Blanton's Country Affaire, "Cody"

This girl gave me sound bodies, health, intelligence, a tremendous spirit and superb temperament - traits which live on in her children and grandchildren.

Cody was OFA excellent, elbows normal, thyroid and TgAA normal through age 5. She was echoed in March of 2006 (age 8) and her heart was in great shape. She was spayed at age 5 after having 2 litters; one by BISS Ch Equus Diamonds Are Forever, CGC and another by Am/Can Ch Rockingdanes Nvr A Dull Moment. After her spay, I found a mammary mass, which was removed and found to be benign. Other than that and a bout with kennel cough, she was never sick a day in her life.

On March 22, 2006, Cody suddenly yelped in pain and was lame in her right front leg. On March 23rd, she went to the vet and was xrayed. The vet suspected osteosarcoma, but said it was so early in the development of the disease, she could not be 100% certain. A week later, the films were reviewed by a board certified radiologist. He reported that he suspected osteosarcoma, but wanted to see another set of xrays in 10 days. At this point, Cody was on Rimadyl and needed additional pain medications, so she was given Tramadol as well. This did not seem to help for the first few days, so my vet prescribed Amantadine, which is a human drug prescribed for Parkinsons Disease. Amantadine has the effect of "potentizing" the effects of the pain medications. I don not know how well it works because I never filled the prescription. The pain medications she had been on finally were keeping her comfortable, so I did not want to change anything.

The next set of xrays was done and the radiologist confirmed osteosarcoma and I was referred to an Oncologist. During this time, I had done due diligence on researching this disease and had joined two email groups, bonecancerdogs and caninebonecancer, on yahoogroups. These folks were amazingly supportive which was wonderful. The file section on both these lists proved to be a goldmine of information on various treatment protocols, drugs, case studies, etc. By the time I got Cody to the oncologist, I had already decided that for her, radiation was the best treatment. After talking with the oncologist about the various options, he was recommending that as a course of treatment for her as well.

From my research prior to the first oncology visit, I had put Cody on a "cancer-starving" diet, which consisted of raw meaty chicken & beef parts ground with bone into a puree, mixed with about 1/2 cup of minced fresh veggies and a variety of supplements. The list of supplements, what they contained and the dosages she was getting can be seen on the link below.

Cody had 6 radiation treatments over the period of April 24 through May12. She showed improvement after the first treatment and continued to improve with each treatment. The radiation takes about 2 or 3 weeks to continue to work after the treatment is done and at week 3, I had a playful, happy, puppy-like 8 year old running around the yard. She had recheck appointments on May 12 & June 14 and was doing great.

The week of the 4th of July, Cody seemed to lose a little bit of her exhuberance. She was not painful or off her food, but she was just a bit less enthusiastic. I found the glands in her neck were quite swollen and hard and scheduled her for an oncology appointment on July 11. My regular oncologist was abroad on vacation and Cody saw his resident. They aspirated the glands and did not find any abnormal cells. Her other labwork was unremarkable, so they put her on a dose of doxycycline thinking that she may have a tick borne or other infection. I did not think this was the case or the cause of the swollen glands, but since doxycycline is one of the drugs given to dogs with osteosarcoma, I did not think it could hurt.

Cody continued to decline in spirit and started being picky about her food for the first time in her life. She had another recheck scheduled for July 31, when the oncologist was back from vacation. On the evening of July 23rd, Cody appeared "puffy" in the abdomen and I thought she might be in bloat. I watched her walk around the yard and after a few minutes she seemed fine, but I thought then that this was going to be the thing that made the decision for me. The next morning I gave her breakfast and fed all the other dogs. When I went in to see if I could coax her to eat, she had bloated, thrown up all the froth and slime and was laying in it. I knew it was time.

A Dane Breeder and Veterinarian friend came to the house and Cody went peacefully to sleep with all the people she loved around her. She's resting in a lovely spot under a eucalyptus grove with calla lillies, vines and geraniums, next to her sister Heidi, her mom Kayla, and the rest of her family.

Cody was the epitome of temperament and grace. I'll never get over losing her.