Day Before Chemo

We are back from Arizona now, and I am so relieved to finally see Nova after 5 days away. Apparently she didn't eat very well while we were gone. I think she was depressed or something. Of course that made me feel like a bad mom. Although, as the day passed I think I realized that maybe she just figured out how to milk it for maximum sympathy! I don't know, I've seen her do things I know she is capable of doing as a Tripawd, and then she will be a big lazy butt and wait for you to cater to her. For example, Tammy mentioned that she hadn't noticed Nova drinking, so she started to feed her ice cubes by hand (which Nova ate). When Nova got home I noticed she wasn't drinking here either, so I decided to do the ice cube thing. I put a few down on the floor where she was laying, and she didn't move a muscle. I opened up a jowl and stuck one in there, and she spit it out. But when I HELD the cube with my fingers, she licked it like crazy, all while not even lifting her head. And as she is doing this, the tail is going thunk-thunk-thunk. Spoiled girl! I know I am being manipulated yet I continue to do it... I am such a sucker.

When I got her home this morning the first thing I did was cut off that bandage. She kept it on at Tammy's just to keep things from getting bumped, but it was high time to get that thing off of there and let it all breathe. It wasn't as shocking as I thought it would be (although the actual incision is still covered). Here you can see it while she was eating (By the way, she was a picky eater all weekend yet has downed 4 cans of food today... and counting):

What was more shocking is that practically her whole left side was shaved and she was..... well.... NAKED. Her pink skin with freckles/moles here and there was all exposed. And she was all shivery like she was cold. Poor baby! I decided to drive up to the pet store and look for a dog coat, although I didn't have very high hopes of finding a Great Dane size. There are always so many cute things for sale out there for small and medium size dogs, but they never seem to have sizes to accommodate giant breeds. Now I know how large-size people must feel. Anyway, I was surprised to find a giant breed fleece dog coat there at Pet Supplies Plus. Got it home and it turned out that it fit perfect, and I think she actually likes it. It is made by Fido Fleece. "Stylin' Fleece Activewear for Dogs" the tag says. I would have liked to get a more feminine color, but this was all there was. I think it looks nice.

Today Nova got a package in the mail from Grandma Barb. It was from Sit Stay (they have lots of cool stuff on their site) and was a container of "Carnivore Kisses". They are dried beef bites. I fed her a couple and she liked them, although just like when I fed her the ice cubes she just laid there as I fed her by hand like she was some Greek Goddess or something.

Tomorrow morning at 10 we have her first round of chemo. I am very nervous. I think what I am most nervous about is her being more tired than she is now. Right now she doesn't get up and move around much, and spends a lot of time just laying there. I hope she doesn't have problems with her appetite too. She is skeletal as she is, I don't want her to stop eating. I cooked her some ground beef tonight while I was making spaghetti, and also picked up a big thing of sliced turkey from Sam's Club. She turned down the ground beef tonight, but I am not too worried, since she had just eaten a can of rabbit.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's update. I am hoping they take her stitches out!