Chemo Update

Yesterday Montana had her last chemo appointment. We were thrilled that all of her tests came back with good news. So far, it looks like the chemo kept the cancer at bay! She will get rechecked again in 3 months:-)

An end of summer update

My aunt Peggy sent me a note that reminded me that I needed to update Monty's blog...it's been forever! So many good things have happened this summer and Montana continues to do well and just be a "dog". She had her 5th chemo yesterday and it didn't even phase her. She wanted to go to the barn last night and run around out there so all was good. We've taken her to the Sonoma Coast and up to Donner Lake this summer and both trips were a ton of fun. She had an especially good time at Donner where she could play off leash with other dogs-chasing sticks and swimming. At our campsite at Donner we had what Torsten calls "a chipmunk Taj Mahal." Basically there were a bunch of chipmunks and they all lived in this rotten tree stump. Once Monty discovered them, she didn't leave that tree stump! She'll be staying with Torsten's parents next week since we'll be horse camping in Pt. Reyes and they don't allow dogs. After that, we both go back to work, so she'll have to re-adjust, but she will.

A late night post:-)

Well, Montana is continuing to do well. She had her third chemo treatment last Thursday and so she's now halfway through her chemo. They did a chest x-ray and her lungs are still clear, so we're thrilled of course! She continues to do everything she previously did on four legs: play, run and of course sleep:-). She's a happy girl, so we're happy. We've planned three camping trips for this summer out on the coast where it should be cooler. That's the big thing we notice, the heat just zaps her. We're looking forward to both having some time off this summer and hanging out a bit:-). I thought I'd attach a few random pictures.

Just a quick check in...

Not a lot new to report right now, but I thought I'd make a post anyway. It rained all weekend so we were all kind of home-bodies which wasn't a bad thing since the Kentucky Derby was on! Montana has been continuing to do the same. She is definitely a happy dog and that's all we can ask for. Torsten has bought her a slew of toys this week and has been helping her destroy them as well. They certainly don't last too long! We were going to head to Novato this weekend for our first Region 1 gymkhana, but they changed it to a rating show instead of a points show, so plans are on hold for a few weeks. Anyways, time to get off the computer and home to Miss Montana who has been alone all day:-)

I'm a bad mom!

So I have been really bad about updating Monty's blog lately! This past week has been crazy at school with my Academy hosting a huge Ag Day for over 100 4th graders. I'm beat! Everything since the last post has been good. Monty handled her second round of chemo pretty good. She lost her appetite until about Saturday and then it picked up again. My friend Pam suggested that we try peppermint since it's an appetite stimulant and so we'll give that a try next time around.

On Saturday, I took Montana with me down to Manteca for a gymkhana. She had a good time, but boy she knocked over her water bucket about a million times while she was tied up! I finally found a lower bowl for her to use and that helped a lot. She never was too good tied up, but now with her hopping motion it's definitely more difficult!

On Sunday, Montana was tired from all the activity the day before, but she still wanted to head out with me in the morning. Unfortunately for her, I was going on a trail ride with some riding buddies so she had to stay home. She hung out with Torsten and recuperated though:-).

On Tuesday, Montana had a busy day. First she visited Dr. Gabby and had her blood checked. Everything looks good on that front. Unfortunately Dr. Gabby is leaving VCA so Montana will have a new oncologist. Dr. Gabby is having a baby and then she and her husband are moving. I hate to switch doctors in the middle of all of this, but we're happy for Dr. Gabby. She's been a great vet and we're so grateful for all her help during this difficult time.

After visiting Dr. Gabby, Montana had a check up with Dr. Stevens and Dr. Beebe. She did have some soreness in her back again (not so much that she was in pain normally, but she reacted during her exam and treatment). She had another round of immuno-accupuncture, which we want to keep doing through her chemo. Monty is scheduled to go back in a month and we'll almost be ready for summer by then!

After all of the craziness of the diagnosis, surgery and post-op complications, we're definitely back in the swing of things again. We've officially past the 8 week mark of her surgery and things are going pretty smoothly again. Torsten and I are looking forward to summer break and spending a bunch of time with Montana. We unfortunately did plan one camping trip where dogs aren't allowed (Pt. Reyes), but she's lucky to always have her grandparents willing to take her in.

2nd Chemo down!

