My dear Kuvasz Kodi has been diagnosed with osteocarcinoma.

Kuvasz, are you going to the UGA vet school? Is so, I'm glad - it's a great place.

yes, kodi has an 11 am appointment tomorrow with the oncologist and the plan is to see if radiation therapy will ease her pain for the remaining time she has. I will know just from looking at her when it is her time to go. she still smiles at me and sits by me constantly and wants hugs, her appetite is still strong, so when finally i see that look on her face that she is ready to go, then i will do what i have to to my dear friend .

she is limping a bit now but still tries to run around with the other dogs and play. but she really can't, so i am not walking the property much as all the pack follows me, including Kodi.

I am just giving her special treats like a cooked chicken breast every day and a bowl of ice cream and lottsa' love and brush her coat for 45 minutes each night.......she really likes that and rolls on her back as I do it with her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth grinning at me.

as I do her brushing I sing the song "Fields of Gold" to Kodi knowing she will soon be gone and all I will have is memories of her.

She smiles at me when I sing it and it breaks my heart.

Kuvasz--

Each of us should have such a loving, peaceful approach to death.

Hold your dominion.

My heart goes out to you, kuvasv. (And I have a lump in my throat, reading this.) You are doing all the right things. Take pleasure in her enjoyment & joy. I've been in a similar position, a few times now, & really this is the best you can do. It's the constant watching with a hawk eye, the monitoring for signs that it so hard. She's very fortunate that you are her owner.

Please post, kuvasz, when you know more. (Well, I know you will, but just wanted to say so.)

Oooohh.... that was a beautiful post. I have been keeping my own declining dog with me almost every minute. It seems to be the most important thing to her. She drags herself across the house everytime I cross it. Silly old love.

Ah, k. <sigh>

She loves you.

For Kuvasz, I know how much this drains the spirit. I sincerely hope when you reach the vet he/she will have some hope for you. We are also dealing with a dog in a lot of pain, my sweet Vizsla Sadie (13 and a half) was diagnosed with degenerative myleopathy, a sure death sentence. The neurologist assured me that she is not in pain, but as the days went by, I knew she was in agony. I took her for a second opinion and the second surgeon believes it is a number of ruptured discs in her spine and neck, could be as many as eight. She is currently on steroids to alleviate the inflammation while we wait for the specialist to decide if she can tolerate the back and neck surgery. Despite her age, many Vizsla live to be 15 to 17. She is in so much pain she never sits anymore, she is either laying down, or walking in circles.

I know how much your girl means to you and I will keep a hope that some wonderful news will come your way. You are probably like me when I say, I can't stand to allow the dog to suffer, but I hate the idea of losing her. People who are not pet people don't understand the bond between dog and the dog's person. My girl still has to be where ever I am, follows me from room to room, seems to be just happy to be with me. Where in the world do you find that kind of loyalty.

I wish you and your sweet girl an easy time and will send you some strength to get yourself and your girl thru this.

glitterbug, I am so sorry to hear about Sadie. It must be heartbreaking for you to see her like that.


Kodi's sister was Aja (see my avatar), she was 8 months older than Kodi, same mom and dad, smaller, brighter, even more loving than Kodi if that was possible. My best buddy for 7 years, her and Kodi were a trip together, the most splendid thing you ever saw was watching them run fullout thru the forest behind where i had lived when they were young.. 2,500 acres of old growth forest, large swaths of oak trees, hundreds of them, 200 years old.

Aja became paralyzed in the hind legs on july 3, 1999. We had been inseparable from the moment i got her at 8 weeks, she slept in my bed, rode in the back seat of my truck, (Aja's head on one shoulder, Kodi's on the other), i even took her to work with me, and was so righteous, so gentle, so smart, my friends could not believe it. She essentially raised Kodi and taught her all Kodi's tricks, even frisbee catching! ......i took her to 3 vet schools for help, but to no avail. after staying up all night on july 7 with her, videotaping the two of us on the floor discussing into the camera her life with me, i had her put down. as the doctor administered the shot, i held her head in my hands and kissed her goodbye, and watched her eyes go cloudy, then shut. it has been the hardest moment of my entire life. she was my best friend and it has been the saddest moment in my life, but i knew that we had shared something very special and that i had treated her with love and dignity her entire life.

when I came home, Kodi was sitting on my bed, she never liked to do that and had always let Aja sleep next to me as she slept on the floor by my head.

Kodi knew Aja was gone and stuck by my side even more from that day on.

I will have to go thru that all over again, and it will hurt every bit as bad as it did with Aja.


yet I recall the ancient wisdom:

"But now ask the beasts and let them teach you,
and the birds of the air and let them tell you,
or speak to the earth and let it teach you,
and let the fish of the sea recount to you,
which among these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,
in Whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all human beings."
Job 12:7-10

I think those of us who have earned the love and devotion of a canine companion are very lucky.

You are blessed, Kuvasz.

MsOlga, tis true, with dogs, love is easy.

Good luck at the vet tomorrow, kuvasz.

So....how did it go?

