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I absolutely love your web site.
It has helped me though a very
difficult time. Please accept my
story of Bubba, out beloved boy,
who fought hard, but ultimately
lost his battle with Lymphoma.
Hopefully it will help others in
the way that I was helped. My
email address
morinmmelissa@hotmail.com may
be included for contact with
Bubba's story. Sincerely,
Melissa Morin & Joe Colella
* * *
On a chilly October morning we
received a call that an 8-month
old male Rottweiler had been
rescued from a 'puppy mill' and
was in desperate need of a home,
quick. One look at our boy and we
knew, we could never be without
him.
His name is Bubba and he was dealt
an awful hand in life, abused and
neglected, with medical problems
plaguing him from the first day we
brought him home. He became a
regular at our local veterinary
office and the specialty clinic
near our home. Yet with all the
procedures and treatments, he
still loved going to see his
people friends at the vet, always
walked in proud and sat politely
on the scale to be weighed.
Bubba just adored the attention.
With his medical issues finally
subsiding, my family and I
breathed a collective sigh of
relief; our fearless, loving,
gentle man would get to lead a
normal life. Then it hit us, on
Sunday April 5, 2007 our “Bubba
Boy” had developed swollen glands
under his neck that we discovered
when he placed his head in our
lap, he was showing us. By Monday
morning the lymph nodes were the
size of softballs. We took him to
the vet, fully expecting that he
had an infection and would receive
antibiotics. Our hearts broke when
we were told that he tested
positive for lymphoma, confirmed
with a biopsy. Not knowing about
this awful disease, the reality of
what we were up against struck
when the vet technician dropped to
her knees and began hugging Bubba
while her tears fell onto his fur.
The vet confirmed it was bad.
Our gentle giant had stage III
lymphoma was given only 4-6 weeks
if we didn’t enter treatment.
The odds were against us as
lymphoma is generally tougher to
treat in young dogs. But we felt
we had to give it a try, the vet
assured us that dogs respond to
chemotherapy better than people.
TREATMENT
At barely 3-years old, Bubba began
treatment with a multi-drug
protocol and was pronounced to be
in full remission within a week.
We were so excited, could it be
that the vet was wrong, could our
brave boy beat this? His
treatments went well, with no side
effects. We checked him everyday,
no lymph nodes. Bubba had a great
summer, doing all the things he
loved; he even found a place on
the couch (which was previously a
“no no”).
Then it hit us again, in
September, before completing the
6-month chemotherapy protocol, the
dreaded lymph nodes came back. We
entered into rescue therapy and
began with a new drug. Bubba
responded and was pronounced in
“partial” remission as one
stubborn lymph node shrunk but did
not disappear completely.
Bubba celebrated a wonderful
Thanksgiving with his family and
was so very spoiled. Unfortunately
on Sunday December 2, 2007, Bubba
became very tired. Our strong,
vital boy lost all his energy. He
was fine in the morning and by day
end, could not walk. We slept with
him on the living room floor and
took him to the vet on Monday
morning. The vet checked his blood
and confirmed that his red cell
count was low, a sign of anemia.
We tried IV fluids and steroids in
an attempt to bring his energy
back, but to no avail. That
evening we decided to let him go.
He simply looked tired. No pain.
No crying. Our vet agreed with a
heavy heart that it was time. So
we gave kisses all around and
allowed him to drift off
peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge.
We are so saddened that our boy,
who touched the hearts of everyone
he met, was taken from us at such
a young age. He was the model
Rottweiler, making friends
everywhere he went. We will miss
him so deeply that we cannot even
put it into words. God bless you
Bubba, our “Mr. Moose.”
(January
6, 2004 – December 3, 2007) |
Rottweiler
Health Foundation Mission Statement
