griffin...

well, the sad day has arrived, and griffin is no longer with us. we tried 3 different types of chemo and none worked. he went downhill fast. it was hard to take, but i'm glad he only had a few bad days and that we knew when it was time to let him go.

but let's remember the great times we had with the "old man puppy"! he was a big, shaggy, clumsy dog who thought he was a lap dog. he was full of joy. he had glorious eye brows.

ah hell, i've got 6 years of photos, blog posts, and videos. i tried to celebrated griffin every day, and i'll continue to do that with gilly and the next dog, and the next...

click here to read dan's thoughts on griff.

click here to watch a really sweet video of gilly & griffin.

click here to read the 30-odd posts i wrote about griffin, with tons of photos.

click here to watch griffin eat a stolen cucumber.

click here to watch griffin rip up a stuffed toy (while cleo watches on).

click here to read my thoughts on loving (& losing) our beloved pets.

and here's the ad that started it all... a fitting end to this post:

update on griffin & the cancer... part III

(my all time favorite pic of griffin. much fun being had!)

well, we've tried 2 different chemo meds (pills administered at home) along with daily prednisone, and we're back where we started. the cancer doesn't seem to have spread or gotten worse, but it's not going away. he's lost more weight and now weighs a few pounds less then gilly. (being on prednisone, he should be gaining weight.)

so we're trying a 3rd kind of chemo, this time an injection. it's just a shot on the back side, every 2-3 weeks. the vet oncologist thinks this one might help. we go back in 2 weeks to see the vet and figure out if it's working.

griffin is an old dog with cancer. that's just the situation. he might get better for a while if this 3td attempt works. all we can do is keep on having fun, spoiling him (bacon!!!) and accept that this is all part of life.

and good again...

as soon as i posted that last blog about griffin, he came flying into the room with his favorite toy. we went outside for a while and he even went into his "man cave" (the deep hole by the basement window) and dug around.

i thought we need some levity so i put gilly's cute winter sweater on him. he looks so cute!

good days, not so good days...

well, we're going back to the oncologist vet on friday. it seems like the 2nd chemo med isn't working. griffin isn't gaining weight and he's more tired these days.

he's really tired and out of it in the mornings (but who isn't?) when i get home from work he's pretty wild and he still plays with gilly.

we won't know anything until friday. for now we're just trying to keep a close eye on him, and to have fun whenever possible.

i made bacon today and he ate a piece. he actually almost bit my hand off trying to get to it. just like the good old rude griffin of days gone by!

p.s. gilly snuck into the kitchen later and ate an entire plate of leftover bacon cooling on the counter. if she has a stomach ache right now, i don't feel bad for her!

update on griffin & the cancer...

well, griffin has been on treatment for a month. he was doing better, but we noticed the lymph node swelling coming back. we took him to his wonderful oncologist and indeed, the lymph nodes are a bit swollen and he's lost a pound. they had hoped he'd gain weight on the prednisone.

the good news is that we are just figuring out treatment, and there are other chemo meds to try. we're starting a new one tomorrow.

griffin is still better these days, he's got his spring back in his step, and he plays with gilly again. and last weekend he almost grabbed a roast chicken out of the pan. so i think he's improved and back to his normal, food stealing self.

so it's not great news, but not bad news. it's....news.

:)

updates on things in life...

griffin is doing well with treatment. the prednisone makes him a little more "antsy" then usual, but he seems good, happy, content, etc... he likes the new king sized bed that is low to the ground.

speaking of that, i LOVE the new bed. it's really helping with the insomnia. i've been off ambien for a month now, and it feels great. i still don't sleep like a normal person, but what's normal? not me!

i'm including some pics of my favorite things: glittery stuff, a well made latte, meatball pizza and eggs in a nest.

eggs in a nest, at cracker barrel, was a nice discovery. it's something i remember my grandma making for me when i was little, maybe 4 or 5 years old. it was my favorite breakfast for years and a happy memory of my grandma.

in other news, dan turned 40, our 5th annual dotditwell party was a blast, and the barn roof restoration is complete! next up, the well cover is being created and i'm going to have the bathroom painted pink.

