I decided to not do the chemo, or the steroids. I am all for quality of life with my pets, and I think it will be easier for Lilly to not see her struggle too much. Right now she is just very tired and spends most of the day snuggled up in her crate with the door open. She isn't eating her normal food, however, she is scarfing down eggs and some moist dog food so that is good.
Lilly and I will need your prayers in the upcoming weeks. I am planning on telling her tonight about Dottie going to heaven soon, so I'm hoping her little heart can comprehend it. I hate to even mention it right now, but we do have a new baby puppy waiting for us at my parents. We wanted a quick replacement, and this way my parents will do a lot of the training of our new little miss. I do believe it is good to replace your pet quickly and I think a sweet little puppy will lift everyones spirits. Lilly does not know yet....shhhh....However, we did not get another Scottie. There's only one for me and that's Miss Dottie.
I got Dottie as a present a few days after Valentine's Day 2006. What a sweet baby she was! We lived in Addison and I used to drive all the way home from Uptown at lunch just to snuggle with my baby. She was so homesick when we got her, she would cry constantly. However, she quickly settled in as the baby girl in the house and was the happiest dog.
My all-time favorite.
She was the best dog, and the very best big sister to Lilly. She was like another little mommy when Lilly was a baby and now she sleeps with her every night. We will cherish these upcoming weeks with our sweet Dottie Suzanne.
Please keep an eye on your dogs and these lymph nodes. Her vet said that Scotties, Golden Retrievers, and Boxers are the most susceptible. As far as signs go, there were few. Dottie has struggled with some anxiety, not severe, but some, and she tends to lay around a lot. She was doing that recently a little more and that's about it. Two weeks ago we visited my parents and she was her normal, peppy self. She was even quite the escape artist...digging under my parents fence to go chase the geese at the pond. She had the time of her life that weekend, so this is all very hard to grasp. Just a piece of advice, when you pet your pups, make sure you feel around their necks and throats daily for anything strange. Scottie's are very muscular little dogs and pretty stocky, and when I felt the lumps I assumed it was muscle. Love your babies every day, they love you more than ever.