Monty had her second round of chemo yesterday. It all went really well, but she does seem to have lost her appetite a bit. This happened the first time around, so it just might be how it is, but we'll monitor it. Other than that, she's doing really well. She seems to have a harder time in the heat, which is to be expected. I'm planning on going to a gymkhana in Manteca on Saturday, so Monty will get to come and I'm sure that will be fun. I still need to add some more pictures from the Cancer Walk and will do that when I have a bit more time:-)

The weekend was fun!

Yesterday morning, I drove Montana down to the big park and then we went for nice walk. There was no way she could walk down to the park and then enjoy a walk in the park, so that's why there was driving involved. She ran and ran and ran. It's hard to tell just how far she's going to be able to go, so when you turn around to go back, there are usually several rest breaks. After her walk, we went to Waggers to buy more food and some more treats. She got to visit with some dogs and with the sweet ladies who run the shop. She definitely enjoyed her outing. Tomorrow, she goes back for *hopefully* her second round of chemo. They'll check her blook counts first and if they look good, she'll have a treatment. At the Cancer Walk on Saturday there were several lecturers and one of them explained that since the dogs don't have the choice whether or not to take chemo, they, as vets, are extra careful to not make them sick. If Monty had gotten her chemo last week, she would have been sick, so that's why we have to wait until Tuesday.

On a good note, I received several fun pictures from Saturday's walk from Seanne (mine were mostly dark from being in the shade) so I'll post those later on since they're on my laptop at home. Also, I've discovered if you mix Monty's pills in with her food, she will actually eat them (as long as it's sprinkled with cheese!). That makes it a lot easier since she's getting so many vitamins and supplements right now.

Tripawd Party!

Today Monty had a Tripawd party with Cemil, an Anatolian Shepherd. We met Cemil's mom Mary, and another Tripawd pal Seanne and her family this morning at the K9K Walk to Cure Canine Cancer down in Elk Grove. Seanne just lost her Tripawd Wrigley a few weeks ago, but she brought Rookie and her new puppy Willow as well as her husband and daughter. Torsten missed the fun because he was working. Monty and I didn't actually do the walk, but she did play in the grass and romp around a bit with the other dogs. This was her first big outing with other dogs since her surgery. After the others did the walk, there were guest speakers who talked about cancer in dos and the need to find a cure for it. They had a great turn out, probably between 80 and 100 dogs out there. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to doing it again next year. Monty was zonked when we got home from all the excitement!

A bit to catch up on...

This week has been incredibly busy so I haven't updated in a bit! Monty has had a good week including getting to go to Santa Rosa for a visit. Torsten took her today for her second chemo treatment, but her blood work came back bad so she's going to go in on Tuesday. The vets assured us that it's nothing to worry about, that's why they do blood work during chemo treatment so they don't give her a treatment if her body isn't ready. She also is three weeks from her first treatment tomorrow, so they said that it could be back to normal by the weekend, but they don't do treatments on the weekend. We also added a supplement to her diet called DHA. It's pretty much Omega-3s, that Dr. Stramm said is proving to be very effective for dogs with cancer. The only down side to it is that the pills I bought her are 200 mg and she needs 1000mgs so she's getting quite a few pills each day! That's probably about it for now:-)

A busy Saturday

Today, Monty somehow knew I was going to go watch a barrel race. Dacquiri isn't in good enough shape to run yet, but there was a race in Sacramento, so I wanted to go and watch. Since Monty knew this, she wanted to come with me. So off to Sac Horsemen's we went. She had fun seeing all the horses and standing near the gate so she could bark at them as they took off. Several people were curious about what happened to her, including this one girl, who couldn't have been older than 6. She came up to me and asked "Excuse me, do you know how her leg fell off?" It was very cute. We also stopped by the barn to check on the horses, but she had to stay in the truck. She was tired from all the excitement so she didn't get a walk tonight. After getting home, she shared the front room with Melvin for a nap.

"She makes Torsten look good"

The title from today's post is a quote from Nola. We loaded up tonight and Monty got to visit one of her favorite people and all her friends at agility class. Monty actually did some of the training obstacles and was very confident. She was able to do a small jump, a walk-it, a teeter, the tunnel and the sit table. The weave poles were a bit challenging, but she never did like the weave poles, so it's no biggie. She was so happy to be out there, it was very obvious! As you can see in the tunnel picture, she is able to get around really quickly!





Before taking her to see Nola, we took her for a walk to the park. She was sporting her new red Ruff Wear harness and had a lot of fun. She was running all over, so we were resting with her on the grass when she decided to play with Torsten. One of Monty's cool "tricks" is that she can play very aggressively and then when you tell her "okay," she turns it off immediately. She loves to wrestle and jump around and is always excited by her leash!

