Keno came to live with us in 1998 when she was just 6 weeks old. Her father (Rocky) was a Belgian Malinois working dog for the City of Adelanto Police Department. Her mother was a mix, believed to be part Pit Bull and part Golden Retriever. I learned about Keno through one of my mothers' coworkers (Doris). Doris' son-in-law was a police officer and his partner was Rocky. I agreed to take a look at Keno but wasn't sure if I wanted the responsibility of a new puppy. As soon as they placed her in my arms, I knew she was here to stay.
The
first night I put Keno in the kitchen with blankets and pillow. I wasn't
sure the extent to which she was housebroken. As soon as the kitchen door
closed, the crying began and wouldn't stop. After what seemed like an
eternity, I let her out and brought her to bed with me. She promptly fell
asleep curled up on my pillow. She has been glued to me ever since. I
later found out that Keno was the one puppy in the litter that was allowed
to sleep in bed from the time she was weaned. That explains a lot.
Keno's
human family consists of my husband and I and my stepson, Jeremy. Keno
and Jeremy are just a few months apart in age. They are very close. Keno
has always been extremely gentle with Jeremy. As a toddler, he would get
up on Keno's back and try to ride her around the house and yard. She patiently
put up with his pulling, tugging, poking, riding, and smothering without
a word (or bark) of complaint. She's such a sweet gentle spirit, yet so
very protective of our home and property.
Keno also shares our home and yard with our 2 cats, Comet and Boomerang. She tolerates the cats, but I wouldn't exactly call them friends. There's might be an occasional cat pursuit, but no one is ever hurt.
When
Keno was 5 years old we moved to a new home with a thickly vegetated yard.
The new yard provides Keno, Comet and Boomerang with many opportunities
to chase and hunt lizards, squirrels, gophers, and bunnies. There are
also plenty of sunny spots. You can often find them outside in the sunshine
working on their Southern California tans.
Keno has always been an extremely healthy
and happy as long as she was at home with us. Being away has always proven
to be quite stressful for Keno. She gets extremely excited around other
dogs and new people. An occasional visit to the vet's office always proves
to be an adventure. We have to wait outside as to not disrupt the other
patients.
In
July of 2005, at nearly 7 years of age, Keno began limping. At first we
thought it was just a minor injury caused by one of her backyard hunting
expeditions. The limping seemed worse when she first woke up, then subsided,
as she started moving around. Over the next few weeks the limping became
worse and continuous. Keno stopped putting any weight at all on her front
leg and began to lose muscle mass.
We
brought Keno to see the vet on August 13, 2005. While the vet examined
her, she did not show any signs of pain. They thought it was probably
just a soft-tissue injury and prescribed Rimadyl. We didn't pursue x-rays
at that time and were told to keep an eye on her. A few weeks passed and
the limping seemed to go away. My husband and I went on vacation and my
mother watched Keno while we were gone. When we returned, she was limping
again. We took her back to the vet. Keno seemed to flinch just a bit when
her right front leg was being examined. The vet recommended that we do
an x-ray just to rule out bone cancer, even though it was highly unlikely.
On September 16th, 2005 we had x-rays taken
and received the devastating news. The vet told us that he was 99% certain
that it was Osteosarcoma. He was amazed at how stoic she was and showed
very little sign of discomfort given the extent of bone cancer displayed
on the x-rays. Our vet told us that the chances of Keno fracturing the
leg were high and that if a fracture occurred it would be very painful.
We were told that the pain would be so horrible, that no medication could
help. Just to be certain, the x-rays would be forwarded to a 
radiologist
for a second opinion.
The radiologist confirmed the diagnosis. I was in shock. She was so alert and full of life. How on earth could this possibly be happening? She was only 7 years old. I was just stunned and don't even remember the vet discussing treatment options. All I remember hearing was that we would be lucky to have her around another 2 months. I had to call the vet back later day to discuss treatment options.
We chose to take Keno to an Oncologist for a second opinion at my regular vets suggestion. The conclusion was the same. They recommended amputation and chemotherapy. The total estimate was about $7,000 for treatment.
I
then found the Canine Bone Cancer group and read about the experiences
of others who had been in the same situation I learned that amputation
was the only way to get rid of the pain. Through the Canine Bone Cancer
group, I found the Bone Cancer Dogs Yahoo Group. I was so afraid of amputation,
but after watching videos of dogs running and playing on 3 legs, I knew
Keno could do it.
I
discussed amputation with my regular vet. He told me he could perform
the surgery for about $1,200. He assured me that, although there was always
some risk, the surgery was not delicate and her felt comfortable performing
the amputation. It took me over 2 weeks to finally decide to go through
with the amputation. I called and scheduled the appointment and at last
felt some relief that I had finally made a decision.
I
dropped Keno off at 8 am the morning on October 12, 2005 for her amputation.
She went into surgery around 2:00. At 5:00 I received a phone call from
the vet telling me that surgery went smoothly and that Keno was resting
comfortably and had not yet woken. At 8 pm I called back to check on her.
