ThisIsHouston

Kira update!

Kira was a June shelter save of ours. At ~6 weeks old, she was found as a stray with an injured back leg. Her first several weeks with us looked a little different than most puppies— lots of kennel rest, and a special leg brace while her leg healed.

But now? Kira is officially off kennel rest and making up for lost time! She’ll likely forever ‘knuckle’ that back leg but her brace helps support the leg and allows her to adjust beautifully. It certainly doesn’t slow her down! She’s loving being able to run around the yard, play, explore and is finally just enjoying being a puppy 💕

Kira is a German Shepherd mix with a bright and curious little mind. Now about 3 months old, she is smart, attentive and eager to learn. She loves toys, investigating everything around her and being involved in whatever her people are doing. She’s already making great progress with potty training and understands how to use potty pads.

After such a rough beginning, Kira deserves a lifetime filled with adventure, playtime, love and a family of her own! If you’re looking for a loyal, loving, smart best friend, Kira might be your girl!

Currently in Houston, TX. Application: www.this-is-houston.org/adopt/adopt-application

Did you know Bear has a puppy out there?

His name is Hank. We learned of him through Embark Vet when we did Bear’s DNA. Hank was found in 2018. He was one of eight puppies, but sadly the litter had a devastating distemper outbreak. Six didn’t make it. Against the odds, Hank survived.

Today, Hank is a happy, deeply loved boy living in Colorado with an incredible family.

Hank was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and today was supposed to be amputation day. Before surgery, they performed a scan of his lungs and discovered the cancer has already spread. His dad shared: “we had a pre-surgery scan of his lungs and it showed cancer has spread to his lungs already. According to research at this stage, even with amputation the median survival time was 80 days.” Our hearts are absolutely broken for them.

Many of you prayed for Bear when he was given just 3–12 months to live. That was FOUR YEARS AGO and by God’s grace, he’s still here enjoying life. Bear has been a walking miracle. So today, we’re asking if you’d do the same for his son.

Please pray for Hank. Pray for comfort and peace. Pray for wisdom as his family makes hard decisions and faces hard days ahead. Please help us surround Hank and his family with the same love + prayers that carried Bear through his own impossible odds!

❤️🙏🏼

with Jimmy 🧡✨

It’s only been one month with Jimmy and what an incredible transformation already! Thank you all for helping make his healing journey possible.

Send Jimmy a gift: https://a.co/074ZgBbR

April vs today!

Remember Bunny? Our 3lb shelter save with severe demodex mange?

Look at her now! She’s healthy, beautiful and absolutely thriving.

Bunny’s next stop is her spay surgery and after that she’ll continue enjoying the life she always deserved.

Our favorite update though? Bunny officially became a foster fail! Her foster family fell in love and decided she was home all along. There is no better ending than that!

Scroll through to watch her glow up!

🐰💕

Jimmy has been doing so great!

He had a recheck with both his oncologist and surgeon this week. His incision has healed well so his staples were removed. They were happy with how everything looked— there’s no redness, discharge, swelling or signs of infection. While his skin is still pretty flaky, he doesn’t appear to have an active infection so for now, we’ll continue using a medicated mousse until he’s able to have medicated baths.

His lymph nodes are still mildly enlarged but have gotten slightly smaller and his skin looks calmer than before. Based on his improvement after the L-Spar treatment last week, his oncologist feels much more confident that Jimmy has cutaneous lymphoma 😢 but we’re still waiting on stain results from his biopsy to confirm a diagnosis.

Jimmy started treatment with CCNU, an oral chemo medication he’ll receive once every three weeks. