Haden

This is my grandpup, Haden. He is Joey and Kim’s pup and lives in Florida, but he’s been with us for the last four weeks. Isn’t he a love?

Haden came to stay with us in order to be seen by our vet. He’s been having some pain and health issues since April, and several trips to the vet in Florida saw him treated with pain meds without resolution or diagnosis. Maybe it was a bad tooth, maybe it was a neck injury. At his last visit, a large mass was found on his neck, and Joey & Kim were advised, without any further testing because the vet wasn’t comfortable doing a fine needle aspirate on the mass due to its location, to see a veterinary oncologist. I’m not gonna throw shade at the veterinarian, but when confidence in a vet is lost, it doesn’t matter how good he or she is. It’s time to see a different vet. I told Joey I wanted to bring Haden to see my vet. A couple calls later the appointment was set, and we met Joey a couple days later at the halfway point to pick up Haden.

We were a little nervous about bringing him in because Roscoe and Jack are so settled in their routine and life. Plus the last time we tried to bring them together (with the addition of Peanut, Joey & Kim’s other dog), it just didn’t work. Roscoe was anxious, and Haden was anxious & snippy. So how is it going this time? Well, take a look…

We picked Haden up July 7th, and he saw our vet the very next day. Dr. Holley did x-rays and a fine needle aspirate on the mass on his neck. The x-ray did show a bad tooth, and two days later, we got the sad news that the fine needle aspirate showed malignant neoplasm, probably epithelial in nature though a definitive identification couldn’t be made. A biopsy was recommended.

It was decided that Haden would stay with us a little longer in order to have the biopsy done and to go to the oncology department at UGA. This was scheduled for the following week, and I asked Dr. Holley to remove the bad tooth while Haden was under sedation. Biopsy complete, they prepared to remove the tooth. It was then that a 3cm mass was discovered at the back of his throat, and this was also biopsied.

The neck mass came back “heterogeneously unremarkable” but the oral mass came back showing squamous cell carcinoma. Non-tonsillar, this cancer has only about a 20% rate of metastasis. Tonsillar the number jumps to over 80% and average survival time once metastasized is about 120 days. The biopsy couldn’t identify which kind Haden had, but we assumed the mass in his neck was probably due to a swollen lymph node. Within the week, Haden’s right subscapular lymph node blew up.

We had an appointment scheduled with UGA, but once they received the biopsy results, they called to move up the appointment. Time is of the essence with this cancer.

We could see Haden declining before our eyes, and his appetite decreased dramatically. Every day, every meal was a struggle to get food in him. There was one day we drove him to the store, bought a rotisserie chicken, and hand fed him in the car because that’s what he would eat that day.

Eleven days after the biopsy, a portion of the stich line opened, and Haden had a very impressive hole in his neck, one that the first joint of my fore finger could fit in, so now we’re doing wound management. Hallelujah for Manuka honey. It’s healing properties are insane, and if it’s not in your first aid kit, it should be.

Wound on Tuesday…

Wound today…

I did a ton of research before Haden’s appointment at UGA, so the news didn’t come as a surprise to me. There is nothing that can be done. Haden was too painful in the mouth to allow them to open it and get a look at the mass. It is starting to press on his airway, so sedation is not advisable. The subscapular lymph node measures 8cm when it should be 1cm or less. A fine needle aspirate done on it was filled with squamous cell carcinoma. Metastasis confirmed, though we knew it already.

We’re sad, but we’re also blessed to have Haden here with us. It’s been decided that he will remain with us because we can give him a quiet peaceful place to be. Joey and Kim are devastated and miss their boy so much, but they realize a house with an active loud 9 month old baby would be very stressful on Haden. Kim and I both cried as we talked about it, and I have the utmost respect & admiration for her for doing what’s best for Haden. As for Jamie and me, we’ve fallen head over heels in love with him and very happily welcome him into our home and pack. He is a sweetheart and fits right in and lets us doctor him without fuss or complaint.

The first thing we did after the UGA visit was work on pain management. We added tramadol and CBD to the mix, and we’re seeing great benefits. Haden had quite the appetite today and has been very active and alert. He’s a strong dog. And he’s not a statistic. It doesn’t matter what the “average” lifespan is. God is greater than that, and He always heals. It isn’t always on this side where we’d like it to be. But He always heals. We will take and enjoy whatever amount of time we have with Haden.

Lots of snuggles…

Car rides…

Trips to the Home Depot…

Drive-thru dining…

Ball time…

And hanging out with friends…

It’s a beautiful life.