Denise's Sharebook 

The vet said she might have lymphoma.  She has gone through blood & urine analysis, x-rays, & an abdominal ultrasound.  Tomorrow night she’ll go through a clotting profile & then Friday they will take biopsies of her liver &, possibly, her spleen.  The vet thought at first it was Cushing’s Disease (which I hope it actually is, as it’s easier to treat).  It’s so hard to leave her yet again at the vet’s, but it’s for her benefit (although she probably doesn’t think so & thinks that we’re abandoning her.  How do you reassure a paranoid, previously abused dog?).  This time its overnight-the 2 other times were just during the day.

My heart is so broken right now.  She’s my baby girl & we’ve had her for only about 4yrs. (she was about 2 when we adopted her).  She’s has been through hell & has some many emotional/mental issues because of it.  We found out from the x-rays that she has been shot twice with .22 caliber bullets (from before she was rescued) & she’s very lucky that they aren’t anywhere near her organs (one along the outside of her ribcage & another in her shoulder).  We now completely understand why she’s so afraid of thunderstorms, fireworks, & firecrackers.  She’s still afraid of men overall, as it must’ve been men who abused my poor little girl.

Right now, I’m so torn…I refuse to accept that she has cancer (the vet said her blood cell count was OK, no diabetes, but the ultrasound looked suspiciously like cancer).  Her symptoms point to either Cushing’s or lymphoma, but we won’t really know until the biopsy is done.  The vet did say that lymphoma was one of the easier cancers to treat & that, with treatment, she could live another few yrs….but what does he mean by a few yrs.?  I’m scared because my sister looked it up & the site said that most dogs live a yr. or 2 with treatment…my poor baby girl can’t possibly go through more hell.  My sister said that we should look at her as a gift (which she is & more).  If it is cancer, it was probably from what she ate at the garbage dump where she was found (which could be rat poison, herbicide, etc.) & we’re all very lucky that she has lived so long afterwards.  But we also tend to think it might be Cushing’s because it takes so long to progress…it just doesn’t seem right that it would be cancer (& not just because we love her so much).

Despite all the heartbreak, I will always find that adopting rescues is rewarding & the best way to go with all involved.  I know that she has had the happiest yrs. of her life with us (& Brandy too, she’s been through her own hell before we adopted her-we adopted her as a senior dog & we’re all lucky she’s lived with us for about 3yrs. so far).  I’ve always felt bonds with my dogs, but Kali is my heart.  We adopted her while my ex-boyfriend was giving me problems & she wouldn’t leave my side (especially the night before something happened...she must’ve known).  We have helped each other through own personal hells…it’s almost like we grew up together (I was 24 when we adopted her).  She made me want to stand up for the underdog (I use this term in more ways than one) even more than before.  She made me champion my anti-BSL views even more because she’s part pit bull.  Even my hair matches her fur (I’ve been dying mine black since about 2000 & leave the front pieces my natural light brown color…what a coincidence that Kali is a reverse brindle pit mix).  She is my daughter & I refuse to let her go through more hell!

I thank you all for reading my rambling & I ask that you pray (or light a candle, etc.), send healing light, & positive energy to my Kali.  I beg God, if it has to be an illness, let it be Cushing’s Disease…she’ll suffer a lot less.

Peace & Love,
Denise