Moose was
only 6.5 years old when got
mast
cell skin cancer.
I called Moose's breeder and asked if they ever heard of this condition in
any of their dogs and they said "No, not at all, never. That's a first for
us to hear about this."
I've since learned that there have been many studies done and there is
a correlation between cancer in dogs and use of herbicides/pesticides.
Dogs
exposed to herbicides have a 100% greater chance of cancer than dogs not
exposed. Moose was in chronic, regular contact with chemicals
(administered by Chemlawn) at a low levels his whole life, and many different
products were used.
Lest anyone get the wrong idea about Moose and his
cancer:
Moose was healthy until the day Chemlawn arrived. Skin Cancer and Chemo did
not cause Moose to skip a beat in his normal life.
We found 5 lumps on Moose's stomach November 18, 2004. Right away I took
him to Vet, but she didn't know 3 of the 5 were cancerous and she simply
said ..."just watch them to see if they grow". They grew, but it was the
NON cancerous cysts that were the ones of most concern by looking at them.
The cancerous, therefore, dangerous lumps were white, tiny, hard to the touch
and so benign looking that we probably would have never taken him to the
Vet for them. They were surgically removed Feb 1, 2005.
That two month time period (Nov. 20th to
Feb 1) was the only time cancer was found and actively on his
body.
This was not a sick dog. It would be unfair to characterize Moose
as ailing and sickly during the cancer treatment year, 2005, because he was
never ailing and constantly sick UNTIL HE WAS POISONED.
See Moose run around in the yard with the kids that same week we found
lumps:
Playing
in the leaves clip 1,
clip
2
See
videos of Moose enjoy his time on a pontoon on the bay, summer of '05. These
videos represent Moose after 6 months of Chemo every three weeks and these
particular clips were taken less than a week after a chemo treatment. As
you'll see, Chemo did not slow Moose down at all:
Moose
on a pontoon clip 1,
Moose
on a pontoon clip 2
(excuse the 2 second audio lapse, the original is fine, but for some reason
playing on Youtube, there's a lapse.)
The year of Chemo was to insure that the cancer did not return. From
ALL the CBC's (blood tests) Moose ever had, Cancer was NEVER found in his
blood, including his final blood work on Feb. 21, 2007.
The doctor gave us a choice at the initial meeting. Just surgically
remove, but the possibility exists for cancer to return;
or
...go for the longest, most expensive treatment
and with best insurance of long term remission. That is the one we
chose.
Moose was always kept inside until the chemicals were dry, but
I've learned that herbicide products takes days, weeks and months to fully
breakdown. The half life is 2-6 weeks for Phenoxy herbicides to break down.
Moose ate the grass while still in full strength, only after it was
applied.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/dogyears.htm
Please note this important information this about Moose's health at the time
he was sprayed:
When the Chemlawn idiot sprayed Moose, I screamed at him:
"I hope my dog doesn't get sick!
--MY DOG BETTER NOT GET
SICK!!!"
(I was pointing my finger at him and screaming at him for a couple of minutes.
I did NOT take it lightly what had just happened.)
That is documented in all the letters I've written. What that means is that
the dog the Chemlawn idiot was looking at, at the time of spray was a fine
looking, strong, healthy, dog.
Furthermore, in my
letter to Chemlawn
written November 28th, 2006, approximately seven weeks after incident,
I wrote:
.....I had him to the Vet by noon and had all kinds of tests taken. By
then I had to pick him up to get him in the car. The first thing the Vet
said is that they can't prove chemical poisoning as they had no way to test
for it, so they tested Moose for every dog related illness possible. A total
waste of money, (see bills) as the other tests came back negative. (As I
knew they would!) They gave him all kinds of drugs, 8 pills a day! Two of
the pills are to boost the liver. THANK GOD he is much better now.
Long term ramifications of this event
are still unknown.
I can now tell you what the long term ramifications are: DEATH. Only
6 weeks after I sent that letter the Vet recommended that Moose be put to
sleep. If I had written the letter one month later, (Dec. 28th) I would have
stated that it looked like Moose was not going to survive, as we knew that
by then. I was still awaiting a response from Chemlawn, not realizing I was
never going to get one. Moose really started visually sliding down hill around
the beginning of December, a week after the letter was mailed.
