Barkley & Shelby's Stories of Courage
Type of Cancer: Lymphoma (Barkley) &
Hemangiosarcoma (Shelby)
When Barkley a/k/a “the Barkman” celebrated his 13th birthday in August
2007, it was a very special birthday, because at one time I didn’t know if he would even see his 11th. You see, Barkley
was diagnosed the first week of November in 2004 with lymphoma. At that point, he had lost a significant amount of weight
and was already very weak.
We had a wonderful veterinarian who thankfully had some experience with canine chemotherapy, so for me there was no
decision to make. We would definitely try the chemo. We used a modified version of the Madison-Wisconsin protocol. Rather
than doing biweekly treatments halfway through the protocol, we stayed with weekly treatments the entire time. This is because
for some reason Barkley became sick when we tried to move to biweekly treatments. As my veterinarian explained, chemo protocols
are just a guide and need to be adjusted depending upon how each individual patient responds.
Barkley for the most part handled his treatments like a champion.
Of course there were days when he refused to eat, even with me hand-feeding him a bite at a time, but overall he ate fairly
well. I put him on a home-cooked diet immediately, and he continues to eat nothing but home-cooked meals to this day, along
with his sister, Blackie. There were some bouts of diarrhea and two bouts of vomiting during the treatments, and I always
kept medication on hand to treat stomach upset.
The scariest time during his treatments was one day when he just refused to get up. He would
barely even raise his head or acknowledge me. I was devastated and hysterical. I was terrified that it was the end. But being
the champ that he is, he bounced back the next morning as if nothing had ever been wrong. Barkley went into remission approximately
five weeks after his treatments began.
We finished his treatments the last week of March 2005. A few months later, we moved to
Birmingham, where I found another wonderful vet who had lots of experience with chemo treatments. We went in for regular lymph
node checks, and I experienced anxiety with every visit. It was such a tremendous relief every time Dr. Tate told me everything
felt good. We also did routine blood work to keep a check on everything.
My greatest fear was realized in January 2006, when I found out that Barkley’s
littermate and sister, Shelby, also had cancer. Unfortunately, Shelby had a very aggressive form of cancer - hemangiosarcoma
- and we had to have her spleen removed right away. We also used chemotherapy treatments for her, but it was not enough to
save her from the dreadful disease. It merely prolonged her life just long enough to finish the protocol. I assisted Shelby
with her passing from this earth on Wednesday, April 26, 2006. I lay with her and sang to her, petting her gently when she
passed. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but it was the right thing to do for Shelby. She took her last breath
in my arms on her bed in my bedroom floor. She left her earthly home for a home in Heaven to be with her angel sister, Bailey.
I know I will be with them again one day.
I attribute Barkley’s success and the maintaining of my sanity to many things. We had two wonderful,
caring veterinarians. Plus Barkley has such a zest for life, and he was and still is a fighter. Also, I sought the support
of a wonderful, caring group of people online in the Pet Cancer Support forums. I would have never made it without those wonderful
men and women. But mainly, we are where we are today because God blessed me financially to be able to provide for Barkley’s
needs, and He answered countless prayers. He is still answering prayers today.
** I am saddened to add a postscript to this story. In July 2009, my good friend, and canine cancer
hero Barkley passed away...a ripe old age at 14 1/2 and completely cancer free. Barkley was such an inspiration to me personally
when Georgia was in the fight, and I know that he will be dearly missed by his mom Tina, and all who had the joy of knowing
him. Godspeed Barkman! ~Kerry **