I forgot to post yesterday, but Monty saw Dr. Stramm and Dr. Stevens. Both thought she looked really good and she's going to go back in 3 weeks. Dr. Stramm did a little acupuncture on her back and also did this treatment on her immunity points. To do this, she withdrew blood and then injected her blood back into those points. It was weird! She explained that her immune system would "attack" the injected blood, but since it was her own, it wouldn't cause any harm, just give her immune system a good jolt. I'm probably not explaining that quite right, but it was pretty interesting. Dr. Stramm had just attended a conference on Bone Cancer in dogs and told me that there were really good results with giving them high levels of fish oil. We already have her on 1000 mg of fish oil but are going to up it to 2000 mg.

I think that's all to report for today. I did want to include a couple of current pictures of her incision site. It's all healed up and her fur is growing back nicely. Most likely, there won't be a lot to report for tomorrow as Montana will probably be wiped out from all of today's activities. She'll probably fight Melvin for her pillow all day!

Monday:-)

Monty had a good weekend. She had a quick visit from Ute and Olov on Saturday, a walk and two car trips. She was all worn out! She hung out with Torsten most of the day yesterday. They watched Nascar, a Giants game and golf! Today I'm home with her, but I'm going to be heading out to the barn in a bit, so she'll have to stay home. She's out cold on her pillow right now, so I don't think she'll be too lonely. Tomorrow she gets to go and get another accupuncture and chiro treatment at 11. Ahhh...a day at the spa, so rough!

Tests are good:-)

Monty had her CBC yesterday and everything looks good! They only problem we're having lately is that Melvin has been stealing her pillow upstairs. Poor Monty is too nice to kick him off and they aren't friendly enough to share, so she's been on the floor. Every time we catch Melvin on her bed we put him up on ours, but he's been persistent! It's weird how the cats like to steal her space every once in awhile. It seems to happen in phases. Well, I'm glad that's the only "bad" news to report, as everything else is going GREAT!

Not much new is happening...which is good!

Montana and I have been hanging out the last two days since Torsten has been at work. She's had a walk each day and even came out to the barn with me last night. She's eating good but becoming a master at spitting out her pills! She gets a CBC tomorrow to make sure all is good from her chemo last week. She's still moving around great and wanting to do things which is awesome. Nothing else much to report at this point. I'll update tomorrow after her test results come back:-)

Visit to Santa Rosa

Today Monty had a busy day. She and Torsten went down to Santa Rosa to visit Ute and Olov. They took some cute pictures to share. Monty enjoyed showing off how well she gets around and of course, enjoyed lounging in the sunshine in their yard. Monty is still able to do her "footsaline" (sorry for butchering that German word Ute!), which is the trick she does to shake her paw after hearing the German word. Yes, Monty is tri-lingual...English, German and dog! When they got back to Sacramento, Monty got a walk...down to the park and around and then back home. She's eating good and taking all her medicine. We're enjoying her good days!

A Windy Sunday

Today would have been as nice a day as yesterday was, but the wind was blowing like crazy! Monty came out to the barn with me (her first ride in the truck) and we took her for a walk to the park. She is getting along really really good as you can see in the pictures! She ate her breakfast all up this morning too, so it looks as though she's going to handle the chemo just fine. Today we are adding Flax Seed Oil and Fish Oil to her diet, both of which have a lot of natural benefits. Tomorrow Monty gets to go down to Santa Rosa to visit her "grandparents!" She LOVES to go down there and gets spoiled every time:-). I know she'll be excited to show off how well she's getting around on three legs, it really is pretty amazing!

Scroll down and check out more pictures! There are multiple posts because I was playing around with photobucket and resizing them!

Montana running

More pictures below! Scroll down!

Montana

Duplicated picture!

Montana running again!

More pictures below! Scroll down!

Montana running up the hill:-)

More pictures below! Scroll down!

A Windy Sunday!

That's all for today!

Saturday Check In

Monty had a great day today, mostly hanging out with Torsten. They went to Petsmart to pick up some cat litter and Monty was very popular with everyone. She loves going to Petsmart, except when she has to go to the groomer inside the store. She picked at her kibble this morning so we boiled up some chicken for her tonight and she ate that right up. She also wanted to play with her toys tonight so that was fun. Right now she's outside sleeping out on the grass. We've noticed that since her surgery she likes being outside more and more. Before the surgery, she was much more content inside. Not sure why, just something we've noticed. Today we started Monty on 500 mg of Vitamin C to help her immunity during Chemo.

