We went in late Friday afternoon for the Vincristine, but first Ozzie was weighed so we could be sure of the right amount of Vincristine to give him; his weight was 39.4 pounds, slightly less that Thursday's weight. The trip was speedy, Ozzie wore his blue muzzle just to be sure he didn't bite the vet or her assistant during the brief injection; as long as liver treats are at the end of the process, Ozzie is good, though he has a slight growl when he's had enough of the procedure.
Ozzie was very bouncy Friday evening, he actually does a little "hop" when he's happy. But during the night the effects of the drug may have made him uneasy, he woke me three times during the night: first around 1:30 AM, then again around three o'clock, and then around 6:30. Each time I let him out to pee (trying to remember where he peed so I could pour water on the spots in the yard come morning). During the day on Saturday he was a little quieter than usual, but the day was beautiful so I took him for a short walk up the street and across to a park for about 10 minutes total. The sore on his upper chest is still there, but it seems to be slowly healing.
Ozzie's Sunday was quiet; he didn't wake me during the night, but during the day he napped a lot and seemed to be a little under the weather. He didn't get sick, but he may just still be recovering from the chemotherapy on Friday. By Monday he was feeling perkier and more bouncy. The sore on his upper chest is slowly healing. We had been warned that he may lose his whiskers. I noticed on Monday that he had very few whiskers; his hair has been thinning these past few weeks, and now his whiskers are falling out. Ozzie is still taking Amoxicillin tablets twice a day to help him heal (not "heel!").
Tuesday morning marked the end of the antibiotic Ozzie was taking to help the sore on his upper chest heal; it is better by Tuesday. And after a few days of not feeling so good, by Tuesday Ozzie is back to being a bouncy dog. He is more alert, more responsive, and more playful.
Again on Thursday afternoon he got another bath with the Epi-Soothe shampoo. He now knows what's coming when the bath tub prep begins; he comes into the bathroom, but reluctantly. When we went in for Ozzie's weekly blood draw, his weight was 39.6 pounds; Ozzie sits still only when liver treats follow. We did take home a sedative, Acepromazine, for us to give him tomorrow afternoon before the lengthy and risky injection of Adriamycin (generic name doxorubicin).