I am a Survivor!!
By Tracy Frost
DiMaggio the day he
completed his Chemo Last Treatment
This sweet little boy is
Silverdale's Joe DogMaggio (Magi), a 13.5 year old very loving and active
Havanese. He loves to go for long walks, play soccer and fetch. His owners, Tom
and Gretchen say, “He's a playful, good-natured little guy whom we adore. He's
the smartest dog I've ever known.”
Magi is always a very enthusiastic
eater, so when he didn’t want to eat, no matter what his owners fed him, they
began to worry. They even tried his favorites; chicken, hamburger and
rice, but it still didn’t do the trick. Magi was also starting to struggle with
walking far distances, and would lie down shortly after they started. His
loving owners were frightened over his behavior, and knew something was
seriously wrong.
Magi, was immediately taken to CKVC
to see Dr. Weakley, where he informed Tom and Gretchen that Magi's symptoms
were consistent with cancer. With heavy
hearts, they listened as Dr. Weakley explained about the two possible types of
lymphoma--the good and the bad, in layman's terms.
After a Needle aspirate was
taken, Magi was given a steroid injection to kick his appetite into gear, along
with prednisone tablets. Gretchen said, “Magi began to eat immediately,
the first step toward feeling better.”
Unfortunately, the cytology was inconclusive,
so Magi had to undergo a biopsy, which confirmed that he indeed had lymphoma
