Daisy Wins Seven First Place Ribbons and 2 Titles!!

Daisy just finished the MOC AKC agility trials this weekend at Tropical Park.  As a proud mom I am taking this opportunity to brag about my sweet little Daisy: She qualified in all 8 agility runs.  She won seven first place ribbons and one second place ribbon.  She won two titles: one in Open JWW and one in Novice Standard.  Most importantly she had a tail waggin' fun time with all of her canine friends. Daisy I love you my sweet angel. 

Our "Happy Paws" group being "Paws-i-tive"

Daisy's Ribbons

More Ribbons

Debra came to see Daisy run today.  Debra is a vet technician at MVS where Daisy is treated by her oncologist Dr. Lurie.  Isn't that sweet?

Daisy wins her first Title in Open Jumpers with Weaves

Daisy wins her first Title in Novice Standard
(Notice her tail wagging on the table?) too cute!

UPDATE ON DAISY'S HEALTH: As many of you know, Daisy's lymphoma cancer returned 6 weeks post Bone Marrow Transplant  (December 9th 2011).  I continue to use alternative cancer treatments (Rife machine and health supplements) and I recently added chemotherapy treatment on January 4th (to help get her lymph nodes down in her jaw area). However due to her "new" bone marrow it is taking longer for her to generate white blood cells which only allows her to get chemotherapy every two weeks.  Her lymph nodes have returned under her jaw area but remain small and have not spread to other areas of her body.  She gets blood tests every week. 

As an alternative cancer treatment using the "Rife" machine I use specific frequencies based upon what is needed.  When her white blood cell count is low I use a specific frequency on the Rife machine which increases her white blood cell count and blood flow/stimulation.  I also use a specific frequency on the Rife machine to "break the outer walls" of her cancer cells.  I use a specific frequency on the Rife machine for Kidney, lymph, liver, and spleen support to help rid her body of toxins.  As of today Daisy is energetic, playful, has a healthy appetite,  regular bowel movements and uninterrupted sleep (she even wags her tail while she is dreaming). 

Daisy's First Camping Trip (Dog Scouts of America)

Daisy had a VERY fun-filled and active weekend with the Dog Scouts of America this past weekend.  She worked on many badges: Backpacking (see her with her own backpack?) Bicycling, Kayaking, Phodography, Travel Safety, and "The Art of Shaping" (teaching your dog how to paint). The highlight of her weekend was most definitely kayaking.  I say this because I have never seen Daisy so calm AND fascinated at the same time. She initially jumped right out of the kayak but within 5 minutes she was settled back in for the  rest of the trip. She laid down in front of me taking in all the sights and sounds.  It was so cute looking at the back of her head looking up (at pelicans, yachts, planes) looking down (at ocean creatures and the splashing water against the kayak) and of course looking at passersby saying "oh look at that cute dog." I don't have pictures of it but I will be sure to take them next time around. 

 Daisy begins her backpacking trip with the dogscouts

....and off we go!

Dog Scout Troop stops to give water to the Dog Scouts. 

Daisy and I getting tips from troop leader

Troop Leader Cynthia has us stop to practice the "leave it" command.  Basically self explanatory but the exercise consists of putting something on the ground that your dog is tempted by.  Then you simply walk your dog by it as you give the "leave it" command. This is a life-long exercise and one of the most challenging because there will always be things that will tempt your dog to run after something, whether that be wildlife, food, toys or people. We practiced with peanut butter, meat and cheese. Daisy "left" the peanut butter, the meat but by the time she got to the cheese she just stopped and stared at it and just wouldn't budge,

Dog Scout Troop Stops to work on "Recall." I put Daisy in a "stay" position until I walked 20 ft away to call her

Daisy running toward me as I "call" her from about 20 ft. away

Park Service Specialist Brian Older asks to take a picture of the Dog Scout Troop (and Daisy sneaks a treat from someones pouch while everyone is distracted)

Back at camp Daisy takes notes during the "Art of Shaping" class (teaching your dog how to paint) with Troop Leader and her beloved Reba (an experienced painter).

Dog Scout Troop 157

Daisy's Activities with Dog Scouts of America

Daisy's First Bike Ride with Dog Scouts of America Troop 157

On January 8th, 2012

Below Daisy practices for a Dog Scout "Bike Badge" using an official "Walkie Dog" bike attachment

 (January 14th, 2012)

Below Daisy plays a "Tic Tac Toe" game with the Dog Scouts of America (January 15th, 2012).  Two teams play against each other putting their dog in a "down-stay" position.  Anyone who has ever met Daisy knows how overly excited she can get around new people and dogs and will be surprised at how calm and focused she remained in her "down-stay"position (maybe it was the long bike ride I took her on beforehand :-).  A "Down-Stay"position is one of the requirements for a dog to pass the Dog Scout test. 

