Another Gallo Update

For those of you who have asked after my pup Gallo, I wanted to put together this brief (and it turns out that by "brief," I mean "not very brief at all") update on him. If you are inclined to catch up on the backstory, you can click here, here and here.

It’s been about a month since G’Lo was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a form a cancer that attacks the vascular organs. They found the disease in his spleen, which had been removed during emergency surgery a few days prior.

On Friday, March 7, Gallo underwent the first of five rounds of chemotherapy. The most difficult part was having to drop him off at the vet’s office in the morning, and seeing his face when he realized I wasn’t sticking around this time. He is normally very happy to be at the vet and always listens to whoever is giving him orders, but this time he broke free from the vet tech’s grasp and made a mad dash toward me as I was walking out the door (this is prolly a result of him waking up minus one organ the last time I left him alone at the vet). I saw his panicked face and heard him run into the door as it closed, but there was no way I could go in and say goodbye to him again. Needless to say, I was a wreck on the way to work and the rest of the day.

After a day of taking his chemo medications intravenously, Gallo was released to us in the afternoon. He didn’t exhibit any side effects from the chemotherapy, and upon returning home, seemed to have plenty of energy and was adjusting to the additional meds that we were instructed to give him.


Gallo was fine through the weekend, but at about 4:30 on Monday morning, I was awoken to the sound of him getting sick. I rushed him outside and he had diarrhea as well, so when he came back in, I sat with him, but 10 minutes later, he began getting sick again. After more difficulties outside, I again sat down next to him beside the bed, petting him until he fell asleep. About three hours later, 30 seconds before the alarm went off for us to get up, G’Lo began getting sick again. Not only had he succeeded in rendering his doggy bed forever useless, but he put us in a panic. Keeping in mind that the doctor had mentioned that waiting too long to bring side effects or symptoms to the vet’s attention following chemotherapy was a common mistake, we contacted the clinic and were asked to bring him in once more. With G in such a weakened state following chemo, we knew that we had no choice but to get him some help and find out what was happening to him. A few hours later, the doctor called me to let me know that Gallo’s white blood cell count was way too high, and they were finding a lot of pus in his blood. He had also gotten sick two more times at the vet, leading them to conclude that he had developed a gastrointestinal infection as a result of the effect the chemotherapy was having on his bone marrow, and as a result, his white blood cells. They administered two different rounds of antibiotics to bring his count to an acceptable level, and we were allowed to go and get him at 9 p.m. on Monday evening. It was one of the longest days of my life … but I’ve had a few of those lately.

G was prescribed anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medications in addition to his other drugs, so he now officially takes more meds than Arthur Spooner from “King Of Queens.” We were instructed to put him on a diet of rice, scrambled eggs and chicken stock for a few days while he adjusted to the medications and the chemo drugs. As a dog who had never consistently received any human food before, he felt like he hit the lottery, even though he obviously still felt like crap. He seemed to regain strength and feel better relatively quickly, although he refused to drink water anymore, until we spiked it with apple juice.

We went back to the vet this past Friday for another blood count check, and they found his white blood cells to be back in the “normal” range. Our doctor told us that the good news to come out of Gallo’s reaction to his initial round of chemotherapy is that now they know how his body responds, and they can adjust the chemo and related medications to adjust for that reaction. And further good news for G-boy is that, after a solid month of repeated trips to the vet, he has a week off from having to go back, as he is slated for a “rest” week.


Gallo’s great demeanor and unflagging energy continues to amaze me. At this point, I would be assuming the fetal position while huddled in a corner, rocking back and forth and muttering gibberish to myself. Meanwhile, G’Lo continues to race around the backyard, perform flying leaps off the front porch and back deck, eat with gusto, and wag his tail at every opportunity. I know that his excitable personality and desire to make me proud of him have served him well during this trying time of repeated pokes, prods, forced Elizabethan collar-wearing, injections, surgeries and medications. Even though his body is under attack, he is still as happy and content as he has ever been. I still believe that the timing of his second bout of sickness early on Monday morning was no accident; I think that getting sick just 30 seconds before the alarm went off was his way of trying not to wake me up and his attempting to wait until I was awake and taking him outside before he got sick. I don’t know whether that should make me laugh or cry.

Being in the position of having to try to make the most informed and accurate decisions on Gallo’s behalf has been trying. There have been moments where I have doubted whether chemotherapy has been the right option, and whether his quality of life has been diminished enough to make it worthwhile. After all, his entire well-being and livelihood is dependent on the choices I make for him: if I give him something to eat, he eats it without question; if I ask him to go somewhere with me, he follows without hesitation; if I subject him to the doctor’s needles, he braves it without pause or complaint. It is a huge responsibility, and one that I don’t enter into lightly.

Yet I know that, as a strong dog of not even seven years old, he deserves every opportunity for a prolonged life. As long as I see no evidence of pain or unhappiness or lethargy, we’ll continue to make every sacrifice to ensure his safety, health, happiness and well-being. He’s stuck with me through a lot of difficult times, so I couldn’t live with myself if I didn't return the favor to the best of my means and abilities.

Thanks again to all of you who have followed Gallo’s saga and asked for updates on his condition and progress. I’m confident that your kind wishes, happy thoughts and prayers have made a difference – to him and us alike.

UPDATE, 9:55 a.m., Thursday, March 20: Unfortunately, at about 12:15 last night, we were awoken to Gallo getting violently ill once again. He seemed to be feeling relatively well beyond the nausea, and he slept the rest of the night through peacefully. We contacted his doctor this morning and were instructed to resume administering him his anti-nausea medicine, which we had stopped giving him because it was almost out. The vet was renewing his prescription, so I plan to pick it up on the way from work today. I will also be visiting Gallo at lunchtime to be sure that he is still doing OK. Another scare for all of us, but (*knock on wood*) it looks to be under control.