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Post Info TOPIC: Leo / Chemo
max


Enlightened One

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RE: Leo / Chemo
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Glad to hear that Leo is proving everyone wrong and just keeps fighting. Hope you are OK too and I know you will remain strong for him. All the very best. Nora

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Leolurcher


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Thanks again for your positive thoughts for Leo.I do believe that people rooting for him has a healing effect. 

A bit of info that may be useful to anyone else that finds themselves caring for a dog on chemo. Leo after a while refused to eat food out of his metal feeding bowl. Having nursed humans in the past that were undergoing chemo I thought nothing of this as I know that some forms of chemo can give people a nasty metallic taste in their mouths and so I swapped to  feeding Leo from a china plate or when he was very low I fed him by hand. My vet didn't say anything about dogs maybe having a metallic taste in their mouths from chemo but Leo did refuse to go near food in a metal bowl as if the food  was poison and so it is a possiblity that a metal bowl might be a problem.

JFI.....Leo's vet's bill last year....approx £2,650 and my vet did all he could to keep the bill as low as poss. Thankfully Leo's insurance paid us back £2,500 which we have now set aside to help pay for any future treatment that he may need for lympho.

Love to all
Eleanorxxxxx

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Leolurcher


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RE: Leo / Chemo/Rainbow bridge
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Leo was pts this morning. A candle lit beside my PC for him.

Leo became very ill last Tuesday and by Thurday night began to make it clear that he was possibly only taking fluids and baby food day and night through a syringe to please me.When I seemed slow to pick up the signals yesterday he went awol in the garden and I found him curled up in a little ball in the mud and cold under our rhododendron bush. I spent the rest of the day and all of the night dragging Leo out from under that bush every time that he wanted out into the garden which seemed to be every five minutes.

It seemed to Leo's choice ..to let the cold and damp give him eternal peace? went against my vet's seeming to think that maybe we could pull him through using a multitude of drugs etc.

Leo?...not a particularly easy dog to live with  due to his independent mind.Looking back I would sum him up as a dog that cared little for mutual love and affection in a relationship with an owner instead he went in for mutual respect. Guessing that that is how he was I had no option but to respect what seemed to be his wishes .... to go in peace now against my vet's optimism for the future( er..or my best pal's cynicism that the big vet groups have a bit of an eye on the money to be made from needlessly striving to keep alive etc)

My dear Leo.... I am gutted over losing him but I am comforted in that no matter how naughty he could be I couldn't get angry with him as I admit that I have been with other dogs in the past and I gave him every chance of living a normal life span but things didn't work out as I would have wanted.


I would like to write that Flash is grieving over his "best pal" but he isn't. Run on the beach this afternoon then a  bone to chew in front of the fire and he is now settled in his dog bed at my feet.Flash...bit of an airhead....not a deep thinker....on dog IQ he would probably rate a zero but as far as the answer to a quest for "happiness" is concerned? Scruffy mutt as he is Flash seems to have some kind of  eternal happiness gene. I could bottle that and I would make a fortune.

Love to all
Eleanorxxxxxxxx



-- Edited by Leolurcher at 21:44, 2007-02-17

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weeewelamb


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RE: Leo / Chemo
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So sorry Eleanor.  Leo fought a long, hard battle and you did your best for him.  My thoughts are with you.

Julie

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Gail


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Eleanor it is just so difficult to find the right words to say how sorry i am for your loss. Leo fought long and hard and it sounds like he knew the battle was over for him. You have given him so much care and love and your strength through it all has been amazing and i'm sure he knew just how you felt about him.

rest in peace and run free from pain brave boy.

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Siouxsie


Enlightened One

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I am so sorry to hear this news. My thoughts are with you.

Rainbow Bridge has another angel running free.

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Siouxsie
Amanda


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So sorry. It sounds as though he knew it was his time. Sleep tight Leo x

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Katie


Master

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Our thoughts are with you at this time, Leo sounds like he was a fantastic dog to have around, and you must have so many fantastic memories of him.
Rest easy brave Leo. x

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Santas Little Helper


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Sounds like Leo had made his mind up - Thinking of you at this sad time.
Sleep tight brave solider.