Daisy's "New Normal"

Daisy was seen by her oncologist, Dr. Lurie this week.  Daisy is still in clinical remission with normal size lymph nodes. However she was supposed to get her weekly dose of chemotherapy but her neutrophil counts (white blood cells) were at a low 750.  (He does not administer chemo to dogs unless their neutrophil count is at least 2000).  I asked him if her busy/active week (bicycling, dog scouts of america, agility run thrus/practice) might have played a role in her neutrophil count being low.  He said no and that it was most likely due to last weeks chemo. He said her new bone marrow is probably just taking longer to produce the neutrophils and this might be her "new normal" meaning that she will likely receive chemo every two weeks instead of weekly.  Daisy will be tested again next week. Dr. Lurie said that she looked very good and that she should continue to be active in her agility and other activities.

I'm still dumbfounded how healthy she seems.  One would never guess that anything was wrong with her. She just wants to jump waves, go on play dates, go bicycling, attend dogscout events and perform at dog agility events.  I will continue with the chemotherapy as well as alternative cancer treatments.

Next weekend I'm taking Daisy to a dogscout camp where she will be working on getting her dogscout badges in: camping, backpacking, hiking, biking, kayaking, travel safety, art of shaping, and  phodography.  Cute little thing :-)  I will upload pics as I get them.

Daisy's next dog agility event will be from January 27th through the 30th at Tropical Park in Miami.  There will be ALOT of talented dogs there.  Come out to see Daisy perform (she just loves it when people clap). 

Daisy: A Story of Hope

Daisy (like always) continues to be her happy, energetic and playful self.  However, approximately 3-4 weeks ago (Dec 7 or 8th)  I noticed Daisy's lymph nodes were swollen under her jaw.  Dr. Lurie, Daisy's oncologist and Dr. Richter Daisy's vet saw her the next day. The results of a fine needle aspirate came in on Dec. 12th and it was confirmed that Daisy once again had cancer (lymphoma).   Needless to say Everyone was heartbroken and deeply saddened by this news.  I always knew that this procedure was never a guarantee because even with full body radiation there is always a possibility that not ALL the cancer cells will be destroyed.  But like every hopeful dog owner looking for ANYTHING that will keep their dog alive I thought for sure Daisy could beat the odds and be one of the 30% that would be cured.  Because this treatment is fairly new the actual statistics will continue to come in as time passes.  Hopefully this new information will also provide some insight as to why it works for some dogs and not others.

After the initial shock and disappointment I consulted with her oncologist and the BMT specialist, Dr. Warry from NCSU.  Both agreed that Daisy's only treatment option at this point was to begin chemotherapy (radiation was no longer an option because of the full body radiation she received at NCSU).  Also the fact that Daisy's bone marrow was still "fairly new" Dr. Lurie wasn't sure how Daisy would respond to chemotherapy.  Given this information I opted to try an alternative cancer treatment for about a month (thinking that this would also give her bone marrow more time to mature).

Along with that I continued to monitor Daisy for any changes as recommended by her oncologist (i.e. diarrhea, vomiting or lethargy, the lymph nodes under her jaw growing rapidly in size and/or spreading to other areas; behind her knees and/or in-between her shoulder blades.  Daisy continued to be asymptomatic throughout this time period with the exception of her swollen lymph nodes under her jaw.

Daisy started a daily regimen of alternative cancer treatment on December 19th (a "Rife" machine, which I opted to use because it worked for a close friend of mine many many years ago when she was in the final stages of recurrent cancer, sent home and told there was nothing more they could do.  I might share this story at a later date).  Although Daisy was very receptive to this treatment I found myself checking her lymph nodes continuously, even in the middle of the night.  I guess the idea of her lymph nodes "growing rapidly in size" and possibly obstructing her breathing really scared me.  So on January 3rd I decided that it was time to try chemotherapy to get those lymph nodes down.  When Dr. Lurie examined her he was surprised and happy to see that it had not spread beyond her jaw area since it had been close to a month.  Daisy also presented very well clinically, being her usual energetic, social and playful self.   He started her on chemotherapy that day January 3rd and by the next day her swollen lymph nodes were gone.  She was seen again on January 5th and Dr. Lurie concurred that she was in clinical remission (yay!!!).

Daisy will continue chemotherapy and I will continue to use alternative cancer treatments concurrently (as well as spoil the heck out of her).  Since the cancer has returned I have increased ALL of her favorite activities: play dates with her doggie friends, trips to the beach for "wave jumping" dog scout activities and weekly agility classes and/or agility trials and of course giving her daily hugs & kisses and saying "I love you" as often as possible.

If anyone reading this has any other ideas or other alternative treatments for Daisy I'd really like to hear from you.  I read about Dr Burzynski's antineoplastons treatment and watched the very intriguing documentary on  YouTube.  I even called his clinic to ask if they treat canines but right now they do not.  As always I will remain hopeful.

Daisy had a great time at Tailwaggers Agility Trial in West Palm Beach.  She finally hit the contact on the A-Frame in Standard Yay! (she paused to take a sniff before jumping on the table ....I think she wanted a "clean" table to sit on lol -see the video) but she Q'd and placed 2nd! She also placed first in JWW .  To make her weekend even more fun I snuck away for a couple of hours in the afternoon to take her swimming at Jupiter Beach.  We returned for her last run at 6pm (video).