Tuesday, June 19, 2018

It's All About Bailey #Chewy Influencer

Bailey has hemangiosarcoma,  a very aggressive cancer that is always fatal. It's a cancer of the blood vessels lining a tumor on an internal organ. The most common organs involved are the heart or spleen. My girl has a huge tumor on her spleen. At some point the tumor will rupture and she'll bleed out in minutes. She was given two weeks to live and we're now in the sixth week since the diagnosis. Bailey has always been stubborn and she's not going down without a fight.
I've been spending a lot of time with her and we've developed a special routine to deal with her condition.  The tumor has squeezed her other organs, so she needs to eat small meals. Her appetite is good, so I feed her four small meals a day. In the morning she eats breakfast with the other dogs. She gets half a cup of our usual kibble mixed with a homemade recipe that Dr B came up with. It's the same recipe that Noah has been eating for about five years, a combination of ground turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and rice or barley.
Mid day Bailey and I go off by ourselves for her next meal. This time she gets half a cup of a food that Chewy introduced us to, Holistic Select Adult & Puppy Health - Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. This food contains salmon, anchovy and sardine meal, potatoes, peas, menhaden fish meal, pumpkin, cranberries, apples, blueberries, pomegranates, papayas and kelp. It has digestive enzymes, natural fiber, antioxidants and probiotics. And FISH!!! She absolutely loves the food and I appreciate the zip lock bag to keep the fishy smell inside.
I was unaware of Holistic dog food before this and I really like that I can give my sick girl healthy food that contains lots of  fish with no chicken or filler grains.
At dinner time she again joins her pack  to eat. This time she gets her kibble, a small amount of the homemade food and a topper.  I vary the toppers. Sometimes I make rice and spinach, sometimes pasta with mixed veggies and at least once a week she gets sardines. I want her to have a lot of fish. Not only does she love it but it's good for her, too.

Before bed she gets yogurt with the others, then I hand feed her some canned food with a fish base.

Although she moves slowly and can't climb stairs, Bailey is fairly active. She carries her stuffed moose outside with her and wanders around the yard. Then she sits at the top of the hill and barks at people on the trail behind our property.

Shortly after her diagnosis she started losing her hair. Her chest, back legs and face were bare. The vet said that her body is too busy fighting the cancer to grow hair. But yesterday Rob and I both noticed that the hair on her face has grown back in and she has some fuzz on her legs. I'm not sure what that means but we're just taking life a day at a time and enjoying our time together.

Bailey seems quite happy and relaxed. We have a special signal when she's ready to eat. We do a nose to fist bump and she trots over to the refrigerator to wait. I love that little girl.
 Chewy sent us a bag of Holistic Salmon, Anchovy and Sardine dog food at no charge to us in exchange for our honest review.  Both Bailey and I love this food. She loves the taste and I love how well my sweet girl is doing while eating it. Chewy also surprised Bailey and me. When they learned of her illness, they sent this gorgeous bouquet with a lovely message to cheer us.
It did the trick.

4 comments:

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

You are just amazing with all that you do for your pups!!! We are happy to hear that Bailey is still fighting.

Now how do we get Mom to add more fish to our diets?

Woo- Lightning, Misty, and Timber

Marjie said...

Those flowers are beautiful! How wonderful of Chewy. That made me really glad that I go to them for gifts and treats for the grand-dogs. I am happy to learn that Bailey is hanging in there cheerfully, and still playing with Mr. Moose.

Molly the Airedale said...

We are so happy to read this, Bailey! Keep eating all the good stuffs that your mom prepares for you, sweetie♥

Ruby said...

OMD, isn't CHEWY the BESTEST??!!! That was so sweet and thoughtful of them!! You knows Bailey, that I am thinkin' of you every single day and sendin' lots of AireZens!!!!
Oh, and I will be overs to 'join' you for your meals....I looooooves FISHIES!!!! You knows how Ma DEPRIVES me of the fishies too! meanie. So, I will sit quietly *snicker* and make sure you eats all your foodables.....☺
Oh, Ma wanted to knows how many fishie oil caps you guys gets?? She is only giving me one, and I thinks I needs more!
Kisses,
Ruby ♥