good times!

griffin... our cancer journey begins....

i wanted to give everyone some info on what's been going on with griffin. 

he's lost a lot of weight recently, and we noticed the lymph nodes in his neck were swollen.  took him to the vet on tuesday and they told us it was cancer.

it's lymphoma.  advanced.  but the vet told me about an oncologist vet in perry (just 20 minutes away) who is one of the best in the country.

the vet

the cancer

i took griffin today.  they confirmed that it's advanced (stage 4) lymphoma.  but the good news is that his heart is strong, and dogs with this cancer have a really good prognosis for feeling better.

the treatment we decided on is not the most aggressive.  it's not chemo injections.  we're trying daily prednisone with a low dose chemotherapy in a pill we can give him at home.

the prednisone will make him feel better.  he'll gain weight and energy.  it will give him weeks or months of feeling good.

the low dose chemo will fight the cancer.  he could have another 6 months of good times!

the medication is only $200 a month, won't make him sicker, and so we're going to give it a try.  if he's suffering at all we'll know it's time to stop.

but for now, we're going to see how this goes.  a few more months of good times, playing with gilly and being spoiled, that's something to be happy about.

vloggy with doggies

griffin would like to say hi

it's sunday, no vlog, a day of rest.

addicted to pink.....

griffin is totally addicted to my new pink salt crystal lamp. he's not allowed on the bed, but anytime i put the lamp on, he sneaks up. it makes me think that some of the crazy health claims (click here) might be even a little true.

how many pics can i possibly post of this dog? he's just so darn cute & funny! with charm galore!!!!

griffin has a case of the mondays....

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when i got out of the shower this morning, after much procrastination, i found griffin in our bed. he was right under the covers on my side of the bed, and he just stared at me. i swear, he was saying, "don't go to work. it's gonna be bad...." when i got to work (right at 9am) the entire office was empty and the room pitch dark. i wondered if i had gotten confused and came to work on a sunday. folks are now trickling in, but apparently we all have a case of the GD mondays.

i learned it from you, dad!!!!

dan's dresser "exploded" at some point during sunday's festivities.... (ok, those might be my pink pajamas, but the rest is his!)

griffin, for the first time ever, rips something up! it looks like a pillow exploded.

notice how proud dan looks in this photo. gazing down at griffin, seeming to say, "good work, son!"

stuff and nonsense and dogs.....

thought of the day: no matter how bad things get at work (and today they feel really bad), i am not doing so bad. i might be getting old, wearing a wrist brace for possible carpal tunnel, overweight, eating & drinking the wrong stuff, but i am not this bad. (all snarkiness aside, i still feel bad for the girl. she's got some major mental & substance abuse problems....)

when work gets bad like this, i need to think of my favorite henry rollins quote: When life hands you a lemon, say "Oh yeah , I like lemons. What else you got?"

one thing to cheer me up: one of the funniest SNL skits in recent memory. ok, the funniest non-tina fey skit. lawrence welk, creepy sister act with tiny hands, bubbles....good stuff!!!

in dog news: a work friend of mine mentioned how cute she thought griffin was in photos on my desk. i of course had to show her recent pics on the blog. she's a dog person who has shown dogs in the past. she is convinced griffin is mostly welsh terrier. she says not airdale (as some of us have guessed before) no rottweiler (shut it, dan!) here's my old post on the topic.

i'm gonna post dog pics up at the top for fun!!!!!

we got some gravel, griffin is a lap dog, smooshed car, and griffin artwork displayed prominently in our home. i have a bad cold. that's it for tonight. :)

griffin is a thief!

griffin stole this cucumber and wouldn't share it with poor cleo....

griffin!!!!!!!!!

stacy's blog is down for the moment, so i wanted to make sure her beautiful drawing of griffin was still online and available for all to see. here's the first drawing of griffin she made a few weeks ago as well. griffin is a super model!!!!

griffin!

i've commissioned a portrait of griffin by a wonderful artist. if you don't think this is amazing, you're a dummy.
i Y griffin

griffin is totally a lap dog