Oh Yeah, You Blend

Ten years ago a young couple contacted me, interested in a puppy from my very first Vallhund litter. They were newly married, had just bought a house, and this would be their first dog. As it happened I had a male puppy available after his initial home had fallen through, but this puppy was very special, if he’d been female, I’d have kept him. I’d already turned down two other prospective homes for him. I wanted to be sure that he found the right home. So the first thing I said to this couple was that if they wanted to meet me, they could drive all the way to an agility trial I was at in Farmington. Even though they lived quite close to me. Because I’m a jerk.

So they did.

They were very nice, polite, funny, intelligent. I liked them. My dogs liked them. But I was a nervous nelly about my precious puppy and I still wasn’t sure.

So I told them they needed to get this book and that book and read them. Because I’m a jerk.

They did that too.

Eventually I decided that they’d jumped though enough hoops, and they just might be a good enough home for my special little Triangle Boy, last born in his litter, and one of those special puppies who stole my heart and whom I so wished had been female. They were thrilled and Triangle Boy became Riley, AKA Alkemi Aston Martin LS.

What a jerk I was for doubting what a great home they’d give him. In fact, they were such an awesome home that when they tentatively asked about a puppy from my next litter, three years later, I told them they were in the class of “PLEASE take another puppy”. Their Vallhunds are truly a part of their family. They played agility (Riley earned his NA and OAJ titles, and he ran fast and crazy like his mother Nina). They shared pictures on Instagram of the fun their dogs had, the awesome lives they led, their Sunday Funday walkies. They are excellent owners and truly love their dogs.

Last year Riley had a growth on his hind leg. We took the growth off (they come to the vet clinic I work at), the pathologist suspected it was an apocrine clear cell ductular carcinoma, but the margins were decent and no further treatment was recommended, just monitoring. Then in February of this year, Riley had a rash on his belly, and his people needed to shampoo his tummy a couple of times a week. So it just so happened that because they were giving him these belly rubs so regularly, they found a lump. The lump seemed ominous so we decided it should be removed. During the surgery it became apparent that it was this was a nasty-looking tumor with tendrils everywhere and we found weird little skin masses near it and we just knew it was something bad. The first pathology report said it was likely a clear cell carcinoma, but they recommended additional testing. Additional testing didn’t shed any more light so they recommended additional additional testing. It was a rare and unusual tumor and even after three rounds of testing and several different experts weighing in, the pathologists still weren’t 100% certain.

Given how weird the diagnosis was turning out to be, and how diffuse the mass was, we recommended they see an oncologist, ideally one at a facility which had advanced surgical and radiation therapy options. So, being the awesome owners they are, they made an appointment at Guelph, and also at Cornell, and were hopeful that either would be able to move them up the list and see them sooner. I reached out to a friend who’s a vet at Cornell, and he said he’d speak to the oncology department to see if they could move him up.

And then COVID happened, and both appointments were cancelled. So they went to a local oncologist without advanced radiation options. This doctor wasn’t very hopeful but started him on chemotherapy. Then he went lame, and we found the cancer had spread to his bones, it was in three out of four of his legs. The oncologist basically said there wasn’t anything else that could be done for him.

We started pamidronate infusions, which can slow the progression of bone cancer and improve comfort, and Riley felt quite a bit better. My boss, being the pain management guy that he is, designed a pain management plan for Riley to keep him comfortable. And, being the awesome vet he is, he also reached out to a friend of his who is an renowned oncologist, and they came up with an aggressive cancer suppression plan. Riley’s people were all in, so we started on this plan.

They got him a stroller so he could still enjoy walks even on the days his legs were bothering him. They built him a ramp so he could still see out the window and snoopervise the neighbors when he couldn’t comfortably stand up on his hind legs for long enough to get a good look. They fed him the right food, they gave him the right supplements, they did everything they could. He had everything he wanted.

And you know, he did really pretty well for a while. They paid real attention to his quality of life. But then he started panting more and x-rays showed it was in his lungs. And his mouth. And all over his skin.

And so on Tuesday they called me and we cried together on the phone. They said on his tenth birthday in January they were thinking about how they should hopefully have 5 more years or so at least with him. It turned out to be five months. They asked me if I wanted to visit him to say goodbye (because they’re that kind of thoughtful). I was so glad that I’d been able to spend some time with him on his frequent visits to the clinic, I snuggled him and told him he was loved and that while I might have been the first person to love him so many more people loved him now, and that his people loved him most of all and that they would do what he needed them to do. I told them it was better to let him go a bit too soon than too late. I knew they would make the right choice for him. They asked about how to help their other dog through the loss of his brother. They said that while COVID meant they didn’t get to see the oncologists they’d wanted to see, it also meant they’d been able to spend so much more time with him than they would have otherwise, since they were both working from home.

