July 25, 2023 Kudo’s story, Lymphoma treatment

The weather in Northern New Hampshire is finally close to our average summer, warm days with cool nights. 

Kudo is in his second week of treatment. We remember the struggles of Prednisone; the steroids do take a toll on Kudo. He is always looking for food, water and needs to go outside to the bathroom.  He struggles with impulse control. He will try to eat it if it’s close and smells like food. 

Thankfully, Prednisone only last for the first four weeks of the CHOP protocol. The first week it was 30mg per day; this week is 20mg; next week, 10mg, followed by 5mg for the final week.  Kudo handled the first two chemo treatments very well; during our last round of treatments, we struggled to control Kudo’s diet for the first couple of weeks. We tried everything until we found the farmer’s dog. Since we made the switch to farmer’s dog Kudo has had no issues with eating other than the bowl never has enough.  

We took Kudo to Rockin the Park on Friday night to watch Broke n Ugly play in the grandstand. Saturday was a long bike ride out to the Pond of Cherry; Kudo was having a wonderful time. He ran so much that I was worried about how he would feel on Sunday. He ran for a mile before being put in the trailer for a forced break, then journeyed back out for a second run on the way to the marsh past the pond.  

While I am pro-e-bike, I was surprised by the riders that just blasted past us without reducing their speed on the trail. We were stopped, and the dogs were under control. There were two different groups of riders that did this; hopefully, this does not become the norm for riders on e-bikes, as this could become a safety issue pretty quickly.

Sunday rolled around. Kudo was a little stiff in the morning but was ready for the next adventure by the afternoon. I walked Kudo down to my parent’s house to visit with my nieces. We decided to stick around the house in the evening and play in the backyard. 

I’m on vacation this week with Kudo, he is still full of energy, but I’m worn out. We chilled in the yard yesterday. Today we will get out to do something fun this afternoon after his PEMF treatment today with Roman Bear LLC. We are extremely grateful to Roman Bear LLC for helping Kudo with his pain management for his arthritis. PEMF is making a huge difference in Kudo’s daily routines. 

Remember to take advantage of every day; tomorrow is never promised. Living in the moment isn’t always the easiest for humans, but dogs seem to have this down. Kudo has always been a sweet and generous type; he is willing to share no matter what he has. Other dogs or children can walk up to him and take the bone he is chewing on; there is so much that we can learn from our pets. I’m still trying to learn this; I’m not the best when it comes to sharing my food. But if you are hungry or need something, I will be there to help. 

Focus on living judgment-free. You never know what people around you are going through.