A Quark Update

Quark’s eye had healed well by December. He adjusted to having just one eye. There were times when he would make a left (left eye removed) and bang in to something.  When throwing toys we had to throw them to his right or he wouldn’t find them.
The weekend before Christmas we decided to go to see Tommy and Grig in Tennessee.  Before we left I noticed that his right eye was watering but didn’t think too much of it.  All went well on our visit.
Quarks’s eye was still watering and the lower lid began to look “pulpy.” So after Christmas we went to the vet.  The doc decided to treat him for allergies, which we did for a week.  The eye did not improve and we went back.  Doc gave us prednisone to try and Quark’s eye cleared up. So the doc wanted to see us. He said we should x-ray Quark to see if there were any tumors.  The X-ray was inconclusive. So we went home.
Several hours after we arrived at home a walnut-sized lump appeared on Quark’s left shoulder.  Back to the see the doc and another exam. As it turned out he not only had that lump but enlarged lymph nodes in his neck.  The diagnosis was cancer.  We could give him chemo and reduce his quality of life or let it run it’s course—three to six months, maybe more.  He was put on a daily dose of 5 mg of prednisone to help keep the tumors in check.
It has been nearly ten months since the diagnosis and he is still with us.  His appetite has increased dramatically due to the prednisone as did his girth.  He has slowed down significantly but still wants to play fetch a little and has enjoyed camping this summer.  We don’t know how much longer he will be with us but we are loving him as much as we can while he is here.

This photo was taken October 3, 2014