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Valerie


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Eleanor, I am so sorry for your loss.  Leo sounds such a wonderful character, and you gave him the love, respect and space to allow him to be himself, as well as the wonderful care and nursing to give him his extra time - there is no greater gift you could have given him.  He is free now.

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JENNY


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Oh Elanor I'm so sorry.  He seems to have made the decision for you and you can be happy in respecting his wishes.  Love to you all. 

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Isla


Enlightened One

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I am so sorry to hear of your loss. 

It's a hard decision to take when a much loved pet is ill but it sounds as though Leo forced your hand.  He'd made his choice and you had to respect that.  What a brave wee dog and I'm sure his bravery helped you through a very difficult time. 

Sleep peacefully brave boy. 

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Teresa


Enlightened One

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Eleanor, well done for everything you did for Leo, including acceding to his final wishes and affording him his dignity at the end, as you did in his life.
Our thoughts are with you at this very sad time, xxxxxxxxx

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Jennifer


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Sorry to hear of your loss. Thinking of you as i know how hard it must have been to let him go. Take comfort in knowing he's pain free now and in peace.
Take care x

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max


Enlightened One

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Eleanor I am so sorry to hear off Leo,s passing. I know he battled hard to stay with you but in the end you gave him the dignity to go as he saw fit. God bless your brave boy, our thoughts are with you at this difficult time. Leo is now free from pain and running at Rainbow Bridge.  Norax

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niccimac


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So sorry to hear of your sad loss, its a hard, hard decision, I know, but braver by far to let go than to hold on when he had decided it was time. I found my vets words comforting, 'the cost of loving them is letting them go',
My thoughts are with you,
best wishes,
Fiona

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FAJ


Enlightened One

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I'm so sorry to hear about Leo.  You've been as brave at the end as your boy was throughout his treatment.  Here's to the beautiful memories that you've created together.

Fiona

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tootsmazza


Enlightened One

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Eleanor, I'm so sorry for your loss. Having followed Leo's story I know you did everything you could to help him. You are in my thoughts.
Marie

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Leolurcher


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Thanks everyone for your kind replies,

Hope to be able to meet you all at some GAL events in the future. Leo was a wonderful dog in many many ways but he was more of a dog that enjoyed running free in wide open spaces than being on a lead and expected to behave himself in civilised company.Always on the go, interested in everything..nothing like Flash who would sleep 24 hours a day if given the chance.
Love to all
Eleanorxxxxx

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Dave


Enlightened One

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Hi Eleanor, so sorry to hear about Leo, your thread here which is almost a year old now is a fitting tribute to such a wonderful dog..

take care
Dave

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yvonne


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Eleanor, I'm so sorry to hear about Leo. I've just managed to get back onto the forum after some problems and when i read you post my heart just sank.

Its so difficult saying goodbye, and as people have posted, it sounds like he knew it was his time. He has been so brave and strong over the last year.
My heart goes out to you for your loss.

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Leolurcher


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Thanks everyone for your support throughout Leo's chemo and your kind thoughts on his passing. 
He is sadly missed but such was his huge personality that when I walk with Flash I truly feel that Leo is still with us.
A big thanks to Debbie and Andrew that not only gave me heaps of support by pms but Andrew got me back online tonight as I haven't been able to access the GAL forum for days. Thanks Andrew....you are brilliant.

Love to all
Eleanorxxxxxx

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Calatria


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I've been following Leo's story and I'm so sorry to hear he's gone.  Thinking about you, Eleanor.  It looks like you made the right decision, you knew him better than anyone else.

As for Flash, sometimes Nature's kind that way in letting some animals not grieve too deeply.  I'm sure he's helping you through this in his own way.

-- Edited by Calatria at 22:08, 2007-02-23

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Leolurcher


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Thanks "Calatria",

Flash is a great comfort. He might appear to be a bit of an airhead of a dog but he seems to have a grasp of......the past is dead.....the future doesn't exist.....live in the now. Flip how many people have made fortunes writing books about that kind of thing?