On a sad note, Seanne, who has been so incredibly helpful to us on this journey, lost her beautiful German Shepherd, Wrigley today. She posted on tripawds that the cancer spread to her neck and from what it sounds like, it paralyzed her. We were both very sad to hear about Wrigley's passing. This cancer is a crazy thing and it affects each dog differently. It reminds us that we need to take advantage of each and everyday we have with Monty and enjoy it to the fullest.

Chemo went well

Torsten got home yesterday to a happy, bouncy, tail wagging dog. She really does miss him when he's at work and with his new schedule, he's always gone for two days at a time. On the way to VCA, Monty was very happy to go for a car ride and to go visit the vets. She had her chemo treatment and came out of it really well. It was a two hour procedure and she got the drug Carboplatin. She has to go back next week for a CBC and then in three weeks for another chemo treatment. She came home and was feeling really good, but didn't want to eat her dinner. She slept in a little longer this morning and then came down on her own. She didn't eat her breakfast either, but loss of apetite seems to be normal. We're both home today so we'll be able to keep an eye on her.

The day before Chemo

Monty has had a good couple of days. Yesterday, my friend Kristin came over and she thought that Monty looked really good. She has a Masters in Animal Science so she knows her stuff! Monty loved having a visitor. I have decided that walking her on a leash does not work. She goes way too fast and you can't ask her to slow down because she is just more comfortable going faster. I have been taking her on short walks by myself these past two days since Torsten has been at work. We made it to the end of the street down to the park tonight so that was good. She's also eating really well and doesn't seem to be any slower since she's been off all her pain medication.

Tomorrow we start the adventure with chemo. There is a small chance that it will make her sick and we're hoping that she is able to handle it okay. I'll make sure to update tomorrow evening after it's all over and done with.

Treatment #2

Today Monty got her second treatment at IVC. Dr. Stramm and Dr. Stevens were both really pleased with how she has progressed. She is going to have her third treatment in 2 weeks. Dr. Stramm thinks that she won't need acupuncture for her back, but we're going to have her work on some "immunity" points since Monty will start her chemo this Friday. She is doing really, really well. She is continuing to eat every morning and again at night and today was her last day of Tramadol. We weighed her today and she was at 59.9 pounds, so she is maintaining her post-surgery weight that everyone feels is ideal (prior to surgery she was at her heaviest of just under 70 pounds!). We also talked with Dr. Stramm about the changes to Monty's diet. She is liking her new food a lot and Dr. Stramm said it was okay for her to still get the treats she likes even though they have sweet potatoes in them. She's not supposed to have carbs anymore, but she said it would be such a small amount it wouldn't hurt---that's how picky Monty is, even with treats!

I forgot to mention yesterday, but we've started taking Montana on short walks. Yesterday, we went down about 8 houses and then back. I was cracking up because we were literally having to power walk/jog to keep up with her. Her new gait is FAST! Torsten took her down a little farther today. She definitely still loves her walks, but gets tired quick from going so fast.

Tomorrow, Monty will be home alone, but the weather should be good, so she'll probably sleep all day:-)

Monday was a great day!

Montana continues to have good day after good day! We are thrilled! She is moving around better and better each day. She is also eating well (for the first time in her life she doesn't get free choice food since we have to watch her weight), and this morning was her last dose of Tramadol. Today she gets to go see Dr. Stramm and Dr. Stevens for another chiro/acupuncture treatment. I think they will be very pleased in the improvement of Montana!

Back on track!

Monty is definitely feeling more and more like her old self everyday. She did great this weekend, even went on two errands with Torsten. Because she has her stitches out, she can now wear her Ruffwear harness which helps us help her in and out of the car and up and down the stairs. I think it will come in very handy. We decided that Monty was doing well enough to sleep upstairs last night. Since her surgery one of us has been sleeping downstairs with her so she wouldn't get lonely. It hasn't been fun! Torsten also caught some pictures of Monty sprawled out on her back. She is definitely feeling good! She ate all her food today along with her back support herbs and one Tramadol this morning. She seems to be enjoying her new food, Taste of the Wild. Not too much else to report, enjoy the pictures!

ETA...I forgot to mention that Torsten took Monty for a short walk today as well...just a few houses down and back:-)

Kind of back to normal...

