Kirkepiscatoid

I got a call from Bo's "hoomans" this morning before I was getting ready to take a shower before church. He has taken a turn for the worst and they took him to Columbia to the MU Veterinary School emergency room. He has been throwing up more lately. Two weeks ago, his folks agreed to put him in a study for the type of tumor he has, and part of the study is he gets four free doses of a certain kind of chemotherapy.

This morning, he awakened them with intractable vomiting and diarrhea. So they skipped church to drive the 90 miles to Columbia. I just got off the phone with Bo's folks. He was severely dehydrated, and admitted him at the veterinary school to re-hydrate him. The veterinary oncologist will see him tomorrow, and they will decide whether he should continue in the study or not.

I have been worried that Bo's episodes of vomiting have been because the tumor is now pressing against his digestive tract. Some of the food he has been throwing up has been totally undigested.

In my moments of praying for Bo and his human parents, I realize how hard these decisions are. Bo represents a time in his human dad's life when he was alone. It is hard to deal with letting him go. Correcting the dehydration is the "easy" part of this. It is where to go AFTER the dehydration is corrected that is the problem. Is there any benefit for him to remain in the study or not? Everyone agrees he is terminal...but HOW terminal? These are very hard decisions for dog owners, and they don't entirely parallel humans in the same boat, because dog owners have the option of euthanasia. No two people will react the same in this setting.

But meanwhile, I am praying that God stick with Bo and both his humans, as they all go through this difficult time.