Harley 07-555

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09/10/07:  We are proud to introduce Mr. Harley Bear to everyone.  Harley is a 12 year old Golden who doesn't act a day over 6 years.  Harley is active, shows no sign of arthritis, no problem with stairs, loves to run, chase tennis balls, and most of all crawl up in your lap for love and pets... I know, he sounds amazing.

Unfortunately, in January of this year Harley was diagnosed with cancer and told he had 6 months to live.  Harley obviously knows it's not his time to go and he beat the 6 month life expectancy and is now in his 8th month of living with cancer and not on any medication.  He shows no signs of being ill.

So Harley came to live with me to remind us how special life is.  Harley crawled into my lap looked me deep in the eyes and he asked me, "Will you love me for the rest of my life?"  I said, "NO, I will love you for the rest of my life."

Harley doesn't know he has the big "C" and if he does know he's not telling.  Harley wants you to focus on him and not the cancer.  I believe dogs like Harley are precious angels sent to us to remind us of how precious life is, to never give up the fight, live life to the fullest, and love a little harder each and every day...because you never know when your last day will be.

Our treatment plan for cancer is lots of car rides with the windows down so Harley can hang his head out, trips to McDonald's for hamburgers (I know it's not a good diet but why not spoil him while you have him?), playing fetch, and cuddling...it's not a curative treatment but it's the best humane treatment to fight cancer that I know.  My last long term foster (Amber 04-267) who came to me with a life expectancy of 1-2 months lived a 1.5 years with me and we only treated her with love.  She passed away on 2/3/06 and I still cry when I think of her.  When I mentioned taking in Harley to my son, he wasn't worried at all about the cancer because we went through this situation once before with Amber.  Amber taught us that it's better to love as many animals/people as you can.  Yes, it's hard and your heart breaks more and more each time, but like my son said when we first took Amber into our home,"If we don't love her, who will?" So with that we welcome Harley into our home for as long as he would like to stay.  He will for sure be another heart breaker but that is the chance we are willing to take and in return we get to know one great dog and give him the best life possible.

Harley is a true Golden boy who defines the term Velcro dog.  He adores my son and enjoys following him around, when my son isn't home then I'm the second runner up.  Harley gets so excited when you come home, he will actually grab on to your sleeve or pants with his mouth and do a whimper happy cry.  He also did the cry and bark thing when my alarm went off this morning at 5:30... it wasn't as cute at 5:30 in the morning but you know what I mean.  He was so happy that it was time to get up I had a hard time getting out of my bedroom because he got the whole gang riled up.

My pup Irish who is 8 months old adores Harley and gives him kisses all day long.  Sometimes Harley will growl and ask her to stop but she can't help herself and sneaks a few more kisses.  All the dogs follow each other around in the yard and play but Irish is quickly becoming Harley's side kick... not sure if Harley wants a side kick but he enjoys the company.

On Wednesday the 12th we will be taking Harley into the vet to have everything checked out.  After Wednesday I will know more about the type of cancer he has and how bad the cancer is.  I will send in more pictures and an update on Harley later this week.

 

At a Glance #07-555

Golden Retriever Born: September 1995
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

09/10/07:  We are proud to introduce Mr. Harley Bear to everyone.  Harley is a 12 year old Golden who doesn't act a day over 6 years.  Harley is active, shows no sign of arthritis, no problem with stairs, loves to run, chase tennis balls, and most of all crawl up in your lap for love and pets... I know, he sounds amazing.

Unfortunately, in January of this year Harley was diagnosed with cancer and told he had 6 months to live.  Harley obviously knows it's not his time to go and he beat the 6 month life expectancy and is now in his 8th month of living with cancer and not on any medication.  He shows no signs of being ill.

So Harley came to live with me to remind us how special life is.  Harley crawled into my lap looked me deep in the eyes and he asked me, "Will you love me for the rest of my life?"  I said, "NO, I will love you for the rest of my life."

Harley doesn't know he has the big "C" and if he does know he's not telling.  Harley wants you to focus on him and not the cancer.  I believe dogs like Harley are precious angels sent to us to remind us of how precious life is, to never give up the fight, live life to the fullest, and love a little harder each and every day...because you never know when your last day will be.