Well, things are finally getting somewhat back to normal, which is really nice! Torsten and I went out to dinner for the first time in over a month, since before this all started. Yea! Monty is continuing to improve each day. She is sleeping more comfortably (like she did in the past-on her back, lounged out or wherever she feels like it!), but occasionally will twist into a really weird position like I took that picture of last night. Today I picked her up a new food that was on Dr. Stramm's list, Taste of the Wild. She seems to really like it, so that's a huge relief. I've also been researching some of the supplements that she suggested and trying to figure that all out. There's a lot to learn, but luckily there are some very helpful websites like www.tripawds.com. Right now, Monty is sporting her Ruffwear harness and playing with her toy, just like her to get all hyper when it's about time for bed! Monty also came out to the barn with us today, but she had to stay in the car. She's acting more and more like her old self which is very encouraging:-)

No news is good news:-)

Torsten reminded me last night that I didn't update the blog last night. Well, in this case, no news is good news. Monty did fine again by herself yesterday. When I got home, she not only came out as the garage door was opening, but did a lap around the car. After I parked, she came with me across the street to get the mail. So she was moving better and more willingly than yesterday. We hung out for a bit in the back yard and then I realized there were a few weeds I wanted to pull in the front yard, so I made her come out there with me. She ate her dinner really well and a few treats too. She is definitely feeling much better. Yesterday was her first day on only one dose of the Tramadol. I'm going to give her one pill for the next couple of days and then she'll be off all pain killers and medication completely.

I had to get up early this morning because I'm covering Saturday School today. I went upstairs to get ready, and before I knew it, Monty had made her way upstairs. She is not supposed to be climbing the stairs and we have them blocked, but I think she's determined to get back to her normal routine. In the mornings that means, waking up with me and hanging out with Melvin in the bathroom until its time to go downstairs. I helped her down the stairs because I can't carry her, and she did just fine. Hopefully when she gets her treatment on Tuesday Dr. Stramm and Dr. Stevens will say it's okay for her to climb stairs. She has improved so much in such a quick time, it really is amazing!

Just a couple of pictures

I wanted to add a couple of pictures because people have been asking about how her incision is doing. Her hair is coming back in and its all healing very nicely! The picture of her body is just weird to look at. Remember, her left leg is amputated! She's been lying very strangely lately, my guess is that it helps make her more comfortable.

Monty ate a great dinner tonight and her appetite seems really good. She's home alone again tomorrow, but it should be a really nice day again:-)

First day alone

Today was Monty's first day home alone. She seemed to do just fine by herself and my guess is that she sunbathed all day. We left her the garage with the mattress just in case she wanted to get "in." When I came home and opened the garage door, she was ready to stick her head out. It was awesome! She seems a little slower than yesterday...she probably would have done good with a second acupuncture treatment this week, but with Torsten back at work today and tomorrow, it just wasn't going to fit. She is scheduled to go back on Tuesday and if she needs a second treatment next week, it will work. Torsten scheduled her chemo treatment for next Friday so we'll gearing up for that. We're also doing a lot of research on how to change Monty's diet. She needs a high fat/high protein and low carb diet and even though Canidae is a good food, she's going to need something different. Hopefully we can find something that she'll eat, it was so hard to find a food that she liked in the first place!

A great day is always fun to report!

I called Torsten at lunch today not knowing that he had excitedly left a message on my cell phone. Turns out, Monty had a GREAT day! When I called Torsten to see how Monty was, he said “It's like having the old Monty back!” She was doing SO well since her appointment yesterday! Apparently, when Torsten picked up his keys to go out for a bit, she got up and went to the front door and whined at him–a good whine, like “Hey, don't leave me!”. She went on some errands with him today, and had her head out the car window the whole time. She ate her chicken tonight and just seems generally more alert. We did take her off the Metacam today and she only got her Tramadol 2 times. We're going to wean her off the Tramadol over the next few days. We also started an herbal supplement that we got from Dr. Stramm, that's supposed to provide some nutritional support for her sore back. Needless to say, we are THRILLED with the improvement since her acupuncture/chiro work. Torsten even took her out front for a bit while he took out the trash and came across two of the neighbors. Monty was alert and excited to see them. It was a good sign.

Tomorrow will be Monty's first day alone since before her operation since Torsten has to work. I'll come home right after school and hopefully she'll get along okay without us. The weather is supposed to be really nice, so our guess is that she'll spend most of the day out on the freshly mowed lawn sunbathing!

Things are looking upside down???

Sometimes, upside down is the best way! For the first time since her surgery, Monty laid on her back and it was a great sight to see! We're so used to seeing her on her back, it's been weird these past few weeks that she hasn't slept like that.

