Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 - Finally home but going again

We are finally home after being on the road for 1.5 weeks.  Hardee held up fantastically well, and I was very pleased with him.  He got one double qualifying leg with his Dad in agility and lots of points.  We had a good appointment with the new oncologist and started some new therapies.  Then Hardee went to Long beach with his Mom where he competed in rally and obedience for 3 days.  HH got his 7th, 8th and 9th double qualifying legs towards his Rally Advanced Excellent title.  Just one more double qualifying leg to go!  He qualified only one day in Open A obedience towards his Companion Dog Excellent title (CDX), but I was still pleased.  He was too tired to hold his long sit at the end of the week, which kept disqualifying us, but I was still pleased.  We need to qualify 2 more times for his CDX title.

When we got home last night, we started on the metronomic therapy drug that was compounded for Hardee at the pharmacy in AZ.  Cyclophosphamide is a molecular therapy and is a form of chemo (chemotherapeutic medication) that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body.  I have to handle it with gloves, so it scares me to be giving it to my boy.  Also, Hardee started on Peroxicam this morning which is in the NSAID class of drugs, but is being used as a supplementary drug in the treatment of his cancer.  Peroxicam has been found to enhance the body's own ability to destroy cancer cells.  There are side effects to both, so I have to watch him carefully.

Hardee's bleeding from his nose has slowed down markedly.  We only got in trouble on Thursday from a judge in the obedience ring for the bleeding.  Hardee sneezed his way through the rally and obedience rings all days, and I had to stop and wait for him while he went through numerous sneezes during our floor exercises.  Hardee's nose still drains, but it is just blood tinged fluid now, instead of being total blood.  Hardee also is losing his hair from chemo.  His coat is thinner, but not anything that anyone else would really notice just yet, but he is a Portuguese shedding dog. 

We leave Wed. night again for SoCal.  Thursday, HH gets chemo again.  This time he will get Carboplatin which should be easier on him than the last chemo.  Friday, we compete in rally and obedience again, then head home Friday night late.  Jim and Hardee have a local agility trial Sat & Sun here in Vegas.  The schedule is too busy, and we'll just have to wait and see what HH feels up to doing.  He's a hardy boy and is built to withstand (his registered name), but he'll let me know.  I don't know what the new IV chemo will do to him, especially in conjunction with the chemo pills we started at home last night.  Our paws are crossed here that he weathers this chemo storm well.

Until then, it is all about joy and all about Hardee!!