Our Best Friend Billy

Today started out the best yet! Billy was in good spirits with his perpetually wagging tail, and the whole crew was a bit more rested when we got started this morning. The room we have has a king size bed (we will definitely be getting one of these for at home) which allows all three of us to sleep relatively comfortably. Billy sleeps in the middle so that if he moves we will wake up and cater to his needs. Still a lot of waking up to go outside, but so much better than his first night at our apartment!

Billy barely made it to his appointment on time this morning because the roads were a little slippery. This difficulty was compounded by the fact that Maggie had to drive from the back seat the whole way there. I do not have much experience with that type of driving, but I imagine it is quite difficult. Well, Maggie did get us there in one piece, and Billy was able to have his catheter and medicine ball removed.

The hotel has made things so much easier for all of us that Billy decided to book the room until Saturday morning (the day Billy starts chemo and should get his stitches out). The pictures we took earlier today should help explain why he likes it so much. In other news, Billy has enjoyed a total of three bowel movements so far, and we are hoping for another yet tonight.

Lounge dog

Billy’s first night at home turned out to be a rough one. There was not a lot of sleeping and going up and down the stairs turned out to be much more difficult than the original trip made it seem. All three of us were very concerned about the next couple of weeks here at home.

Then, around 6AM, the situation changed for the better. Chipper McNugget graciously booked us a ground floor room at a nearby hotel (we figured Billy could fend for himself by now, and Maggie and I really needed some sleep).

Just kidding, the hotel room was for all of us! And let me tell you it is wonderful! Billy does not have to fight the stairs every time he wants to relieve himself, and we do not have to worry about hurting him all the time when we take him down either. Hopefully the sleeping situation will improve as well.

Billy and I spent most of the day together at the hotel. He wanted to watch HBO so we did that almost all day. I noticed that he was beginning to feel a little bit better, and by the time Maggie got back here, he was pretty much wagging his tail constantly just like he did before he got bone cancer. It made us all very happy to see him feeling better, especially two days after his leg was amputated.

Can’t wait to see how he is doing tomorrow!

We checked on Billy this morning, and got news that he’s doing really well! He ate food last night (no surprise to us), and peed outside, like a good boy. He’s getting around pretty well on his own. We can pick him up this afternoon, and we are THRILLED!

…more later…

Billy’s discharge appointment was scheduled for 4:30 this afternoon. Needless to say we were very excited and arrived around 4:00. We checked in with the receptionist, and after some fancy moves with a credit card, they said that we could see our big brown buddy! Since the staff had told us earlier that Billy was doing well and moving around on his own, we expected that he would be very excited to see us and go crazy when we were reunited.

This was not the case…when we saw each other, he just kind of sat there looking confused. We loved on him anyway, and prepared for the journey home. The one hour drive home went smoothly (Maggie was petting him the whole time), and he went up the stairs to the third floor like a champ (with just a little bit of help from us).

As soon as the key hit the lock, Billy bulldozed his way into our apartment and made a beeline for his food bowl. To his disappointment the bowl was empty. We filled it up and he promptly made it empty once again. Now Billy is resting quietly on his orthopedic foam bed with his head in Maggie’s lap, continuously reminding her that she is not petting him enough.

Having our best friend home with us is a great relief!

Resting on Maggie

Today was the big day. We’ve been worrying about it for the last several days; all Billy was worried about was when he’d get his next meal. Boy was he mad that he couldn’t have any breakfast today! We dropped him off at the hospital at 8 am, and he happily hobbled off with the vet, sure that he was being led to his next meal.

Boy, was he wrong! He was there to have his leg amputated, and hopefully his pain with it. His surgery started at about 2 pm, and he was in recovery by 4:30. All went well. We will get to check on him in the morning. The house is sure different without him – can’t wait to have him back!

We are Bryan and Maggie – the proud parents of the greatest best friend in the Universe! This best friend we speak of is Billy, the big, brown bullmastiff. Billy is a fun loving, food loving, love loving boy that brings smiles to faces everywhere he goes. His tail wags like the pendulum of a grandfather clock. He is the definition of brown, and he’s got the softest ears around. He is never late for a meal or a nap with his mom and dad. Most of all, he is our best friend.

Around Christmas in 2013, Billy started limping. We hoped that it was something minor, and indeed, when the vet started him on an anti-inflammatory medication, his pain seemed to go away. But soon it was back, and much worse. Another trip to the vet revealed what they told us was most likely bone cancer – Osteosarcoma. A bone biopsy confirmed this diagnosis, and the decision was made to remove Billy’s right hind leg. Billy was not phased by this decision. He insisted that if we feed him and pet him and feed him some more, everything would be alright.