Dante needs some help... - Page 1

Please.. send positive thoughts, healing energy, and prayers…

 

Many of you know of my wonderful Dante.. the best dog I have ever owned or will ever own..  in my 30+ years in dogs.. he is my  4^th generation homebred..

Some of you have had the opportunity to meet him..  such a special animal.. temperament of gold, clear-headed..goes EVERYWHERE with me..has been all over the country…..

He has been an amazing miracle dog.. from the very beginning….

 

At the end of this summer.. very subtley ..  I noticed ..he seemed to lose condition..muscle, but not really weight..

I  recently retired him from Schutzhund, and introduced him to barn hunt class. Dante took to this sport very well, amazed everybody there and in August/September he finished his RATN title (novice level) in the ribbons!

 

After each session he seemed fine, but a bit winded.. and still losing condition, although he would bounce right back after some rest.

This past week, he started looking very “heavy” around his belly, and on Wednesday, he turned away raw meat at breakfast, and barely ate anything during the day.. I took him in to the closest ER and was told  he had likely ruptured his spleen and was bleeding internally from it.

 

The past 3 days have been a mad blur of frantic phone calls to vets/surgeons and specialists, trying to coordinate an ultrasound and diagnoses.. and decide WHAT TO DO…

Yesterday, he had emergency surgery to remove his bleeding spleen. He has made it through the night, and is stable. I will be heading across town to visit with him soon..

PLEASE send any warm healing energy to us here in Colorado.. prayers for Dante to heal and recover..  and any recommendations on things to help him stay well in the coming months…

 

Financially, I am scrounging..  I took every single bit of money I had to get the clinic to even agree to DO the surgery.. I will no doubt need more to get him out and home.. 

A few people suggested setting up a gofund page for Dante.. something I have never been in such a position to need..  I will do anything to save this special animal…  Any advice on how to do that.. I feel so inadequate right now.. 

 

His prognosis is good, they say, although they are concerned that this might be a sarcoma that will eventually spread.

This was all so sudden..  only very tiny subtle changes..almost imperceptible to most.. that ANYTHING might even be wrong..

Ironically, he was scheduled for his senior wellness check up this coming week.. but I am told that would not necessarily have shown the growths on his spleen. Only the ultrasound done Thursday gave any inkling of what was going on inside of him.

 

I am off shortly to visit him and see how he is doing..  Please think of us today and this coming week.. and if you can help at all in any way, please do.

I will be figuring out some things to sell quickly to get some funds by this week.. there will no doubt be more bills ahead.

Here are some of my favorite photos of him, in his many travels around the country..  from WUSV, to on-location work trips, to visiting dog friends in other states.. 

Thank you for anything, even reading this and sending healing thoughts.

Denese

Let me be your Angel! I am praying for his healthy recovery.
I can help. PM me.
I love Dante and only want the best for him! He is the soul of what people want in a GSD, and incredibly beautiful, too!

So sorry to hear this, wish I'd seen this even sooner, so you would know you have help!

Bee

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Just visited Dante at the ICU...he is quite wobbly, but off of the heart monitor, which is good... will try to post pics from this phone....he noticed the loose "kitty" and perked up...

 

Bee, you are an angel... I will PM soon as I get home... 

I think I figured out a go fund page..will try to paste the link..

 

https://www.gofundme.com/2s8xjn8

All the best from me - fingers crossed!

So sorry to hear this, Denese. I guess you got positive encouragement that it has not yet spread? I'm sure they checked and heart and liver, etc. are clear still? I really hope this ends here with his spleen, for both your sakes.

I'll check out the link and share. Hang in there.

I shared this on FB...seems to be getting some more attention and it's at nearly $1,000...not bad for only 8 donors :)

 

Dante recovered very well in the ICU, and they let me take him home Sunday.
He is very happy to be home..  its been a bit exhausting at night.. trying to keep him in one place and make sure he doesnt bother the staples.. 
Today we got him a KONG cloud..so he can't lick the incision.. much better than the annoying cone of shame, (which he hates.)

He is eating well, the swelling and bruising is down on his belly. The pain meds seem to run out before the time.. thats the hardest part of night (that and keeping him from jumping off the bed)...Here are a few pics from the past two days.. thank you to everyone who can help, keep the healing energy coming, prayers, etc..

 

Jenni, they did do an extensive ultrasound before surgery..  and sent the spleen/mass in to be biopsied.. waiting on results. There are some nodules on his liver.. nothing in the lungs or heart, or on his skin. I am hoping for benign, but will still do everything possibly to stall and delay any spread.. The liver is a blood filter, and his seems to be doing its job...  Dante is a pretty healthy otherwise dog, and has a lot going for him...  but I am looking into alternate things for him in the worst case that it is hemangiosarcoma. 

 

Resting after meds

 

 

  

waiting for breakfast

"kong cloud" so much better than evil plastic cone...  (cannot get pics to be straight...)

Dante looks much happier being home. Thanks for the updates! I hope and pray for a benign result! I shared on FB, too.

Hang in there! Stay positive! 💗❤️💜💖

I know you're on the ball medically, but in times of stress we sometimes forget things that would be obvious at other times. Having 2 cancer patients myself currently, curcumin is something I've been researching lately and if I were to be forced to add just one thing to a diet, I think that would be it. Best wishes for a benign result. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Simon goes in the 17th to remove a mast cell tumor from his thigh. Last one was on his shoulder.

Oh no! Poor Simon. Sending get well thoughts for him, too! What a bummer to hear his cancer returned. 🙁🤕

Hugs to Dante and Simon!💞💝