Love
Eleanorxxxxxx


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greyluvver


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Sorry to hear about Leo's passing. He sounded like quite a character.   The strength shown by him and yourself is to be admired.  Its good to know that you've received support and sympathy from GAL fellows.  I'm sure Flash will give you comfort in his own way.  Will certainly be good to see you and Flash at some GAL events.


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emma


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Eleanor,
           I am so sorry to hear that Leo has finally gone to lay under a Rhody bush in rainbows bridge. I know you did everything possible for him he really couldn't have had a better owner.After reading of your great fight I sometimes doubted my own decisions over my two cancer sufferers.Like Leo Charlie told me he had had enough and I just knew. To have got any more disabled would have been too much for him to bear. He really was such a strong character full of wisdom and dignity. Tiger would have undergone anything else the vet threw at him and still wagged occasionally to the end. I think with us it was  -us who could not take the painful cries as he moved about to go outside.

I think you just know when they have had enough and it sounds like Leo true to form was going to get his message over if he had to keep showing you over and over again! You have to admire his spirit and I just know what you mean about a mutual respect.Charlie and I had that kind of relationship and you knew he would always want to be dignified at all times but Tiger was a very loving dog and quite simple to understand he just did not have this kind of depth to him.Not that I loved either more or less.

I am pleased that Flash is his normal self I know you don't really want him to suffer, as you have in your grief for Leo. It would just make you feel a little better!

I hope you are ok and I am sorry that I seem to have had no time lately to keep in touch but yours was the first dog I wanted to read about, so you know I am absent but not forgetting about you and Leo!

I will light a belated candle and send love to you and Flash from me and the rest of my family -especially Chad. Who got over Tigers passing a little too quickly for me!
Em xxx

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Leolurcher


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emma wrote:
 I think with us it was  -us who could not take the painful cries as he moved about to go outside.

I know how you feel Em. It was just towards  the end that Leo seemed to go downhill very very rapidly and have any pain and yes I have wondered if maybe I was a bit quick to  give into what seemed like Leo's desire to die wondering if he just felt a bit lousey at the time and would get over it and that I wasn't strong enough to handle watching him suffer any pain.

However I made it plain to the vet a year ago that I was willing to try chemo but the minute that Leo seemed to get distressed by treatment or started to appear to have pain.... we would go no further.

It is a bit different if a dog has to go through some pain whilst getting treatment for an accident or post op from some life saving surgery etc.....but when you know that for a particular dog a return to good health has strayed into the realms of the miraculous? I don't think the dog should be allowed to suffer pain just on the off chance that it might manage to miserably crawl on a bit longer on borrowed time. I think that when that stage is reached one has to balance "caring" with what could be verging on cruelty.

Love to all
Eleanorxxxxxx

-- Edited by Leolurcher at 16:41, 2007-02-26

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BOWGANG


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Eleanor

I have just caught up with poor Leos passing. I am so sorry to hear the news but you have truly shown him how much you loved him by letting him go and not letting him suffer anymore.

Run free in rainbow bridge Leo.

Love Shirley and he gang xxx

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Leolurcher


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Thanks Shirley,

Thanks everyone for all your support throughout Leo's illness and for all your kind and thoughtful  posts that have helped to keep me sane after his death.
I have been so scared that when it was eventually time to let Leo go that my head would turn inside out and I would fall apart with grief but that would have been terribly unfair to Flash. Family and friends would have understood but wee Flash would just have been confused.

I can't smother you all in  grateful hugs and kisses and so I will just stick a cheque in the post for the kennel fund tomorrow. In memory of Leo but also in appreciation of how you all kept us in your thoughts.

Dave? Siouxsie? could I request that this thread is locked now? I don't know why but after reading Shirley's post I  felt a wave of great warmth and peace come over me as if everyones good vibes had joined into one big powerful .. 
well sort of like a big warm duvet surrounding me and Flash and Leo is with us too. It is a good place to end or to put it another way....a good way to end. This might seem very weird but any of you into NLP (neuro linguistic programming) will recognise that by going no further it will be easier for me to use this end  feeling of warmth and peace as an "Anchor" if I start to go down.

Love
Eleanorxxxxxx

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