Good for another year

And I got some swag to boot!

Survivor

it was one year ago today that i finished my last of 16 radiation treatments.  to say my humans are ecstatic today is putting it mildly.  we can't thank all our friends & family enough for all the wonderful support we've gotten over the last year.  we know we are lucky & we are so grateful for it.  here's to beating the odds!

Matchy Matchy

Mom searched for a long time but finally found bling for Baxter to match mine & Butterz (aka Matrix). They haven't made these for years so she was thrilled to find him one

12

12 years! Yeah that's right! Mom likes to say I'm. Running on an expired warranty. She's right  but I'm also a classic. Anyone who knows me knows my story over the past year. It's been quite  a journey & a lot of wonderful friends have been there with us.  As usual I've exceeded expectations & plan to keep doing just that! So thanks to everyone who has been here with us & our hearts go out to all that have gone before us.

Looking for #13......

Morning Selfie

1 year

It was one year ago this weekend that my humans noticed there was something not quite right.  It's been a long hard year but worth every penny & every minute.  Mom says we don't kid ourselves; we made it further than some & we certainly know what it is like to only have one option.  And mom says that even though we know we are operating on an expired warranty, we are grateful for every day & every second we have!

Toof Fairy

Look what mom found on the floor. Guess who's gettin rich tonight

Summertime

And the livin' is easy

Exhausted

Another hard day at the salt mines

Tuff day at the office

Swag

A big thank you to our twitter friends Sammy & Penny @SammyTheBoxer for the #pawsome new leash & collar for my #FurDay. And wags for all our twitter friends who remembered & wished me well on Wednesday

Juliet

Meet Juliet the beagle. Mom got to groom her today. Her family came in at the last minute and asked if she would be willing to groom a beagle. Mom said sure. As she was grooming Juliet the family told her the dog has been stolen from them over a year ago. Taklen right out of their yard. She finally turned up in Chicago just recently where they were able to reunite with her and take her back home.

That's what mom calls job satisfaction.

New Student

Baxter is taking class with mom

Happy Furday

Happy furday big guy! 5 years old & 3 with us.

Feel The Burn

Getting in my morning workout

Happy 4th!

hope everyone is celebrating with their time-honored traditions just like us!

Paws and Relax

Going Away

A little going away gift for mom on her last day in IT

Happy pa's day -Part 2

Pa's 2nd paw day gift

Morning glory

Happy Pa's day!

Look what we bought pa!

Happy Baxter

Bailey

Another happy customer at moms new job!

A Dogs Life

It definitely is!

My Day is Done

Morning walk & breakfast. I say that just about covers it!

Repose

Charming

A new piece of bling for Cookie

and i neglected to remember that May is Pet Cancer Awareness Month & mom bought this for me from Crazy Rebels where they are donating 50% of their proceeds to PetCancerAwareness.org.  so if you have $10 (US) to spare, please honor either your pet or someone you know with this tag & help others out!

contrast

amazing to think that Cookie used to be this same color back in the day!

Bathroom break

Deep thinker

Perfect Spot

sunshine

soakin' it up boxer style!

Gabby Rocks!

this is our fur-cousin Gabby!  she lives down in Florida (where our mom came from).  and she LOVES a good rock!

Test Drive

here is paw testing out our boxer lift
we are next!

Sun-day

Excuse Me While I Powder My Nose

Testing123

well somebody has to make sure the boxerlift platform is the right size!

under cover

Shavasana

Uplifting

waaaaay back last year when i was going through my radiation treatments, paw said he was gonna build me a stair lift to make getting up & down the stairs easier for me.  well, things get a little sidetracked around here, but he got back on that project this weekend.  Phase1 is now complete & we have a working lift going!
mom says Phase2 is the platform itself & minor tweaks.  we want the platform to have a walk-through on the side so the humans can be in constant, easy contact we me (or Baxter) to make everything more comfy on the ride down or up.

Good News

well, i had my 2nd follow-up appointment with Dr Looper & the staff at VCA yesterday.  the news couldn't have been any better!  according to Dr Looper, i'm doing great!  she was so impressed with how good i looked!  i passed my Neuro test (just some physical checks) & my chest xray was clear.  i have 2 more weeks on my thyroid medication & then we'll see if that will need to be permanent or if my thyroid & red blood cell count levels have come up any.

more importantly, i'm doing fantastic & mom & paw could not be happier!  thanks to everyone that kept me in their paw prayers & all the support they gave my humans!

Hide and Seek

they will never find me here!

Health Update

mom is such a slacker.  she hasn't posted any type of health update on me in some time.  well, i guess i will have to do all the work here.  paw was talking to a hockey team friend this weekend & they just lost their furbaby to meningioma & it reminded me that i need to let you all know how i'm doing.

well let's see.

• you may remember i was diagnosed with my brain tumor back in October.  and if you didn't know, Boxers have the 2nd highest incident of cancer of any breed and Brain cancer is our thing.  so as sad as that might sound, it is our lot in life, so we have to accept that!  can you tell what mom has been learning?
• i started my 16 radiation treatments the next week.  those ended Nov 6 - remember my hoomans made all those cookies for the VCA staff!
• mom took me back for my first follow-up appointment on Dec 4.  i now go every 3 months & my next one is Feb 7.
• i've been at work doing my Therapy Dog thing this whole time.  i don't go every Friday cuz mom babies me & she says Baxter needs to improve his work ethic!
• oh, and my hair is staring to come back on the top of my head!  guess i will have to cancel the order for a toupe'

overall i have been doing very well!  after all that radiation & prednizone, i had to be careful about my eating & drinking habits.  the doctor said prednizone makes me "think" i am hungry & thirsty so i would want to eat & drink more.  "think" my boxers!  I WAS HUNGRY! I AM ALWAYS HUNGRY! but mom kept me on a high fiber diet & didn't give in too much on the food.  of course any extra eating & drinking made me have to go to the bathroom more.  my humans came up with a way to help me out so i would not do business in the house (for my benefit not theirs).  i had a few accidents in the house, but i am a well-trained girl & it was nothing to bad.  this was where it was nice to have unseasonably warm weather!
so i had to do a series of follow-up appointments with my local vet to check my liver enzymes cuz the prednizone affects the liver.  those levels have come down so fast everyone has been amazed.  however, i have put on a little weight!  but nothing too much to worry about.  i'm a seasoned girl so i get to do that!
just in case, we tested my thyroid & it is low, so i'm now taking a pill twice a day for that.  my humans & the vet are not too worried, but we want to keep it all under control.  also, my red blood cell count has been a little low, but we are also not too concerned about that since i have plenty of energy & not showing any physical signs that are concerning.
it's been a long long journey & we know there are no guarantees, but that hockey friend losing his furbaby without having the options i have reminded my humans how lucky we really are.

you do all you can and that is all you can do!