Our treatment plan for cancer is lots of car rides with the windows down so Harley can hang his head out, trips to McDonald's for hamburgers (I know it's not a good diet but why not spoil him while you have him?), playing fetch, and cuddling...it's not a curative treatment but it's the best humane treatment to fight cancer that I know.  My last long term foster (Amber 04-267) who came to me with a life expectancy of 1-2 months lived a 1.5 years with me and we only treated her with love.  She passed away on 2/3/06 and I still cry when I think of her.  When I mentioned taking in Harley to my son, he wasn't worried at all about the cancer because we went through this situation once before with Amber.  Amber taught us that it's better to love as many animals/people as you can.  Yes, it's hard and your heart breaks more and more each time, but like my son said when we first took Amber into our home,"If we don't love her, who will?" So with that we welcome Harley into our home for as long as he would like to stay.  He will for sure be another heart breaker but that is the chance we are willing to take and in return we get to know one great dog and give him the best life possible.

Harley is a true Golden boy who defines the term Velcro dog.  He adores my son and enjoys following him around, when my son isn't home then I'm the second runner up.  Harley gets so excited when you come home, he will actually grab on to your sleeve or pants with his mouth and do a whimper happy cry.  He also did the cry and bark thing when my alarm went off this morning at 5:30... it wasn't as cute at 5:30 in the morning but you know what I mean.  He was so happy that it was time to get up I had a hard time getting out of my bedroom because he got the whole gang riled up.

My pup Irish who is 8 months old adores Harley and gives him kisses all day long.  Sometimes Harley will growl and ask her to stop but she can't help herself and sneaks a few more kisses.  All the dogs follow each other around in the yard and play but Irish is quickly becoming Harley's side kick... not sure if Harley wants a side kick but he enjoys the company.

On Wednesday the 12th we will be taking Harley into the vet to have everything checked out.  After Wednesday I will know more about the type of cancer he has and how bad the cancer is.  I will send in more pictures and an update on Harley later this week.

 

Updates

Friday, October 5, 2007

Time for Mr. Harley to check in and tell you what he's been up to. On 9/25 he had his surgery to remove the cancer. In the pictures you will see that the incision is about 3 inches. The pathology report came back and the mass we removed from his head was Neurofibro Sarcoma. We don't know if it will come back but there is a good chance that it could. When he was neutered, the mass in his testicle was removed and that was benign. On 9/26 the day after his surgery I got to see what he looked like without a bump on his head but soon after the area filled with fluid and it looks like he still has a bump. On 10/4 I took him back to the vet and they drained it a little bit and gave him another supply of antibiotics.

The day after his surgery Dr. Hunter pointed out that even though they removed the huge mass and he has a scar they were able to save his eyebrows…. why do I think that is the cutest thing? Not sure but I love his eyebrows. It's hard to be expressive if you don't have eyebrows.

Harley bounced back from his surgery and was ready to play and have fun. I hope no one ever tells this guy that he's 12 because he is the youngest healthiest senior I have ever seen.OK, so what are the cutest things about Harley… other than his eyebrows??? He loves to roll around on his back, which I love so much. He enjoys sleeping on his back with his body propped up against the couch for balance. When he is rolling around with my pup Irish and wrestling… for a grumpy old man he sure does love the kid. Yes, he still growls at her and Irish thinks he's playing hard to get… what can I say--he sends a mixed message. When they play it's always happy sounds, you know what I mean the puppy grunting, snorting, etc.Harley loves attention and it doesn't matter who gives it to him.Once you start he won't let you stop. He is Mr. Velcro and the eyes he gives you makes you want to snuggle him forever. If you let him he will crawl into your lap and rest his head on your chest, neck or shoulder…it's very cute.Harley asked why no one has expressed interest in him??? Harley wants to share the rest of his years with his own family. Sadly I told him that a lot of people want younger dogs or older female dogs. This breaks his heart because he just wants to find someone to love and someone who will love him no matter what. I honestly feel bad that he doesn't get the attention and love he deserves with me. It's hard when you have 3 other dogs and a foster to give the love they deserve. I hope someone falls in love with him soon because he deserves to be the center of attention.