spikewatch

yesterday, spike started eating again and he hasn’t stopped since. first, he chowed down on a leftover prawn, and then moved on to the leftover thanksgiving turkey. we figured he could eat these chunky things and not the turkey and tuna purees we concocted for him because he can bite and chew but not lick. the tumor gets in the way of any serious tongue action; but even the chewing did that and he gets all bloody and mucousy when he eats. eventually, leanne was able to get him to eat the a/d wet food sent home by the vet. in addition, she tops this with a high-calorie vitamin supplement and spike just eats and eats and eats. he’s got most of his voice back and can yowl and call with his gravelly voice again, and we even spotted him cleaning his drooly face off with his paws.

all of this, however, is bittersweet, since his is obviously in pain, and leanne just got the biopsy report and it confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. dr bloom has spoken with the expert in the area, dr jane torell in pacifica, and there doesn’t appear to be any option for treatment. now, it seems all about managing his pain and determining when it is time for him to go. she’s taken spike back to presidio way to get a patch put onto his leg that should measure out pain medicine for the next five days or so.

to pick ourselves up, leanne and i went to see “love actually” at amc van ness yesterday. a sappy feelgood love story. i left the theater bawling.