The End- Tristan 7-22-95/4-10-09

I lost my boy on April 10th 2009. It was one of the hardest days I can remember. I was hopeful after trying the new meds but as it turns out he had other problems. Tris developed cushing`s disease we believe and probably the pituitary kind. He became unsteady on his feet on the 7th and by the next day he was blind in one eye. The Dr`s felt it was a tumor. He fought a really good fight but by Thursday night he couldn`t stand any longer and even eating and drinking became difficult. Come Friday morning which was Good Friday by the way, it became apparent that he had aspirated some water. He became weaker and more uncomfortable during the day and I knew it was time. The Dr`s were kind enough to come by so he did not have to leave his own bed to make his final journey. He went to sleep for the last time at 7pm that evening and we took him to be cremated the next day. His ashes sit on my dresser next to his photos and some ever changing fresh flowers as a permanent tribute to a very special guy.

Thank You to all who wrote and followed Tris`s story. I hope that someone else was able to help their own dog after reading about the stem cell therapy...It would make me feel good to know that Tris played a part in that.

April 1 2009 - OsteoDex ? Something New to try !!

Well, almost 5 months have passed since our last update. Shorty after the November entry we had a litter of pups here and things became very hectic. Tristan continued to do very well for about 8 weeks and just as fast as he improved, he went back to the way he was before. It was very sad for me to watch him begin to limp again. He seems to have gotten quite old lately as he is approaching his 14th birthday. He was recently diagnosed hyperthyroid and started on meds for that and will be re-checked shortly to make sure it was nothing else.There have been several bouts with his legs that have required steroids. At this point he is on dexamethasone every day and has been for several weeks. It has helped him tremendously but is not something I want to continue. A new product has been brought to my attention called OsteoDex. It sounds very promising. We will begin treatment in just a few short days and I will keep you updated on his progress. I will add a new video so that you can see where he is at before he starts the new supplements..keep your fingers crossed for my boy!!

6 weeks after 2nd treatment

Tristan has been doing very well for the last 4 weeks. That is no to say he never limps, but his limp is considerably less than before his injection. His morning walks are virtually limp free as you can see from the video and he is quite spunky. The 2nd video is dark but it shows a bit of his enthusiasm in the morning at a time when his leg was usually quite bad. He will never be young again but I feel that this has added to the quality of his life considerably.

11-6-08 New Progress

It has now been 3 weeks since Tristan`s 2nd stem cell treatment. I hesitate to say this but it has been 4 days now with hardly a limp at all. I noticed on Monday that he was having a good day and it is now Friday and it continues. We have been having some very damp weather as well which would normally make anyone with arthritis worse. I am still keeping him confined to his room for the most part and only going for short walks to potty for another 3 weeks as per the vet-stem instructions. I hope the progress continues or at least stays as good as it has been this week.

10-28-08 2 weeks after 2nd treatment

Tris went for his second stem cell injection 2 weeks ago tomorrow. I have not yet noticed any great improvement. He had the tumor removed off his rear leg at the same time and thank goodness the biopsy was negative, it was the kind of cell that could easily have turned malignant so it was good that we removed it when w did. We only had enough stem cells to make one shot so we used it for his left foreleg. I have kept him confined and quiet for almost 2 weeks now.

10-14-08 4th Shot

Tristan went for his 4th adequan shot today. He is doing OK with the shots, some days he seems stiffer than others but all in all there has been some improvement. We have decided to remove the growth on his rear leg on Wednesday and at that time we will also do the stem cell injection that we have left. It will be injected in to his left elbow, which is still the joint that gives him the most trouble. Maybe this time the effects will not be so short lived.

10-3-08 We had a good day !

This past Monday, Tristan went for his 2nd Adequan shot. I only noticed a slight improvement up till now from the 1st shot. Today however was a very good day. Usually first thing in the morning he is very stiff but today he hardly limped at all on his morning walk. He will get a 3rd shot on this coming Monday. In the next few weeks he will go in to have the tumor that was found on his rear leg removed. We have decided that at that time we will also use the remaining stem cell shot in his front leg. It seemed very unlikely that I would put him under anesthesia in the upcoming year for the sole purpose of using that remaining shot so it just seemed that the wisest thing to do would be to do it now since he would be under anyway.

You can see in the video from today that he was much more comfortable. It gives me such joy to see him have a good day. Hopefully now, without having to ever do any steps, his improvements will last a while longer...and with the next injection of stem cells he will improve further so the winter won`t be so hard on him.