Lucy has Cancer, Part 2

For those of you who read my previous blog post, here is an update on Lucy:

Lucy is recovering from her surgery on Tuesday.  The cancerous sarcoma mass was removed. She has a long incision, approximately 10 inches in length, with 30 staples and 2 drains on her lower left flank region.

The surgery was difficult, lasting approximately 2 hours instead of the allotted 1/2 hour of time.  The cancer was encapsulated except for at the base where a 1-1/2 inch diameter was attached to her muscle.  The veterinary surgeon removed a 5 inch diameter piece of muscle.  We are awaiting the histology report and hoping enough of the margins were removed so it doesn't grow back.

Lucy has been a real trooper.  Thank goodness for pain meds.  Dogs don't show much pain.  It is a sign of weakness in the wild.  When she is unable to get comfortable (cannot lay down), it is a sign to give her medication, approximately every 12 hours.

Lucy obtained a new wardrobe from her ordeal.  We upcycled Steve's old t-shirts for her.  Well, actually, Steve passed them to me.  I wear  them for art and household projects.  I cut off the arms on some of them and passed them along to Lucy.  Wearing a t-shirt alleviates self-inflicted trauma from Lucy trying to scratch as her incision is healing and catches the fluid from her drains.

I'm bringing sexy back!

Lucy was under some heavy anesthesia and wasn't interested in drinking water at first.  I didn't want her to get dehydrated.  So I went shopping for some fresh coconuts and found some.  As soon as I arrived home, I punctured the eyes of one giving her the water inside.  She lapped it up immediately.  Yay!

Coconut water provides an isotonic electrolyte balance and I'm sure hers was off from anesthsia.  Did you know coconut water from the cavity of a fresh coconut is sterile until opened?  It mixes easily with blood and was used in World War II for emergency transfusions.

And too, as Lucy luck would have it, the February/March Issue of Animal Wellness Magazine arrived containing Dr. Carter's cancer cocktail recipe.  Dr. John Carter, a British veterinary surgeon and research scientist, created it after losing his own dog to cancer.  The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
8 ounces raw chopped liver
4 ounces grated carrot
1/2 ounce ground Brazil nuts

Instructions:
Puree the ingredients.  Serve as a topping or as a complete meal.  It's bursting with flavor and nutrients including potassium and selenium.

I chose calf liver over mature beef or chicken thinking it is the youngest liver with the most nutrients.  Lucy loves her "liver pâté de foie gras".  She gobbles it all up!  It is an easy recipe to include in my beloved's raw diet.

Lucy has had sudden bursts of energy today.  She wants to play fetch which, of course, is a BIG no-no presently.  So I took her for a walk--down 4 houses to where her dog buddies, BJ and Bear, live and back.  She was tired after and took a nap.  Steve thought I might have taken her too far.  Rehabilitation exercise is a must prior to being able to leave a hospital.  It would strengthen her, I told him.

Unfortunately, Lucy is not out of the woods yet.  She has a lipoma growing under her left forearm and another small mass on her right side.  The veterinary surgeon was unable to remove them as Lucy was at the limit for anesthesia during this surgery.  (sob, sob)

To all of Lucy's fans in blog and social networking land and Loving Touch Animal Center:  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your pawsitive thoughts regarding Lucy's health.  Dogs are people too.  Woof!


PS:  Read the other posts in this series:

Part 1
Part 3

Human Food for Pets

Dr. Karen Becker's video is "Spot" on with my way of thinking.

I have been feeding my dog, Lucy, a 100% whole food, human diet for a number of years now. She is thriving on it. No more yeasty/gooey ears, hair loss, red spots on her belly or diarrhea. Instead she is a shiny-coated, energetic fur ball of fun!

Her diet consists of organic protein and produce. She eats the pulp when I juice wheat grass and other greens, cabbage, carrots, yellow and red SWEET apples such as Delicious, Fuji or Gala.

For a snack, Lucy will gobble up a sliced apple or banana (with a bit of peanut butter or coconut or coconut milk). She has a bottomless tummy for blueberries too!

Lucy's favorite veggies are green beans and sugar snap peas. I give her a handful of them in their whole form to whet her appetite, which ALWAYS seems to be in "more food please" mode, and puree the rest for better absorption and easier digestion. "Yummy!", she says.

I NEVER feed Lucy any of the following foods due to the potential of poisoning, even to the point of killing her: grapes, raisins, chocolate, onions, leeks, chives, garlic, citrus, tomatoes, macadamia nuts, avocados, rising bread dough, corn cobs, chewing gum, products containing xylitol, processed foods.

I do not feed her grains either--oats, wheat, bread, pasta, etc. They convert to sugar which spikes insulin production producing gas, diabetes and an overweight pooch.

Each and every night before bedtime, I brush Lucy's teeth with an electric toothbrush topped with a little bit of baking soda. She has beautiful pearly whites and awakes anew in anticipation of her next homemade meal!

BOOK: Food Pets Die For by Ann N. Martin

I located this comment on a social networking thread regarding the above video: "The woman is full of baloney!"

My response: NOT! Read her book, Food Pets Die For (Ann N. Martin). She worked for a pet food manufacturer in the past. There are some brands of pet foods she recommends in her book that are "cleaner" than others.

Also, if you watch the show "Dirty Jobs", Mike Rowe does a piece on an animal rendering facility where he picks up dead, diseased farm animals. It shows the DISEASED animal being processed for animal feed.

I don't believe there is much nutrition after grains and dead animal remains have been baked to a hard nugget. Same goes for eating the same food day after day. Remember the saying "You are what you eat?" The fuel our pets eat determines the outcome of their lives. Why not give them a higher quality meal to extend their life expectancy?

I don't feed my dog PROCESSED foods. She eats whole human food. Her allergies went away from a cleaner diet.

If you haven't tried an unprocessed whole diet for your pet, don't knock it 'til you've tried it. You have nothing to compare it to without trying it. That being said you have to know what foods to and not to feed your pet.

Research...research...research.