Brewski Update

I posted a couple weeks ago that Brewski has not quite been himself lately and that we had taken him to the vet to have a few tests run. The test results showed that his thyroid was low. He was then put on a daily thyroid medication for two weeks to see if he improved. After a week of the medication, we saw little to no improvement, so we called the vet again to see what the next step was. Do we wait until it's been a full 2 weeks? Do we bring him in now? What's next? Dr. Rennekamp then wanted to do xrays on his heart to determine if he had a heart disease or enlarged heart. He also put him on medication for arthritis, in addition to the thyroid medication. The xrays came back normal, but Dr. Rennekamp wanted to send them off to a specialist for a second opinion.

The medication for his thyroid and arthritis were still not helping him. Dr. Rennekamp saw him for one more visit to observe him. Dr. Rennekamp wanted to talk to the experts at Purdue and see what they would recommend. After a phone consultation, the vets felt Brewski needed to be seen by a neurologist for an MRI and a spinal tap. Our appointment for that was scheduled for next week.

While we were at Holiday World for two days, Benji's mom and brother said Brewski didn't eat or drink at all. And the day we got back, he didn't go to the bathroom at all until about 2 or 3 pm. Benji and I both thought he looked like he had lost some weight, so I mentioned taking him in to get a weight check. Brewski had lost 1 1/2 lbs within a week. No, that doesn't sound like a lot to me or you, but to a 22 lb dog, it's equivalent to us losing about 8-9 lbs in a week. YIKES! Dr. Rennekamp called Purdue and got us in on Wednesday to see the neurologist.

Benji took Brewski up there yesterday morning and had to leave him up there for observation, xrays, an MRI, & spinal tap. The results were given to us yesterday and we are devastated. Brewski has a brain tumor (pituitary tumor). The tumor is inoperable, with the only form of treatment being steroids or radiation.

The steroids will give Brewski roughly 2-6 months, but will keep him comfortable. The radiation could possibly give him 1-2 years, more or less. The radiation, most likely, would shrink the tumor, but eventually, it would come back.

We have decided to do the steroid pills, and enjoy every day we have left with him. Yes, it was a very hard decision to make, but we had to think about what the radiation would do to him. He would be up at Purdue for several days at a time, not enjoying time with us, the people that love him. How is that fair? It's not. The cancer isn't fair either, but this is just part of life. It's not fair, plain and simple.

So please keep Brewski (aka Bruce) in your prayers. He is such an awesome dog and we love him so much!