Today, Monty got to visit a whole slew of vets. Thank goodness this dog likes going to the vet! We first took her to The Integrated Vet Clinic to be looked at by Dr. Stramm, a vet who specializes in alternative methods. She took Monty's history and looked her all over and thought that she was sore in the middle of her back versus the area closer to her tail. She thought that acupuncture and chiro work could definitely help her problem and she didn't think it would take too much to get her comfy again. We were thrilled! Dr. Stramm did the acupuncture, mostly using acupuncture points and hollow needles. She did inject some diluted B12 into the sore area of her back. After she was done, Dr. Stevens, the chiropractor, took a look. He worked on her for a bit and agreed that she was more tender in the middle back region. During all of this, Monty acted like she was on the verge of sleep! We decided to give this method of treatment a try and see if a couple of these sessions will help and right now we're pretty hopeful!

After the visit to this vet, we headed up to VCA to meet with Dr. Gabby. Dr. Gabby took out Monty's stitches and agreed that chiro and acupuncture could definitely help her out. She told us that we could start chemo at any time, although the sooner the better, since she has the least amount of cancer in her body right now. Torsten and I decided that we want to wait at least a week if not two before starting the chemo. We want to make sure that we can get her comfortable enough that she has a good quality of life.

It's so crazy through all of this...one day is good and you get so hopeful and then there's a bad day. Right now, we're on a good day so it feels good. We just want Monty to enjoy life and be happy:-)


(If you look closely in the pictures you can see the pink acupuncture needles._

Appointments galore!

Yesterday, Monty rested most of the day. I wrapped my magnets around her whenever she would let me, but she didn't really like being all bundled up. They, along with the rest, seemed to help. Torsten said when he came home this morning that she was standing up, wagging her tail...so that was a good sign.

I called Sac Vet Rehab first thing this morning and scheduled an appointment for Monty for Tuesday. Our appointment will be with a vet, but Dr. Stevens, the chiropractor, is only in the office on Tuesdays so it will work out well. To make this work, we had to bump her appointment at VCA until later in the day. We're going to meet with Dr. Gabby and have Montana's stitches taken out and talk a bit about chemo. We're also going to meet with a surgeon to discuss surgery. Right now, Torsten and I really want to try the alternative therapy before putting her through an additional surgery. We're really hopeful that some accupuncture or chiro work will help her become more comfortable.

No appointment yet...

Seanne, this lady we "met" on www.tripawds.com forums referred us to this vet hospital: http://www.sacvetrehab.com I called this morning to schedule an appointment for a consultation. Unfortunately, they aren't open on the weekend, so we'll have to wait until Monday to even set this up. The cool thing is that the chiropractor I've used on Dacquiri and Gunner works out of this office. He did great work on the horses so I feel really good about this place. He is also married to the woman who oversees student teachers through UC Davis, so it's really a small world!

We upped Monty's Tramadol to 3 times a day since it's a pretty good pain killer. It kind of zonks her out, but she at least seems comfortable. She slept good last night, so hopefully we can keep her comfy until we can get her into Dr. Beebe at Sac Vet Rehab.

Not the news we were hoping for...

Torsten and Monty headed to the vet today and didn't get good news. They went back to VCA, but did not see Dr. Gabby nor Dr. Valverde. I can't remember the name of the vet they did see, but his opinion was that Monty has a bulging disc in the area right in front of her tail. He based his opinion on her pain and her lack of movement. He said that to be absolutely sure he would have to do an MRI and then if that was what it was, she would need another surgery. Needless to say, we are very bummed.

Right now, we are not sure what we are going to do. Monty is in a lot of pain and we hate to see her like this. For the moment, we have decided to postpone her chemotherapy (which we were going to start on Tuesday) and see if we can make any progress on her back. I have left a couple of messages with animal chiropractors/accupuncturist and hope to get her seen ASAP. I've had great luck with this type of treatment with the horses, so I'm thinking we should try some alternative therapy first. We'll keep things updated, but there probably won't be anything new to report over the weekend. We'll just try to keep her as comfortable as possible and do what we can for her.

Sore, sore, sore

Today Monty was very sore...she has an appointment with the vet tomorrow at 10. She is whiny and doesn't really want to move around. We put a hot pack on her shoulder and then flipped her over and put one on her left hind leg. Her hind legs are all cramped up and are just super tight. Hopefully the vet can advise us tomorrow.