See detailed story of poisoning
day.
Resources: See, How long do Labs live? from
this page.
Let me state for the record that Moose's cancer never made him feel "sick".
It never made him collapse into convulsions or be unable to respond to
his name. It never made him vomit. It never made him loose his appetite.
The mast cell cancer presented as lumps, half the size of a dime on his stomach,
which when tested were cancerous. They were surgically removed. The chemo
made him slightly tired for two days after but then he'd always bounce back
be the normal energetic eating machine he always was.
The thing with chemo is that it did a number on his liver. But he was still
able to live a completely, normal, energetic life. Humans and animals can
live just fine without a 100% functioning liver. However, the insult to his
liver from Chemlawn herbicide exposure was much more devastating to Moose
than maybe if he'd not had chemo and had that weakness.
That does not mean Moose deserved to die, just because he had an inherent
weakness. It's simple. Phenoxy herbicides are damaging to the liver and kidneys,
but in a human or animal with a known weakness --they are deadly. I was well
aware of that fact when I called Chemlawn in January AND February 2006 and
INSISTED for the millionth time, I must be called prior to a spray treatment.
Also, all during the chemo and his life, Moose's kidney function was never
a problem and never in question. The chemo did not mess with that. However,
he died from liver AND kidney failure.
Once again, on the morning of Oct. 3rd, 2006, Moose was doing great. He looked
great, he was healthy, active, no problems whatsoever. I hate you, Chemlawn.
I am putting Moose's final blood work online. I welcome any Veterinarians
to look at this blood work and see if they feel this was a cancer death or
liver and kidney failure death "without reason".
February 21, 2007, taken three days before death.
Blood work page
1
Blood work page
2
See:
How to read dog blood tests.
Side note about our experience with Moose's cancer and treatment:
The first Doctor I started with at
VCA, a Dr. Lisa Fulton,
told me that the cancer treatments would cost "between $2,000.00 to 3,000.00".
I wish that's all it was!
Dr. Fulton left after the first few treatments, as she moved to a different
state. We then had a new doctor, whom I liked very much named Dr. Calo. BUT
--The cost of one year of chemo (and related therapies, surgeries, tests)
was over $14,000!
That's because Moose had trouble dealing with the various chemos, his liver
specifically, and had to be switched to 4 different chemos. (CCNU, Vinblastine,
Lomustine and one other I can't recall the name) He also had MRI's, surgeries,
all kinds of testing. I'm lucky in that we could afford that, but I know
a lot of people can't. I definitely was not happy about paying those bills.
The point I am trying to make here is that it's the doctors job to inform
you of possible treatments, but they will not tell you what it costs, the
price you'll end up ultimately paying. You'd have to ask up front and
pull it out of them. Then they still probably wouldn't give you a
number.
If I had been informed in the beginning that it would cost $15,000, I can't
say for sure I would have agreed to it.
I just followed the weekly and bi-weekly doctors instructions and kept bringing
him, but the costs were adding up slowly. By the time I realized how much
I'd spent, ($6000) I didn't feel it was right to stop. Plus, my husband insisted
I do whatever to make sure Moose lived.
When we got Moose in 1998, I'd never heard of
"Dog Health Insurance." Next dog, (if we get
one), I will definitely buy the health insurance. The medical expense
factor was a mind blower. I was personally torn between "common sense" (it's
not right to spend that much on a dog) -- and my love for Moose and my family's
love for Moose.
No one can saw we didn't try our hardest to help Moose. That's why I am so
angry about this stupid Chemlawn situation.
We totally got ripped off having Moose enjoy the latter part of his life
that we paid for.
Then in January, after all his internal organs were in complete failure,
my Vet recommends we spend another $15,000 to see "why he
died". If money grew on trees I would have done it. But it doesn't
and knowing he was going to die anyway, I declined.
Plus, the blood work tells me enough. The "CA" which means calcium, is the
"tumor factor", which signifies cancer and was within the normal range. However,
the ALT, BUN and CREA were off the charts and signified complete
Liver and Kidney failure.
Some have said to me after Moose died:
