Visit with Elsa

We arrived at Elsa's in Volcano for a quick visit.

Simone became quick friends with Max, Elsa's rescued Shiloh Shepard.

Simone and Max got along great.

Visit to the Ranch

After lunch with Bonnie, we continued west to Minden to visit Uncle Matt.

Uncle Matt showed us around the ranch, and Simone made friends with Cousin Jasper's dad and brother and several other puppies.

Visit with Bonnie

After we left Virginia City, we headed to Carson City and stopped for lunch with our friend Bonnie. Simone made herself right at home!

Simone and Aunt Marney

Aunt Marney visits with Simone before she leaves for work and we depart for points west.

Sound Asleep

Sleeping in the living room next to the stove at Grandpa and Grandma's house on a cold May morning in Nevada.

Snuggle

Simone snuggles with mom on the couch at grandma and grandpa's house.

Simone and Rosie

Simone and Rosie keep an eye on things during our visit to Virginia City.

Cousins

Simone hangs out with her cousin Jasper at Uncle Ted's house east of Virginia City.

Bedtime

Simone settles in for the night on Aunt Marney's bed in our old bedroom.

Grandpa and Simone

Simone and Grandpa were so happy to see each other.

She gave him a kiss and tried to get into his lap.

But then she settled down to sit next to him to soak it all up.

Waiting for Grandpa

Simone sits on the deck and waits patiently for grandpa to come home.

Visiting VC

We finally arrived in Virginia City Saturday afternoon.

Grandma Sue and Aunt Marney were there to greet her, as were her childhood pals Rosie and Odie.

Simone was so excited to see everyone!

Stretch Break

We stopped along the way for a couple of stretch breaks.

The first time we stopped a ways down Highway 89, the sun was out and the ground was dry.

The second time we stopped about an hour later along Highway 44, Simone got to play in the snow.

We'd heard reports that it would be cold and possibly snowy down in Northern Nevada during our trip, but actually seeing a couple of inches of snow on the ground was surprising. Not something one would really expect to happen the third week of May!

Watching the Road

Simone watches the road as we head south on I-5 towards Ashland.

Simone and Dad

Dinner with Laurie

Simone was invited to join us on a dinner date at our friend Laurie's. She met us at the gate with her two Italian Greyhounds in tow, Gabby and Luigi.

Gabby shook hands first, followed by Luigi:

Simone was spoiled silly with treats like a delectable turkey neck, a yummy salmon chew, and dehydrated chicken breast strips. Needless to say, she enjoyed herself tremendously!

Sunday Morning Stroll

We went for an early morning walk over to the park.
Or, should I say, run:

Simone actually runs better than she walks, so it's probably not a big surprise that she's turning us both into joggers. We did the whole loop this morning for the first time since the surgery. Because it was about twice as far as we've gone in the past few weeks, we opted to take a short break at the halfway point to get rested for the return home.

This little breather was all she needed to then run all the way home.

Tandem Lounging

Simone and Millie strike the same pose on the bed.

Visit from the Princes

The Prince clan came by to visit today and check in on Simone.

Simone was delighted to have visitors and enjoyed all of the extra attention!

Afternoon Dip

Dad took Simone down to Willamette Landing for a little dip in the water on this warm May day.

Afternoon Snooze

Tammy invited Simone over to play with Bailey today. They got along well together, and then took a long nap in the kitchen. Simone of course had to commandeer Bailey's bed, relegating him to the door mat.

Dr. Rosenlicht removed Simone's stitches yesterday; everything went well. I think Simone is glad to have those itchy sutures out. No more cone of shame! Once her hair grows back, her scar should be barely noticeable.

A Good Day

Simone had a good day today.

The effects of the chemo seem to have worn off, and she was back to her old self. We went for a couple of walks to the park and she ran both ways.


At the park, she spent most of her time rolling around and getting in a good back scratch.

Sunshine-y Day

Although Simone didn't feel too well from her chemo last night, she perked back up to her usual sunshine-y self this morning. She spent quite a bit of time sunbathing outside and chasing the kitty and the chickens.

