# Stagger Lee



## Yvonne G (Jun 11, 2010)

We haven't heard from Chewbecca in a while. I wonder what kind of mischief Stagger Lee is getting into???


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## harris (Jun 11, 2010)

I was just thinking the same thing the other day!


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## Chewbecca (Jun 11, 2010)

Oh, sorry guys!!!

Uh, the past three months have been CRAAAAZY at our house.

Stagger's big boy enclosure is being built currently, but has been put on hold due some things going on.

We recently had to put our beloved pit bull, Ella, to sleep. I won't go into the emotional detail, but it was the most painful decision I have EVER had to make in my life.

Two days after Mother's Day, Ella woke up with the right side of her neck swollen to the size of a tennis ball.
Out of NOWHERE. She was perfectly FINE the day before.

We took her to the vet, and he aspirated it, sent off stuff to the lab, and everything came back negative for cancer.
It WAS her lymph node, but her other nodes were NOT swollen at ALL.

He put her on antibiotics. They didn't work. He put her on prednisone. It didn't work. He had us come back in, and he aspirated it again, and sent stuff off to the lab. He had us start weaning her off of the prednisone. He called us and the lab results were basically coming back inconclusive and just claiming lots of "necrotic tissue", so he said it would probably be in Ella's best interest to have it removed.
So, we scheduled a surgery to have the lymph node removed.

The night before Ella's surgery, she started vomiting. We didn't understand because Ella NEVER gets sick. So, we gave her pepcid, and she was able to get enough food down that we were able to give her her antibiotic.

They left a drain tube in her after her surgery. She had the surgery on a Thursday.
She was sick the next day and ALLL weekend.
Her stomach started looking distended, and I called the vet on Sunday, and he said if she's voiding herself ok, then it's not bloat. So, we had to give her an extra strong dosage of pepcid, and she still didn't act interested in food.
We took her in that Tuesday to have her drain tube removed.

That was when our vet gave us the lab results.
It was indeed lymphoma, large cell type.
This news hit us like a TON of bricks, because out of the two labs we had run, NOTHING came back positive for cancer.
And the worst news was: Our vet had determined, after feeling her tummy, that the cancer had already spread to her spleen and liver.

He told us the likeliness of chemo actually doing anything for her was extremely slim, and he's an extremely optimistic vet, typically.
And he told us how much the chemo would cost at the clinic for her ($10,000-$15,000 for a year's treatment), and we simply could not afford it.
Had we thought that it would give us 2 more years with her, we would have found a way to afford it. But she was already a stage IVb (she was showing clinical symptoms).
He told us without treatment, we'd have 2 months left with her, max. 
We spent that day sobbing, but trying not to be too emotional because we didn't want to upset her.

I let her sleep in bed with me that night. She was so uncomfortable. She was waking me up every 5 minutes, tossing and turning. I cried as I KNEW she was in pain. Her spleen was so swollen, she couldn't get comfortable.
I held her, and tried to make her comfortable.
She started drooling that morning, which is a sign of nausea. I took her out to go potty, and I watched her wobble when she squat to pee. Then when we came back inside, she refused to go up the three steps from our sunroom to our kitchen.
I bawled and BEGGED her to come up the steps. I pleaded with her.
Finally, she came up the steps.
But she didn't come up the steps for herself, she came up the steps _for me_.
When I should have been doing something for _her_.
It was as that moment I knew that we had to let her go. 
We had to beat the cancer, and the only way we could was to let her go in peace before the cancer took over her ENTIRE body.

ACK. I said I was not going to go into the emotional details about it. But I did.
I went into a depressive state and couldn't eat or sleep right. I missed her so much.
Within three weeks, my dog got cancer, and it spread soooo fast, it invaded her organs.

I was so heart broken. I had a dogless house. But I kept finding her hairs in my bathroom, and drool marks on my kitchen floor that I couldn't bear to clean up in fear of "erasing" her. I was so bad.
I felt like I lost one of my children.

Long story short, the dogless house was too much for me. I talked to a friend who's in rescue in Chicago, and she told me of a pit bull puppy up for adoption.
We did a meet and greet and adopted our 3 1/2 month old puppy, Ophelia.
We did not name her Ophelia, the rescue did, but we kept the name.
We call her "Ophie".

Ophie has a love of life, and she is keeping me on my toes!
No time to stay in a dark place, dwelling on grieving Ella. She doesn't replace Ella, as NO dog will EVER replace Ella. But she sure makes me laugh!
And tonight, call us crazy, we are driving up to Chicago to see about possibly fostering a 6 month old male pit bull puppy.
YES, I AM CRAZY.
But Ophie would LOVE a playmate.
And we can give a temporary home to a dog in need.

So!
That is what has been going on!


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## Meg90 (Jun 11, 2010)

I cried when I read this. I am so sorry for you 

It will be good to see you posting again.


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## terryo (Jun 11, 2010)

I know words just aren't enough, but I am so, so sorry. I guess we have all been down that road at one time or another and can truly feel your pain. At least now you have Ophie to give hugs and kisses too.....and of course the famous Stagger Lee.


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## Stephanie Logan (Jun 11, 2010)

Oh, Rebecca, that must have been excruciating for all of you. Devastating.

I am so glad you found Ophie and Ophie found you. I think it's the best tribute you could pay to your beloved Ella, to take in another puppy as a repository for all that love that was meant for Ella. You know she would totally approve and would be glad, since you are such great dog keepers, that you are keeping another dog in her memory.

I am sure Stagger is just as irritated at there being a new puppy in the house, diverting attention from his royal teh tortimus personage, as he would be if Ella were the one stealing your focus away from him. He'll probably eat some turds to remind you who's the most important again.


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## stells (Jun 12, 2010)

So sorry to hear about Ella... i can't even begin to imagine how that must have been..

I'm glad you have got yourself another Pitbull puppy... thats another Pitbull with a great home and who is going to have a great life... there are so many out there that don't have that option...


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## harris (Jun 14, 2010)

What a heartbreaking story. I'm so sorry for your loss. Like you, when I lose one of my pups, I typically get a new one shortly thereafter. It helps me and also the friend left behind with the grieving process. I've always had and always will have two dogs in my life with me. Sorry again for what you had to go through.


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## jackrat (Jun 14, 2010)

My condolences for your loss.


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