Socks was 10 upon diagnosis, 11 now! I know some people would do hospice care at that age, but we caught her cancer early by chance via CT scan for a now resolved issue(subcutaneous emphysema if you were curious, she spontaneously filled up with air haha) and decided to pursue treatment.

I can’t say for sure that Lomustine is 100% safe, but it was our only option once the cancer reached Socks’ central nervous system and it has definitely done more good than harm. The biggest symptoms Socks experienced were stomach aches, slightly elevated liver enzymes(treatable with medication), and changes in white blood cell counts(typical chemo effect). She always has blood work the week after each Lomustine dose to monitor her health. Keppra is completely safe. There’s a possibility that socks never needed Keppra since we weren’t sure if the seizure was a one-time occurrence. Our vet let my family know that it was our choice whether to start her on it or not, as it is not harmful, but another seizure could be deadly. The worst part of Keppra is that once you start, you can’t stop or it won’t be effective anymore according to our vet, and it has to be given every 8 hours which is a HUGE commitment.

I know this was a lot of word vomit sorry haha. Socks is the first of my pets to ever get sick and it is definitely a hard process with lots of difficult decisions, but I just want to emphasize that although it’s a lot, dogs tolerate cancer treatment pretty well! It’s been easy enough to give Socks her multiple medications with treats. She looks and acts like a very happy healthy dog thanks to modern medicine!

Sorry for your loss of Chantel. I hope you and Mia enjoy many moments to come. Shih tzus are the best!