Sage followed me into the bathroom as usual, and when I walked out, I noticed a drop of blood on the ground. I searched him over - assuming he had an injury. Soon, I found blood on his nostril - not a lot, not gushing, just a good little glob and a drip. I thought he had been snuffling around on something, scraped his nose on a stick outside or the poop muzzle he wears occasionally - as he tries to shove his nose through it sometimes. 

I got ahold of the vet on that Monday and immediately set up the earliest appointment I could get. Between then and the vet appointment, mostly translucent blood occasionally came out of his nose when shaking - so minute that I often only found it dried on his fur or just a little drop. It made sense considering the .. what felt like a hole in his bone. 

He went in to the vet, was sedated, and got an X-ray done on his head and chest. This told us nothing aside from yes - there is a hole in his bone. There's no mass or tumor, there's no fuzziness on the edges of the hole, and his lungs look good. My vet, who has been seeing Sage since I got him, didn't believe it to be cancer at this time, though he also said unilateral nosebleeds are rarely not cancer. But, X-rays can only pick up so much in terms of other possibilities - Could it be a foreign body like a foxtail? A fungal infection like Aspergillosis? Neither of those show up on X-ray. 

They sent us home with Carprofen in case of any pain. After the X-ray he had blood ooze out (normal from palpating the bump, they said) and a snotty/stringy glob come out of his nose - mostly a VERY pale, translucent yellow with a pink tint to some of it. I had to pull it out (he hated that lol).

I was going to take him in for another X-ray on Dec 31, but it might not have told us anything particularly new, so I set the earliest appointment I could for him to have a consultation with an Internal Medicine Veterinarian on Christmas Eve. There they would look over the X-rays and records from his general vet appointment and we would set up an appointment for a CT scan. Other possibilities were a rhinoscopy, blood test, whatever we would have to do to figure this out so we could take the next step in treating this.. whatever it was. CT was the most promising test we could do.

If it was a foreign body, he'd likely have to have surgery of some sort. If it were Aspergillosis, the treatment could run into the $10,000's, depending on the severity. If it were cancer, we will look at options, but I had been told by my primary vet that prognosis for radiation was poor... I couldn't ignore this, I couldn't assume what it is, and none of it could wait. I had to see if it is something we can treat.

On this day, Sage had a bloody nose that persisted all day. From every half hour to every couple hours, blood would drip from his nose - again, no gushing or excessive dripping. It'd mostly come out when he would shake. I took a photo and cleaned him up whenever I noticed (had my eyes on him all day) so that I could share with the specialist the frequency and amount. His gums remained nice and pink, his personality happy and perky. But his one nostril was vaguely clogged.

At this time he had only had a little bit of blood, much further apart and more coagulated, but his crate bed was covered in blood spots from the night before (at this point in time it often looked worse than it actually was due to the blood being watered down by.. nose juice?). He'd been super perky and happy the entire time.

I'd called the specialist numerous times, and even my vet did for me, but they couldn't get us in any sooner.. they also did not hold a cancellation list. Most emergency vets wouldn't be able to diagnose or do anything that will solve the actual problem, which is too deep in his nose to be addressed in normal means.. so as long as Sage continued to act alright personality-wise, all we could do is wait..

But there we were again, the catalyst that pushed me to finally make a GoFundMe. Sage had absolutely terrified me with the amount of blood he had come from his nose. The primary vet said it is likely more than it looks, but I think anyone would be absolutely horrified at the quantity either way. I know that I was. 

He'd been fine in between Dec 10 and Dec 16, super perky, happy, eager to do tricks. But on Dec 16 from 9:00am to 10:00am he began outwardly sneezing and his nose bled pretty intensely. Not pouring, but blood all over him, sneezing clots on to me, on the floor, walls... I had been in contact with my vet and he went in on Dec 17 for a CBC panel to check his blood count and give us even a hint of what could be going on until his consultation next week. The vet said as long as his gums are pink and he's behaving pretty normal, that all we can do overall is wait for the Internal Med Vet appointment(s). 

After talking with some people, including the vet that did the CT, we decided to get a consultation with Blue Pearl at the start of January to see every option/the prognosis we had moving forward. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but Sage remained a very happy perky boy. I'd heard plenty of success stories, and I wanted to be able to do everything I can for him. So I was going to gauge what will be best for him.

I knew he would die sometime in a much nearer future than I ever expected. But I had to make sure I'd checked every avenue to make sure he can have the best life he can have until it's over. I would NEVER compromise his quality of life but I will always take care of my heart dog.

I will always be so grateful to everyone who had reached out, donated, sent love, commented, etc. It has been so helpful and appreciated, and unfortunately I am so overwhelmed, still, that it is not easy to respond to everyone individually at this time. Please know I read each and every one and appreciate you all so dearly.

Sage had his Oncology Consultation. I was warned by many that they would try and sell me on things even if Sage wasn't a candidate. I went in there specifying that I want to do what is best for HIM. I shared stories I was told, we ran through his current medications, and they sat with me for three hours as we discussed his prognosis, stage, what everything could look like, and they very much told me that no matter what, it is MY choice. They get paid no different whether I choose radiation or not. They were so patient with me.

So let's get into the details:

• Sage's cancer is Stage 3 - this is because his tumor is showing outwardly.

• The radiation (Stereotactic Radiation Therapy) is extremely precise - directly at the tumor so that it only attacks what is necessary.

• There would be 3 sessions on 3 consecutive days.

• He would need to get another CT before so the machine can calculate the exact spot they would target. This is included in the price of the entire treatment and much cheaper than the original CT.

• He would be put under a light anesthetic each time but goes home same day.

