I haven’t posted much lately, I know.  I still see lots of movies (thanks to Regal Unlimited), but I haven’t been posting reviews much (go see Knives Out).  I’ve also been playing some video games (Jedi: Fallen Order is excellent), but also not posting about them.

See, after my dog Simon died, my oldest dog, Dax, mourned him pretty heavily.  Then, around September, Dax got sick with some nasty digestive problems.  We medicated him, and all seemed well.  I took my yearly vacation to Orlando, Florida for Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights, and had a blast.  I even took a slight detour to Disney World and Hollywood Studios to see the new Galaxy’s Edge attractions and geeked out to some Star Wars stuff.

Shortly after returning home my employer hosted its yearly picnic.  As a charity this year they welcomed a local SPCA chapter, who brought along a litter of adorable dachshund mix puppies for adoption.  I decided to give one a home, as she was very sweet and seemed to take a liking to me.  Thus, my pack returned to having three dogs.

By October, however, Dax stopped eating as much as he used to.  Of course this lead to some weight loss.  Then his digestive issues came back.  We went back to the vet, and I assumed it was the stress induced by the puppy being in the house.  Dax is 9 years old, so while he is by no means elderly, he isn’t as spry as he used to be.  We medicated again, and hoped for the best.

Things only got worse.

To cut to the chase, by mid-November Dax had lost nearly 20 pounds from his former 65 pound self.  Fur and bones, my vet ran various tests, all of which kept coming back negative.  It was then that, being as thin as he was, they noticed some swelling in his lymph nodes.  One very expensive biopsy later and Dax is diagnosed with lymphoma.

I am referred to a veterinary oncologist who runs another battery of tests.  The good news: the cancer doesn’t appear to have spread to any other organs or systems.  A round of various meds and chemotherapy should help put him into remission.  The oncologist puts his odds at around 80% or more that remission will happen, so we are going forward with the treatment plan.  It’ll take about 10 weeks to complete.

Needless to say, this has been a worrisome preoccupation lately.  I am trying to remain hopeful that the treatment will work.  I’m not sure I can handle losing two dogs in less than a year very well.  I’m also having to try to keep up with the puppy during all this.  A puppy, might I add, who really isn’t grasping the concept of house training.

*sigh*

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and family.