Rusty Update

I posted about Rusty back in February when I was traveling down to U of I to take him in for oral surgery. What started out as some really bad breath has turned out to be a diagnosis of cancer. Originally we thought Rusty just needed a teeth cleaning. When we brought him to our regular vet, she referred us to U of I as she had never seen a mouth in such bad shape. The weird part was that it got bad overnight. She feared he might have an autoimmune disease. THe U of I dentist performed his surgery. After 3 weeks, he wasn't healing and had developed weird scabs all over his back and in his ears and nose. Back to U of I we went to meet with a dermatologist. We thought it might be an allergic reaction or a severe infection. After performing 3 biopsies, it was concluded that Rusty has cutaneous lymphoma. His case is very rare as he doesn't have any tumors that could be removed or radiated. Instead the cancer is expressing itself all over the surface of his body. On a third trip to U of I we met with an oncologist. They told us that the cancer hadn't spread, but the prognosis, still wasn't good. They expect Rusty will live only a few more months. After many tears, we are realizing that there isn't much we can do at this point. We are just doing what we can to keep him happy and comfortable.

At first glance, you wouldn't know Russ is sick. He still loves to play. He does his tricks. He gets excited about eating and going for walks. But if you know him like we do, you can see there is a little less pep in his step and it is heartbreaking to see this. Rusty is the best dog I have ever had. He is so incredibly smart and loving and caring. He has a fighting and fearless attitude. He knows what he wants all of the time. He is not just a pet, but a good friend.

We are praying Rusty might have a chance to go into a longer than expected remission. So far, nothing has been "by the book." In fact this type of cancer is so rare in Yorkie's that U of I has only seen it one other time. It really sucks that our Yorkie had to get it. He is only 7 and we had expected to live another 10 years together with him. We are taking Russ to a holistic vet in the next couple of weeks just to make sure that we are doing every possible thing we can to keep him as comfortable for as long as possible.

I go back and forth. Some night I lay in bed and cry thinking about the inevitable. I really haven't had to deal with loss much in my life so this is especially hard for me. Rusty has always been there to go through things with me. I've gotten through some pretty tough times with Rusty by my side and we have had many happy moments together. It is sad that Rusty is soon going to leave us. But no matter where he might have been during his life, I am glad that he ended up with me. Even if it is ONLY 7 years, at least we had those 7 years together. Like they say, "It is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all." Well I think that definitely applies here. Rusty is my buddy and full of unconditional love. He has made my life so much happier and I hope I have made his happier too. I am going to mis him so so so so much. :(

Russ loves hanging out with whomever is sitting on the rocking chair in the baby's room.

I love my little guy.

And he loves me.