• It takes 2-4 hours each day. I could wait in the waiting room or come back.

• He has an 80-90% chance of doing well considering his stage/current quality of life/the fact he is completely healthy otherwise.

• Usually dogs that get this treatment pass from other age related things, vs. the cancer itself.

• It does not CURE the cancer, but shrinks the tumor to a manageable size so that the dog can breathe and live a normal life again.

• He could get 18-24 months of life, not the previous stats of 9-12 months (I have read stories of dogs getting less, dogs getting more. It is based entirely on how the tumor responds/how soon it begins to grow again.)

• Without it/with palliative care he would likely live longer than the 88 days from the only (flawed) posted study has said, but his quality of life will obviously progressively decline - they explained a bit of what that would look like.

• There is around a 10% chance of poor side effects, this including Bacterial Rhinitis (which I would smell) that turns into a fistula on the top of his muzzle. This is mostly cosmetic and very rare - out of 100s of cases she has only seen it three times - one expected, one a surprise, and one that could have gone either way.

• Often they bleed in between the sessions but bleeding generally lessens and almost disappears after treatment. Some dogs get chronic Rhinitis because of the damage the tumor has done inside the nasal cavity (not due to radiation.)

• He'd gained weight! Which I was trying to do for him.

• Overall, it would help him breath better and feel better and improve his current quality of life.

• The main side effect is that he'd likely lose the hair on his tumor spot and the inner corners of his eyes and it would grow back white.

I spoke to two families on my way out to ask about their experiences. One was doing palliative radiation for a 12yo dog with bone cancer. I would not move forward with that myself. The other woman had a little Shih-tzu with a brain tumor. Same age, almost exact, to Sage. She told me the price she paid and spoke of the experience, and told me that it has been very positive (pictures, updates, etc.) The dog looked happy and positive and no worse for the wear.

I got the estimate, and honestly, it was likely cheaper than what fungal infection treatment would have been.

I called the primary vet that has seen Sage since I got him. This is the same vet that encouraged me not to rush into Fungal Treatment because he was pretty sure it wasn't. He was right, and we could have really hurt Sage's immune system if we had jumped into antifungals. He helped Sage when he had heartworm (for those who don't know, when I got Sage from someone unsavory, he had the infection already), and has been a very stand up guy. I trust him.

I asked what he would do. He said he would do it if money was no object and it sounds like a very positive prognosis. I asked, "If I were to do this, would I be doing the right thing?" He said, "I'm not sure if I know you that well but I think if you didn't do it you would regret it." I cried and told him.. "You know me so well. That's why I pursued Oncology. I don't feel like Sage is ready to go and I want his quality of life to be good. I know I would regret it if I didn't try for him with this kind of prognosis."

If they had told me he had any less than 70% - I would probably take it off the table.

I was so against Radiation in the beginning because I knew the risks, I know it can't promise anything, and I was still unsure if I was making the right decision. I don't ever want Sage to suffer in ANY way or capacity. But this seems minimally invasive with a high chance for success and improvement and in the long term it feels like there will be less suffering. Nasal tumors seem to respond very well to SRT.

Sage did great for his CT. My friend Branden went with me so I wouldn't be alone and went with me for the first radiation appointment, too. I appreciate him. I cried when I left Sage at the clinic but having a friend helped me stay strong.

Everyone LOVED Sage as usual! The vet tech said he tried to make friends with an Australian Cattle Dog and ate his food afterwards like a champ! He didn't even need to be hand-fed.. I think sometimes that he's just playing me when he makes me hand-feed him.. he's the best boy either way.

From what I understand, the tumor hadn't changed a whole lot between his two CTs, which gave/gives me some great hope that the radiation will be effective (and it has been). He had a catheter in his arm that he did great leaving alone - it meant they didn't have to re-do it every time.

He was very perky surprisingly, after the anesthesia, but he wanted to leave immediately (fair) and he'd panted at night from the anesthesia meds. But overall, I was very impressed with how well he's bounced back vs. when he got his first CT.

I had to put $6,500 down for for entire procedure, and the final price ended up being almost $9,000 USD. That did not include all of his diagnostic appointments and first CT, but I would not have been able to do it without those who have donated and shared. I appreciate everyone so much. He's a really special guy, my best baby boy, and so strong. I'm so proud of him.

Thank you again everyone, even those who cannot donate. The support and love meant the world in this really stressful time. 

Sage got his last round of radiation this day. He did fantastic throughout the whole course! I can't believe he had been under anesthetic 5 times in a month, 4 times consecutively, after never ever having been under in almost 12 years. It was scary, but I am so proud of how well he handled it. He was so perky and happy despite being a bit tired and the doctor and I agreed that the tumor on his muzzle looks slightly smaller already. A week later and it's so much smaller it's SHOCKING.

He went up to the doctor multiple times in the discharge room, he had clearly grown to love her. I am so grateful to her for giving me more time with my boy and for the love she has shown him. As always, Sage was a hugeeee hit at the office. And quite possibly the first Silken Windhound to get radiation there, or maybe even go there at all!

I will continue to keep everyone updated on how his recovery goes and side effects. It's been really nice being able to share Sage's progress with everyone and know that we are not alone in this.

3-4 months is when the tumor reaches it's smallest size, and they do say you can do another CT to see the progression/decide where to go from there. They also recommend a follow-up appointment in 2-4 weeks from the last day of radiation.

Overall the costs of this entire diagnoses/treatment has exceeded 10k, and is not over yet. Please continue to share his story as it may help others experiencing something similar, and it definitely helps me pay for this immense, unexpected cost.

Sage and I appreciate all of you, more than I could ever express. I love you all.