemingly perfectly healthy six year old Golden Retriever, Dylan, had Lymphosarcoma. It is a cancer of the lymphatic system, and if left untreated, we were told, he would live for maybe 6 weeks...

We were stunned! Our whole family! We all cried together. I got on the Internet and started researching lymphoma and I sat here with tears streaming down my face...it all seemed so hopeless. It was terminal and the best we could hope for with treatment, very expensive and toxic chemotherapy, was maybe a year...

What should we do? We all agreed that we couldn't bear the thought of losing him in six weeks...it was too sudden. Cost was never an issue...this was Dylan. But how do you subject your totally trusting and devoted dog to the ordeal of chemotherapy when you can't really explain to him that you are trying to help?

We made the decision to go ahead with the treatment from our local veterinarian and at first, our worst fears were realized. The chemo almost killed him. After his first treatment, he couldn't hold food down and he didn't eat for 10 days. He was going to die of starvation if the cancer didn't kill him first. In a panic, we found an oncologist in West Los Angeles and we took Dylan, barely able to walk, to her. She immediately hospitalized him and as we left, we thought we'd never see him again.

Well, we did...She called us the next day with news that he was improving. They had pumped fluids and medicine into him all night and he was even showing an interest in food. We were ecstatic! In 4 days he was back home with us. She had saved his life.

That was 10 months ago and Dylan is lying here next to the computer desk (his favorite spot in the world) as happy as he can be. He has finished a 26 week course of treatment. Our oncology vet tailored a chemotherapy regimen for him with meds that would protect his stomach. After that initial disaster, he actually tolerated the chemo quite well. The worst that happened was his coat thinned a little bit. He's in remission, not cured. There is no cure...but he's here and for now, he's feeling great. And we appreciate every single day that we have him here!

We brought little Kali into our lives last October and she has done wonders for Dylan and is helping us to prepare, just a little, for his eventual loss. They truly are the best of buds and she has made Dylan feel like a puppy all over again! Well, there...I got it out.