Monday, August 1, 2011 - One year

Today, it has been one year since I found all the horrible drainage coming from Hardee's nose that drove us to the vets and the dreaded diagnosis the following week.  It has been a trying year for us, but a blessed year also.  We still have our boy so we are happy, and his quality of life is good.

Hardee is still doing great.  We stopped chemo over a month ago, and he continues to thrive but we can't see what is going on inside his nose with the damn tumor.  Hardee continues to sneeze often, mostly triggered by his movement, but the reverse sneezing is almost nonexistent right now.  His nasal drainage is copious, but we are attempting to control it with daily antibiotics.  We haven't had hardly any blood since we stopped all the trauma that Hardee would go through getting chemo.  His eyes still water because of the damn tumor blocking the tear ducts and he gets lots of eye boogies, but I try and keep his eyes cleared of all the excess debris numerous times a day.  Hardee gets nose boogies also that I have to clear out of the way so he can breathe.  His hair is growing back and he looks wonderful!

We aren't doing agility for 2 months during the hottest part of the summer.  Hardee doesn't seem to regulate his temps as well as before the cancer, so all he is doing this summer is swimming and his water work.  He LOVES the lake and working in the water.  He goes absolutely nuts if I even mention the lake, and he loves the back of the boat.  Hardee's orange bumper is his favorite thing, and I have to keep it hidden or he barks his fool head off for me to throw it.  We don't use his orange bumper for his courier level water work, so last week we ended his water training session by throwing his orange bumper off the back of the boat and letting him jump for it over and over.  He was in heaven!

Keep the hope with us that Hardee's tumor doesn't grow rapidly.  We'd love to have our boy with us for much longer.  Also, keep your fingers and paws crossed that all goes well with Hardee's water trials this summer.  We've had limited time to train for his courier level, but Hardee is a quick study and I think he can do it. 

Every extra quality moment that we have with Hardee is a blessing.  A friend lost her precious boy dog last week to nasal cancer, and I grieve for them.  Rest well beautiful Snoopy.  I know the same scenario is in the near future for Hardee, but I can barely stand to think about it.  We will continue to do everything in our power to give Hardee the quality of life he deserves for as long as we can.  As usual, it is all about joy and all about Hardee.  Keep the faith with us, please.