"Riley the
Rescue Sheltie," by
Riley's Grandpa
Rarin'
to go after Chipmunks, Squirrels, and any agility course, ready to take
walks,
dig "to China"
and climb trees if she could in search of them critters. Then the
lymphoma
drained her energy, but it didn't rob her will.
Surviving the first course of chemo treatment she rebounded like a
puppy, full
of energy and excitement...rarin' to go again until the "Red Devil"
returned.
Riley
lost her second remission in March 2007. Riley's family and the Magic
Bullet
Fund are grateful for your help in giving Riley and Kirstie this
precious extra
time.
On March 24, 2007,
Riley went to the Rainbow Bridge.
December
14, 2006
Dear Laurie,
I am Kirstie, and I
am in need of help for my sweet girl, Riley.
Riley was given up to
Sheltie rescue by a military family that felt she was too
much to handle. My husband is Active Duty Army and Riley came to us as
a foster
dog and proceeded to play her way into our hearts.
I was looking for
another agility dog when we agreed to foster Riley. One day I
was practicing agility with our older dog, Gizmo. A friend was holding
Riley’s
leash while I ran Gizmo through the course. I heard laughing and looked
back to
see what was going on... Riley had pulled
the leash out of my friend's hand and was
following along behind me and Gizmo, doing all the obstacles we had
just done! And she had never seen any of them
before. I knew right then that she had to stay with us. To this day, I
feel so
very lucky that her previous family decided
to give her up.
Riley has been
fighting cancer since June 14, 2006. She has been in and out of
remission and needs to start another round of Chemotherapy. Riley is
such a
fighter and all I want is to be able to continue
to fight for her. We have spent over $12 thousand dollars on Riley’s
care and
we are now out of money, but my baby girl needs
more treatment.
Thank you from the
bottoms of all of our hearts for enabling us to continue
Riley's treatment.
Kirstie and Riley
December
24, 2006
It's Christmas Eve
and we are all at my parent’s house. Riley got some buffalo liver
as
a special treat and she loved it. She has gotten a little picky
about
some foods again, but is still eating other stuff as fast as she
can. So
I would say she is doing well!
Kirstie Glenn and
Riley
December
24, 2006
Riley
has been doing really well the past two weeks. On Jan 8th our vet said
that he
feels she is at least in partial remission, if not complete remission.
They
can't tell for sure without conducting tests and he agrees that there's
no real
reason to put her through the tests.
However, they were
really pleased with her energy level and how happy she was.
Her coat is growing back in really nicely and is very soft right now.
She is
just the biggest teddy bear feeling and I am just so happy that she
continues
to respond to treatment. I'm grateful beyond words to those who have
donated
toward Riley's treatment and grateful to the Magic Bullet Fund for
taking her
under their wing.
Thank you,
Kirstie and Riley
December 31, 2006
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Today
I had
the great
honor of meeting Riley!
This
was a very exciting day. Riley is the first Magic
Bullet Fund dog I've ever met "in person." Riley is in excellent
spirits and looking very beautiful. Her eyes are bright and she kept up
well on our short "hike." We allowed my foster dog Parker to lead us
through the woods... to nowhere, it turned out! Parker will no longer
be trusted as a lead dog.
Laurie Kaplan
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January 10, 2007
Riley is
doing well. They feel without a ct scan they can't say if she is
fully in
remission and they don't want to do one unless we really, really have
to.
So they are saying that based on all her other physical and blood work
findings
she is in partial remission. She is eating well and her hair is
continuing to grow in.
She doesn't have as
much energy as in the past, but she isn't sleeping all the
time either. They think she is tolerating the treatment well even
though
her WBC has continued to be low.
January
17, 2007
Riley
has been doing really well the past two weeks. On Jan 8th the vet
said
that they felt she was at least in partial remission. They were
really
pleased with her energy level and how happy she was. Her coat is
growing
back in really nice and is very soft right now. She is just the
biggest
teddy bear feeling and I am just so happy that she
continues to respond to treatment.
 March
14, 2007
On
around Jan 31st, Riley developed a sore on her left front leg. It
started out
as a long red looking wound and then progressed to an open wound and an
additional site next to the original wound. The wound worsened and poor
Riley
was limping. So far the vet has not been able to do much for the leg
and we
have been doing hot compresses and wrapping and trying different drugs.
At our
next visit, I will ask our oncologist to have a surgeon look to see if
there is
anything they can do to try to close up the wound.
Apart from this,
Riley is doing well. She is still very anemic even after 3
weeks break from chemo, so they put off giving her the next dose for
another
week to see how she does. Her spirits are well and she is happy and
healthy
right now. We love that and we take it one day at a time.
Thank you for reading
Riley's story
Glenn and Kirstie
From
Laurie:
When Kirstie
described the wound on Riley's leg, I suspected a chemotherapy
leak (extravasation). I explained to Kirstie what this is and realized
that
most people who have dogs in chemotherapy do not know about this
uncommon but
real hazard for any dog in chemo.
* If you have a dog
in chemo, please read about EXTRAVASATION. Type the word
into a search engine (please use GoodSearch and name
the Magic Bullet Fund as your charity). When a chemotherapy drug leak
occurs
with certain agents such as Adriamycin (doxorubicin) or Vincristine,
it's
crucial to act quickly. When the drug contacts tissue outside of the
vein, it
will destroy the tissue and continue to spread for months. In severe
cases,
amputation may be the only solution.
March
24, 2007,
from Laurie Kaplan
Last
week, after Riley's oncologist surmised that she was out of remission,
Kirstie made the decision not to continue
chemotherapy. Riley was very sensitive to the treatments and her cancer
was not
responding anymore. Tonight, 14 months after her diagnosis, beautiful
Riley was
helped to the Rainbow Bridge with Kirstie and
Glenn at her side.
FIRST
PLACE FROM BEYOND
by
Phil Jurus, Riley's Grandpa
March
Twenty-fourth, Two Thousand Seven
doG
opened the gates and Riley entered doG’s heaven
She
was
greeted at that door
With
a
“Welcome and Hail”
By
part
of a friend who had gone there before…
Gizmo’s
tail.
As
she
checked in doG looked her square in the face
And
said
“Riley, you’ve run an incredible race.
Though
for Kirstie and Glenn there’s a deep empty space
For
all
their love, training and care, now they get First Place.
Riley
pawsed to send Kirstie some cheer
Saying
“mommy, don’t worry, there’s an agility course here.
While
I
was with you we were a remarkable team
And
this
is what I want you to see when you dream…
Me
jumping the hurdles and walking the beam
Coming
down the teeter totter and watching you motion “Stay”
…getting
off course ‘cause I wanted to play,
then,
going through the weave poles with such a smooth glide,
all
the
time watching as you ran by my side.
Now
when you cast your eyes above,
that
tunnel I’m running through is a tunnel of love.
And
just
like I’d jump up into your arms,
I’ve
left you lots of memories of all of my charms.
And,
“Daddy” thanks for the walks, the snuggles, the treats and your
patience and
care.
Sometimes
I might have been a little more than you could bear
But
nevertheless you always were there.
A
couple
other things you’ll be happy to know
Over
there’s a stream where you know I won’t go
But
there’s also a place where I can snuff in the snow.
And
doG
said at last I can bark at the cars
because
I’m now in the Cast of the Stars.
Above
all, remember your Ribbon of Blue
doG
gives it to you
because
you loved me through and through
and
still do.
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