June 2007 Bruno's white cell count is low due to the Chemo, leaving him open to infections, so he is on antibiotics as a precaution. We went on holiday, via Liverpool for a family occasion. Whilst we were in the area we took the opportunity for Bruno to visit his brothers and sister who are still with his original family.
Whilst we were there, Chris and Dave told us that he is a direct descendant of the only Springer Spaniel to win the Field Trials Championship three years in succession. His bothers and sister are so alike him (photos to follow).Then onto Devon.
Who said the Fonz was cool?
He enjoyed his holiday as usual but his white cell blood count has been low on this course of treatment. The 3 weekly courses has stretched to nearly 4 weekly to allow his cell count to stabilize but he is still active and full of life.
This time he won a 3rd in Best Working Class and Brandy a 2nd in Best Mover
In August Bruno had surgery to remove a grass seed from his paw. He is such a calm dog that normally they would give a general anaesthetic, but he just sat there and let them dig it out under a local anaesthetic.
He has celebrated his third anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer with a defiant run around the field playing ball. October 2007 Bruno is still on treatment but his white cell count has been getting lower each time the treatment is given, the last time it got to 2.2 it should be a minimum of 6 to give the next dose.
He loves to empty the recycling bin
At last the cell count is up to normal but it took 6 weeks to recover, so our vet is seeking further advice from Dick Whites, regarding the dose which has been reduced to 40mg once every 3 weeks, which now does not hit his white cell count so hard.
He had lost weight as he went off his food and had diarrhoea, but is nearly back to normal.
We know he is starting to go down hill as he is loosing hissense of taste so we have tried different foods but that has not made any difference so it home cooked chicken and rice. Brandy is still on Burns
The vet at Dick Whites is already looking into a new type of treatment that is available for humans that hopefully will be useful if/when this present form stops working, so there is still light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a trial and he needs sponsoring to be on it.
He wanted to be the Andrex dog.
In all the years we had him and the times he slept in the bathroom of our caravan this is the only time he paid any attention to the loo roll.
December 2007 Bruno has now a growth on his bottom nothing to do with his cancer but he needs to be castrated to cure this lump. The lump burst and covered the living room in blood, (we have now learnt how to remove blood from carpets).
Over Christmas the lump has been leaking so he is living on one mat to another. He is not eating his normal food as his lymph glands are enlarged and hard, so it's chicken and rice for his meals. His cell count is still not up on this dose of treatment so he can not be castrated and have the lump removed, also with his immune system being low there will be a risk of infection. More blood test on 7th Jan a day before his 12th Birthday, hopefully a decision will be made then