A Farewell to Fletcher

Well, it’s as we feared. Our sweet Fletch lost his fight with cancer. We had to put him to sleep yesterday afternoon. The cancer came back faster and stronger, and he went from symptom-free fifteen days ago to completely gone. The oncologist let us be in the room with him during the end, and he just drifted off to sleep, with me cradling his head and Marissa holding his paw. It’s for the best, I know, but it was so hard to say goodbye to my little pal. I really hoped we had had more time, that he would have been able to see another Halloween, and be in another family Christmas card with the silly dog-pun, but it wasn’t to be. I cherish the time I had with him, and wouldn’t trade a second of it. The pain of loss is still fresh, but I look forward to the time when the memory makes me smile instead of tear up. He truly was this man’s best friend, and he will be sorely missed.

Last night, our other greyhound, Addie, really stepped it up around the Denehy house. She can tell something is wrong, and she misses her brother, but she was extra sweet and attentive to Marissa and me during a pretty rough night. We took her to the Clifton Park by our house to enjoy the beautiful fall afternoon, and she was a perfect lady. She ran through the leaves with me on her leash, discovered ducks for the first time with Marissa (they sounded just like her toys), and was super tolerant of all the hugs we subjected her to. We let her sleep on the bed and she spent the entire night curled up right at our feet, where Fletch used to sleep when we first got him (we had to shoo him off the bed when he would steal the covers – he was kind of a jerk like that sometimes). It was really unexpected, and it helped make the pain of losing him just a little bit less intense.

To everyone who gave to help us pay for his treatment, or sent us your well wishes and advice, we sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We didn’t have long with Fletch on three legs, but I would do it all over again if I could. Those two extra months with my special little guy were something I will treasure always, and we had some great times until the end. I hope someday we can repay your kindness. Truly, truly thank you.

-Sam

New Developments

It's with a heavy heart that I report that Fletch is not doing too well. The last month or so has been great. He's been taking the stairs and even keeping up with his sister while playing in the yard. However, on October 3rd, I took him into the vet for his 2nd chemo treatment and at the time we noticed a small lump around his incision site and it seemed painful to him. The oncologist took some fluid from it which appeared to be a clearer bloody substance. She diagnosed it as a seroma which is a common side effect to extensive surgeries where a lot of tissue is tampered with and/or removed. She recommended that we treat it with warm compresses and continue his pain and anti-inflammatory meds. The seroma got worse as the days went on and about a week later, another seroma began to form a few inches above the first.

Yesterday, Fletch was clearly in a lot of pain. His seromas have grown to the size of baseballs and are very sensitive to the touch. Additionally, Fletcher is having trouble getting up and laying down without jostling them and he often cries out or whines. So last night, Sam took Fletch to the emergency vet. The emergency vet pulled more fluid from them, which this time came out as just blood, which basically means these masses are not seromas as originally thought.It's very likely that Fletch's cancer has metastasized in his soft tissues and that is what is causing his pain and swelling.

The oncologist is out until Tuesday so we're going back in to see her. At this time, we don't know what this means. We can't really do anything but keep him comfortable until Tuesday.

We'll keep you all updated via the blog as we know more, but for the time being, please keep Fletch in your thoughts.