This all started about 3 weeks ago when we randomly bought him a different type of food. He pretty obviously didn't like it and started not to eat. He would still eat any scraps we put in his bowl, but wouldn't eat his dog food. We figured it was just him being picky. After about a week and a half, we bought him his old food, but he wouldn't eat that either. He started to become very tired and having some digestive trouble. The most noticeable thing though was he started to be extremely thirsty and drink way more water (and then have to go out more) than usual. We just thought maybe he was sick or maybe he was becoming diabetic. Then we gave him a bath and noticed how incredibly skinny he had become (he is so fluffy that it really isn't too obvious when he is dry). Theresa came to visit though and immediately noticed he was skinny and not acting himself. That is when I called the vet and took him in to find out the bad news.
Apparently this type of cancer is extremely aggressive and once dogs start to get it, they have about 30-60 days if left untreated. Given the onset of symptoms, I would say it has probably been close to 30 days now that he has had it. And I can tell you it is getting worse every single day. He has become listless and is panting heavily. He is on 4 different types of medicines to try to ease his symptoms, but they do not seem to be helping. We had so many people at our house this week for Thanksgiving - people he knew, people he loved but hadn't seen in a long time, and people he had never even met before - but he barely seemed to move when someone walked in the door. Occasionally he would get up and give a bark or two, but it was very obvious that it was a struggle. If you know Chien at all, you know how heartbreaking it is to see him respond like that to someone coming in our front door. Our niece calls him the crazy dog because when someone comes over, he runs around like crazy, jumping and barking and wagging his tail ferociously. He will then come charging at you full speed only to turn at the last second, put his back to you, sit on your feet and lean his head back to be petted, all while doing his best to stay sitting and not jump up for more affection. But this week we were happy if he got up at all or even lifted his head when someone came in. He also is not eating anything. We were making him rice and then some chicken and then we bought some special soft dog food which he seemed to like, but now he is not really eating any of that either. Every day seems to be much worse than the day before.
So, it is with an extremely heavy heart that I tell you that Notre Chien is not going to be with us much longer. Right now I just pray that we have the strength to make that decision when the time comes (could be as early as this week if he doesn't start responding to medicine or if he continues to decline). And I pray that the children take the news ok - I don't think the girls will understand it too much but I do think Ben is going to have a hard time with it. And most of all, I pray that Chien is not in pain and that he knows how much he has meant to our lives. We love him so much.
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