When tomorrow starts without me

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I’m not there to see;
The sun will rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me.
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry
The way you did today,
Remembering how I’d lay my head
In your lap that special way.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you’ll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name
And petted me with her hand.
She said my place was ready,
In Heaven far above,
And that I’d have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But, as I turned to heel away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life I never thought
That I would have to die.
I had so much to live for,
So many sits and downs to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought about our lives together,
I know you must be sad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.

Remember how I’d nudge your hand,
And poke you with my nose?
The frisbee I would gladly chase,
The bad guy, I’d “bark and hold.”

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for awhile,
I’d wag my tail and kiss you,
Just so I could see you smile.

But, then I fully realized,
That this could never be;
For emptiness and memories
Will take the place of me.
And when I thought of treats and toys,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you and when I did,
My dog-heart filled with sorrow.

But then I walked through Heaven’s gate,
And felt so much at home;
As God looked down and smiled at me,
From His beautiful golden throne.
He said, “This is eternity,
And now we welcome you,
Today your life on earth is past,
But here it starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last;
For you see, each day’s the same day,
There’s no longing for the past.
Now you have been so faithful,
So trusting, loyal and true;
Though there were times you did things,
You knew you shouldn’t do.

But good dogs are forgiven,
And now at last you’re free;
So won’t you sit here by my side,
And wait right here with me?”
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don’t think we’re far apart.
For every time you think of me,
I’m right there, in your heart.

~ author unknown

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone tumor in dogs witha round an 80% rate of all skeletal tumors receiving a diagnosis of osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma aka bone cancer occurs most frequently in middle aged dogs (ages 7-10); however, that is not to say it does not occur in younger dogs. Younger dogs with osteosarcoma’s often have a much more aggressive form of osteosarcoma and their projected lifespan following diagnosis is extremely short. It is oftentimes the larger breeds of dog who develop Osteosarcoma at earlier ages; however, this seems relative to the fact that larger breeds of dog have much shorter life expectancies than smaller breeds.

What are symptoms of Osteosarcoma? You should look for swelling in the area of the tumor, and stiffness and pain the the affected limb. By the time you notice symptoms in your dog there is a 90% chance that the cancer has already spread to your dog’s lungs. Your vet’s first line of investigation will be a complete xray of both the joint/limb in question as well as the chest, this will be followed by a biopsy to ensure that your dog does in fact have an osteosarcoma.

So what is Osteosarcoma and what does it mean? A diagnosis of Osteosarcoma is often devastating news simply because by the time symptoms of Osteosarcoma present themselves the tumor has already spread in most patients. Osteosarcoma is a cancer of the bone, it begins in most cases with a tumor growing within the bone and destroying the bone from the inside out. This bone destruction is extremely painful and many owners feel that euthanization is the best solution when their dog begins to be affected by the painful growth of osteosarcomas. For other dogs, however, the pain can be treated successfully by removal of the offending limb. Amputating the limb that contains the Osteosarcoma leaves your dog with a lower experience of pain; however because of the rapid spreading of Osteosarcoma it does not (in 99.9% of cases) eliminate the cancer from your dog’s body. Amputation does effectively manage pain symptoms for your dog. In some cases your vet may be able to spare your dog’s limb by using a donor bone or rebuilding your dog’s leg using bone transport osteogenesis. You should be aware that in my personal opinion your best route in this situation is to go with amputation of the limb, your dog will not suffer having just three legs and he will not feel self conscious either, plus with a limb amputation your dog will not have to face things like bone infection which often occurs from limb sparing surgeries. Other ways to manage your dog’s pain include radiotherapy and combined pain relief drugs.

Now you have managed your dog’s pain you must turn to managing the cancer itself. The extremely hard part about managing Osteosarcomas is that they are so aggressive they have often compromised your dog’s body before you can even realize that something is wrong and so the prognosis for recovery is slim to none. You can; however, extend your dog’s life with the pain management suggestions outlined above combined with these chemotherapy options:

CISPLATIN (given IV every 3-4 weeks for 3 treatments) – Cisplatin has an approximate survival time of 400 days.

CARBOPLATIN (given IV every 3-4 weeks for 4 treatments) – Carboplatin has an approximate survival time of 400 days.

DOXORUBICIN (given IV every 2 weeks for 5 treatments) – Doxorubicin has an approximate survival time of 365 days.

DOXORUBICIN AND CISPLATIN IN COMBINATION (both given IV together every 3 weeks for 4 treatments) – Doxorubicin and cisplatin in combination have a 48% survival rate at one year, a 30% survival rate at two years and a 16% survival rate at three years.

You can read more about these drugs and drug treatments here. Dogs that go through chemotherapy suffer from nausea and lethargy; however, these side effects last approximately two to seven days and give your pet an additional half year to whole year of life.

Only you can decide whether it is fair for you to prolong your dog’s life with pain management and chemotherapy, you are your dog’s guardian and he looks to you to make the hard decisions for him. Never do your dog the misdeed of prolonging his life because you can’t bear to see him go. You will know when your dog is ready to throw in his towel, the light will be gone from his eyes and he will give you a look that you will immediately recognize as “the look”, he will no longer enjoy play or food and he will have no desire to do those things he always used to do. Never make the mistake of thinking that you are doing your dog a misdeed by deciding to put him to sleep, if your dog truly is in that much pain it is your responsibility to accept and make that decision for him, just make sure that you go along with him to see him across the bridge.

If it should be that I grow weak
and pain should keep me from my sleep.
Then you must do what must be done,
for this last battle cannot be won.

You will be sad, I understand.
Don’t let your grief then stay your hand.
For this day more than all the rest,
your love for me must stand the test.

We’ve had so many happy years,
what is to come can hold no fears.
You’d not want me to suffer so.
The time has come, please let me go.

Take me where my needs they’ll tend
and please stay with me until the end.
Hold me firm and speak to me,
until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time that you will see,
the kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
from pain and suffering I’ve been saved.

Please do not grieve it must be you
who had this painful thing to do.
We’ve been so close, we two, these years.
Don’t let your heart hold back its tears.