Well, Kodi has now received two radiation treatments for her osteocarcinoma. She had one last week and another on Wednesday. The therapy will attempt to kill off most if not all of her cancer in the leg, but most likely, the cancer has already metastasized and will appear elsewhere, so this therapy is mostly to provide her a pain free respite until she gets worse. That is all I can hope for really. Kodi is well loved by the vet and the two fourth-year vet students who work with her. I think she has stolen their hearts since they love to see her and tell me that Kodi is a great, loving, and sweet gal with her own unique personality (as if I was unfamiliar with that, but it is nice to know others see it too!). Kodi too looks forward to see them since the last two times I called her to go for a ride; she got right up and walked to the gate in anticipation of her ride to the vet school. The whole time she stood up next to me in the van looking out the front window or snuggled next to my left arm to poke her head out the front driver window to catch the wind coming in.......just like old times.

At the vet school people already know her and say hello to her when she comes into the lobby. She is wagging her tail again and I think it is the result of the Tramadol painkiller...and here she is, right next to my arm as I type... I swear, she is psychic and knows when I am writing about her!

The bad news is that each time I take Kodi to the vet school my other dogs escape my fenced yard…. I warn all dog owners........DO NOT EVER LET YOUR DOGS WATCH THE FILM "THE GREAT ESCAPE!" I would swear that Luckie is the Charles Bronson character re-incarnated.....she has dug her way under my fence in several places and I have had to put cinder blocks and concrete wherever she has dug out… when I return home usually I have four dogs hanging out in my front yard waiting for me to let them back in the gate.. I know they have paraded around the neighborhood since my neighbors leaves phone messages reporting that they saw them down by the big stream about a mile from my house…. And they are usually all wet too... but I cannot get angry since without Kodi, the pack is leaderless and they are simply exhibiting their own anxious behavior not having her to run the pack.

This week the vet told me that Kodi looked better than he has eve r seen her; walking better, happier and in less pain... it's the Tramadol again we suspect, but that he was delighted to see her in such great spirits. Each time she undergoes the radiation therapy she spends the night at the vet school because the anesthetic takes its toll and I want her to recover fully before I bring her home, since when she comes home the pack treats her like Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and it would be difficult for her to get around if the drugs impair her ability to walk and move around with all the other dogs coming up to greet her and lick her and jump up on her in happiness.

When she stays overnight the vet students stay with her and give her hugs and sit with her... usually when they get up to go they see that she gets lonely and looks at them with her big sad eyes....it makes them stay longer.. And Kodi enjoys their company. And whines when they get ready to leave.

When she is home, she still goes under the porch to sleep during the day and comes out at sunset to move to her spot on the porch on her sleeping bag. I leave the door open so Kodi and I can watch each other. Usually I brush her for 45 minutes as all the other dogs circle around licking us and nudge me to brush them too. Then I giver her a bowl of vanilla ice cream with her meds in it... she loves that and she usually has ice cream all over her muzzle.. and Luckie licks it off her... that is a sight to see!

She watches me as I work at my desk until it is time to go to bed, then I lay down with her for 30 minutes or so as she nuzzles me... then I hug her and watch her go to sleep.

By morning, she is sleeping in the living room and when I awake, she gets her bowl of chicken noodle soup, again spiked with her meds…. She hangs around me as I make coffee and follows me into the bathroom as I take a shower... poking her nose past the shower curtain, probably to check to see if I scrubbed behind my ears. Then she walks back to the living room and waits for me. After this, she goes out to the yard and sits under a big tree as she watches the other dogs run around the yard. Sometimes, now more recently she strolls out to the back of the property and sits in the tall grass and goes to sleep until it gets too hot, then she saunters under the porch.

She is not limping as much as last month, so I am happy that that she is in less pain. But still I know that her's is a short stay now with me and I wish her all the best I can give her.

She is looking at me right now and I can tell she loves me.

Below is a pix of the great vet students and vet who care for Kodi. She makes friends wherever so goes.






ps Kodi says hi!

Kodi is bigger than I thought! What a big lovable baby!! I LOVE big dogs. Luckie is probably just concerned about Kodi and wants to go with. Can't you take her too? I am so glad Kodi is feeling better.

oh my just how big is Kodi?

That girl just has such a beautiful smile.
She is charming.

Thanks for recording these times here, kuvasz.

Aw, what a sweetie! I'm so glad she's getting some relief!

Kodi is 125 pounds now, down from 160 two years ago when she went on meds for a thyroid condtion.

Kodi is the largest female Kuvasz anyone familiar with the breed has ever seen... in her prime she was 145-150 pounds of solid muscle. Most females do not get to 100 pounds, but both of Kodi's parents were very large themselves for the breed.

People used to say that she looked a like pony with white fur.

When she was young Kodi could clear a 5-foot fence with a running start... amazing sight to see....which I stopped with an electric shock wire over the top of the fence....the day that happened is another story all in itself!

Thanks all for posting to this thread and letting me share this time with fellow dog lovers.....and that suggestion of bringing Luckie with us to the vet school the next time is a darned good one.

Oh, man, what a great post, Kuvasz.

On Kodi, at least she doesn't want to be Steve McQueen.

Kudos to her loving veterinarian folk.

Nope ossobuco. I think Luckie has the McQueen angle covered.