Blue Armstrong

I hope you're sitting down. Got some sad news. Our crazy, rambunctious, lovable 4-year old puppy, Blue, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. That's cancer, people. We're very sad. He had been acting strange lately - sometimes not eating, sleeping in weird places, not coming up when the girls were playing.... We took him to Topeka a couple weeks ago and he was his normal crazy, energetic self - but when he came home he hit a wall, refusing to eat and sleeping in the basement 24-hrs a day - VERY un-Bluelike. Our vet ran some tests and diagnosed him with Lymphoma. He recommended we meet with an oncologist - because of his age, Blue is a good candidate for chemo treatment. Last Friday, Blue, Mark, my Dad, and I made an appointment at the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center. They told us that with the Chemo, Blue had a likelihood of living 12-24 months - but there are examples of dogs being cured of the disease (hence the name "Blue Armstrong" - like "Lance Armstrong's" miraculous story of how he beat cancer). Unfortunately, from the tests, they could tell that Blue has a mass near his heart, which lowers his prognosis to 6-9 months. To date, he has had his first chemo treatment and goes in again on Monday. He's also been taking a steroid that makes him eat and drink a lot - which is great. I can tell he's not his old self and is tired all the time. But at least he's not sleeping in the basement anymore. We love our Blue Boy and will keep you posted on his progress! Poor puppy.
Although, I kind of feel sorry for the cancer. If it saw what Blue had done to our couch as a puppy - ripping it to shreds AND moving it diagonally in the room in a couple hours, it definitely would have chosen another host!!! Blue is a FIGHTER!!! Or as our dog trainer said "uh, he IS a defiant one, isn't he?" Yes, crazy dog lady, he IS a defiant one!!!