I could hear her barking in the background. She was awake and standing
just 3 hours post surgery. We were all amazed. I was also told that later
on evening of her amputation, Keno came walking out into the reception
area. Somehow she had managed to get out of her cage in search of people,
just hours after surgery. A missing leg wasn't going to stop her!
The
next day Keno was moved to a larger kennel because she refused to sit
still in her cage and was disturbing the other patients. I knew she just
wanted to come home. The vet's office finally called me and told me I
could pick her up that afternoon. When I went to get her I was so afraid
of what I might see. To my amazement…out she ran…pulling the
vet tech with her…and jumped right up on me. She was so happy to
see me. What a relief. She was wearing a compression hot pink bandage
and was in good spirits. I knew I had made the right decision.
Keno's
homecoming was great. She jumped out of the truck (against our wishes)
and ran straight to the grass to relieve herself. She took a tumble and
did a little face-plant on the lawn. I just about cried. That was the
first (and last) time I ever saw her lose her balance on three legs. She
came home with a Fentanyl patch and was quite drowsy for the first couple
of days. Thankfully, she was clearly no longer in pain. The next day she
insisted on running up 10 or so steps in the backyard to relieve herself
in her favorite place. I couldn't stop her; her determination was remarkable.
The next day, October 13th, I took Keno in for her follow-up visit. Everything looked good and they replaced her bandage. The bandage they put on that day wasn't very secure and by the next morning, Keno had worked it loose. I took her back the following day to have it replaced once again. The vet techs were so nice and helpful. They told me that Keno was their favorite patient. They even decorated her new bandage with little pumpkins for Halloween.
The
following week was quite stressful. I worried about everything. Keno seemed
lethargic and depressed. Everyone assured me that once the staples were
removed, we would see a great improvement in her behavior. On October
22nd, Keno's staples and bandage were removed. Sure enough, we instantly
saw a huge change in her. She was running and playing and acting like
her old self. I was truly amazed at how well she was doing on three legs.
She has never seemed bothered by the fact that she's now a tripod.
We did not pursue chemo. We felt that the stress of her being away from home for treatments would be too much for her. We wanted to make sure that she enjoyed all of her remaining days, however many that might be.
I've
continued home cooking and supplements since Keno's time of diagnosis.
I even tried her on Artesimin, but she was unable to tolerate it. I tried
different doses with and without food. It caused vomiting each time. I
decided we did not want to make her uncomfortable and stopped it.
I was afraid to go back to the vet for follow-up
x-rays for fear of what they might find. I didn't want to know if the
cancer had spread to her lungs. She was acting healthy and happy and that
was all that mattered. It wasn't until June 26th that I brought her in
for chest x-rays. I just had to know how she was doing. To my relief,
she passed with flying colors. Keno's chest x-rays came back clear. Thank
goodness!
On April 28th, 2007, Keno participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event in Monrovia. We helped to raise funds in support of the Molach Foundation. Keno walked-hopped the Survivor Lap and after was presented with a sash and a medal. It was just amazing to see the spectators and other participants cheer her on. I felt so very proud of her and her accomplishments. It was an incredible event, which raised a lot of money for the American Cancer Society.
In
August of 2007, Keno began limping again. This time she had stopped using
her back left leg and was getting around on only two. We took her to the
vet multiple times over a 2 months period and the x-rays showed nothing
except for some arthritis. We tried an anti-inflammatory and steroids
but saw no improvement. Her muscles began to atrophy.
On October 8th, 2007 after our third set of x-rays, Keno was once again diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, this time in her back left hip. We chose not to do chemo or radiation. We took her home and started treating her pain with Tramadol and Rimadyl. We were going to simply treat her pain and keep her as happy as possible as long as her pain could be controlled by medication. We were told that we probably had a few months left before her pain would be unmanageable.
The
beginning of November was tough. We had a visit from Keno's Uncle Jet,
a 4-month old Black Labrador. Keno was exhausted after her play date.
She lay around for days and ate very little food. She even required assistance
going outside to relieve herself. I thought her time was up. She wasn't
using her back left leg at all. Amazingly, after a few days, she began
to improve. Towards the end of November 2007, Keno was placing more and
more weight on her back left leg. By the time Christmas rolled around,
she was running, jumping and playing. She was showing no signs of pain
and placing full weight on her back left leg. She had regained all muscle
mass.
We
were thrilled with her progress, but wanted to know what was going on.
On January 20th, we brought Keno back to the vet for another set of hip
x-rays. This time they showed more solid bone than they had in October.
It was almost as though she was generating bone. The vet was amazed but
did not have an explanation. We were told to stop the Tramadol and Rimadyl
and see how she did without it. She hasn't taken it since and continues
to do great.
I am so thankful for the extra time with her that I have been given. I don't know how she has managed to defeat this terrible disease for so long. Her strength and courage is remarkable. She has taught me to not to take the little things for granted and to enjoy each and every day. She is my hero and a true inspiration. I am so proud of her. Whatever you do, don't give up hope. Miracles can happen!
Thank you for reading Keno's story!
Julie & Keno
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