That’s the kind of people they are.

And then today I got a text from them that said: “We let Riley pass today. So peaceful, he was ready. Had the best walk out on his favorite trails this morning. Give your pups an extra hug from us.”

Nobody could have given Riley a better home, or taken better care of him. And I am so thankful that they included me as they did.

Rest easy beautiful boy, you were so loved.

(all pictures except “Triangle Boy” courtesy of Nichole & Chris Buryta)

….Zhora being Zhora, she once again has taught me something about dog breeding. (content warning: if you are squeamish about discussion of dog body parts, maybe skip this post)

Around two weeks ago I noticed she looked like she was coming into season, so I started blotting her twice a day so I could catch and note the day she actually started (a dog’s vulva swells when they are coming into season, and generally “day 1” is considered the first day you see a bloody discharge). Knowing when the season starts is important, because you generally start progesterone testing 5-7 days after the first blood is seen.

She was licking herself a lot, the other dogs were interested in her nether regions, and I kept blotting and blotting and finding…nothing. There was one day I thought there was maaaaybe a tiny vaguely pinkish tinge on the paper, and I thought “any day now!”. I put Ollie’s owner Kat on alert that we were getting close (this was to be attempt #2 at Ollie x Zhora). And then…nothing….

My only excuse for not thinking faster is that there’s a global pandemic and NOTHING is normal about ANYTHING right now. But I kept thinking “maybe I should run a progesterone on her”. So I did on Tuesday. And she was at 17.9 already! I emailed and called my awesome repro vet’s office, the awesome tech Renee (the one who saved Cora) emailed me and then called me right away. She said it would be a hail Mary for sure, it wasn’t impossible but it was likely that if she did conceive, it would be a tiny litter (raising a singleton puppy is a huge headache and almost worse than having no puppies sometimes). I asked about trying again and she asked what the breed’s lifespan was, and when I told her Zhora’s grandfather was nearly 17, she said it was worth a try, might be a smaller litter but wasn’t impossible.

Of course I posted on the wonderful repro group on Facebook, and several people said they’d had large litters with progesterone up to 30, so I frantically messaged Kat, started getting myself sorted out to tear ass to meet her on the Thruway, but then my repro vet said “progesterone level on the day of breeding is irrelevant. Days after ovulation is what’s important when determining fertile period. Identifying day of ovulation requires documenting a rise in progesterone beyond 4-8ng/ml with ideally at least a 2ng surge/jump over a 24 hour period. Remember that while the average bitch may end up about 18ng/mL on about day 3 post ovulation, one cannot expect that every bitch at 18 is on day 3. In fact, many bitches will stay below 10-15 throughout an entire pregnancy. With having only one level available it is impossible to determine days post ovulation. We can only determine that she did in fact ovulate. Now, as a breeder, if a particular breeding is critical and the stud dog is available then there’s no reason not to try – and there is a chance for a normal litter. However, one must be prepared for a miss or a very small litter (ie singleton) if the bitch is near the end of the window and allocate resources accordingly. Hope this helps clarify some things..”

So now, the D litter will be Ollie x Alice. Given Zhora’s history of not being the easiest dog to breed, the thought of going through all that panic and worry to have maaaaaybe one puppy….just not worth it. I learned from my experience breeding Zhora that I far prefer how I did things with Nina: first litter at 2-3 years old. So that’s what we’ll do with Alice. She’s due to come into season in August, so now we wait…

IF YOU HAVE CONTACTED ME ABOUT A PUPPY: please stay in touch! This litter should be bred in August and born in October if Alice follows the textbook (which Zhora has taught me isn’t always the case!).

(I VERY MUCH would like to co-own one or two puppies from this litter. If you might be interested in co-owning a puppy with me, ESPECIALLY if you are someone interested in showing or trialing your dog (agility, herding, obedience, I don’t care what), please email me. I think I am quite reasonable with my co-own contract, but I’ve only done it once so far. On a co-own, your purchase price is lower, and basically the dog is yours except for breeding. The dog lives with you, I just borrow it occasionally. Anything breeding related is paid by me (including show and trial entries if they are shows/trials I wish the dog to enter). The dog must stay intact until I determine its breeding/showing career is over, at which point the dog is sterilized at my expense and signed over to you at no further cost to you.)