July 4th marked one month since Bailey was diagnosed, and the 8th was one month post amputation. After the initial shock and grief of the situation, we quickly focused on the business of doing everything we can for Bailey, both from a treatment perspective and quality of life standpoint. She made amazing progress after surgery and we have yet to see any side effects from the chemotherapy.
I get home before Lauren most days. Before all of this, Bailey and I would walk to the train station in the evening to wait for her to arrive and walk home together. I thought we wouldn’t be doing this together for many years. However with Bailey’s energy and quick adaptability we’ve made quick progress toward getting back to it. At first it was just walking through the house and waiting on the front porch for Lauren to arrive, Bailey would run to get her as soon as she came into sight. Her progress continued quickly, walking first to the corner, then a bit further, and now most of the way to the station. We sit down, and she smiles at me wagging her tail and constantly checking for Lauren to come into sight, at which time she will sprint toward her wagging uncontrollably and welcome Lauren home with plenty of licks. It is a moment I quietly observe with great pride, it last all of a minute, a beautiful interaction between human and canine. Tying back to my previous post, it is these small moments that make me the happiest.
For the July 4th weekend we traveled to my family’s cabin in the Sierra’s. Along with us humans Bailey had her half-sister Scout and cousins Lily and Bandit to hang out with. Even with one front leg she still wrestles and plays like nothing is wrong. On Saturday we took them all up to the nearby lake so they could play in the water. Lauren and I arrived first and Bailey easily hopped down the short path and upon seeing the water bounded over fallen trees right into the lake. We quickly grabbed a stick and started tossing it into the shallow part of the lake, no problem for Super Bailey. The other dogs eventually arrived and for the next hour they romped in the water chasing sticks and wrestling around. Perhaps taking after her father, she didn’t go so far as to scare us, but just far enough to swim and enjoy the lake. Everyone in attendance was in both silently and vocally in awe of what they were witnessing. Proud hardly begins to explain our feelings.
One word of note and caution. Bailey was very sore the next morning in her sole front shoulder. We all went to take a short walk, and while we know Bailey can’t go as far as the other pups, we quickly realized she should hardly be walking anywhere (especially downhill). While momentarily heartbreaking for us all, we quickly scooped Bailey up and drove down to flat ground and met the rest of the crew for a small section of the walk, a happy compromise.
A couple post scripts, one fun and one not so fun:
- I began writing this before Bailey’s second round of chemo (carboplatin). While she showed zero side effects from the first round, last night (about 12 hours post injection) she woke up and vomited. She seemed better this morning, a little lethargic, but hoping to not need to put her on any anti-nausea drugs.
- We are in the process of finalizing some details on a road trip to Oregon to visit our friends and their pup who Bailey has always wanted to meet. Bailey and our favorite thing to do is take the camper and travel, so we are really excited, details and stories to come!