She started to give in to temptation though and began chewing at her stitches, so we had to put the cone of shame back on. She tolerated it pretty well, and managed to keep smiling despite the embarrassing headgear.

Fortunately, her stitches are scheduled to come out on Wednesday afternoon, so the temptation won't be there much longer.

Farmer's Market

Simone was feeling so good this morning that we decided to go ahead and take her to farmer's market down on the waterfront. We made sure to get down there early so it wouldn't be too crowded.

Simone attracted a lot of attention as a puppy with only three legs. She had a lot of folks stop to talk to her and pet her and ask how she was doing. We heard many stories of positive outcomes from other parents who also had their canines go through chemo, so it gave us hope.


Simone enjoyed the change of scenery and also the strawberry dad gave her.

Chemo Begins

Simone had her first chemo treatment today.

We initially thought that we didn't want to put her through it, but were convinced by her doctors that it would be her best shot for a longer survival and overall remaining better quality of life. Gary met with Dr. Helfand, a veterinary oncologist at OSU, for several hours this morning. He said that in cases like Simone's, average survival time after amputation is around 3-5 months, while adding chemo can potentially raise that survival time to an average of 12 months. Dogs tend to tolerate chemotherapy better than humans. Simone does not have obvious signs of metastasis, her incision has nearly healed, and her bloodwork looked good, so Dr. Helfand said if we were going to start this treatment, today was the day. So, we decided to go ahead and give it a try. We've already gone further than we thought we would, so we decided to not stop now.


Gary left Simone at the hospital for the rest of the afternoon while they administered the IV. They used a drug called Carboplatin for her first treatment. Assuming all goes well, she will receive a total of five treatments over 15 weeks, one every third Friday. When Gary brought her home tonight, she ate her dinner like usual and had her same amount of energy and zip. We're told she may be a little lethargic or have less appetite tomorrow, but any possible side effects should dissipate within a day or two.


We'll just continue to take things one day at a time.

Visit to Sunset Park

We went for our first walk back to the park today.

Simone was so excited she could barely wait.

She ran through the tall grass, listened to the birds, rolled around on her back, and generally had a delightful time.

We are reconsidering chemotherapy. We set up an appointment to talk with a veterinary oncologist at OSU. We may still end up not doing it, but we've decided we at least need to hear what they have to say. More soon.

Two More Milestones

Simone mastered two more tasks today....
hopping into the truck unassisted and going up and down the stairs.

We are so excited! It's been less than a week, and she's nearly back to her old self.

The Cone of Shame

Our visit to the vet went well this afternoon; Simone's incision is healing nicely. We go back on May 12th to have her stitches out. Everything looks good except for one little red scabby spot, presumably from her licking at the sutures. We've caught her a few times and have tried to stop her, but as soon as we leave the room, she's back at it. So, we've had to begun using the cone of shame. Amazingly, she's never had to wear one of these until now. She hates it and walks with her head down, which makes it incredibly hard for her to see where she is going. We just try to get her to lie down once she's got it on and hope it won't be too miserable until her wound heals all the way.

Monday Afternoon Snooze

We had a nice, mellow day. We took it easy at home, and made sure there was lots of time for naps. Millie even came downstairs to join us.

Slumber Party

Millie and Simone claim their nighttime spots on the beds in the living room, leaving little room for their two humans.

Back to Chasing Chickens

It's now been four days since Simone's surgery, and she's nearly back to her old self. She is able to go up and down the steps from the back deck into the yard without assistance. She's also giving the chickens a run for their money again:

At this rate, we'll all be sleeping upstairs again in no time! Her incision also looks really good...it's really starting to heal nicely. We see the vet tomorrow for our first post-op visit, and suspect she'll get a good report.

She really is our miracle girl.

Hopping Around the Backyard

First Walk

We took our first walk to the mailbox today (about a block each way), and Simone walked like a pro. Her balance seems to get better every time she gets up. Going up the steps into the house has gotten a lot easier, but we're still helping her to walk down them. She gets pretty worn out after only a short distance, but we expect that will improve with time.

Fortunately she won't be running any marathons soon, so we're content to just take it easy.
Short walks and lots of naps are just what the doctor ordered.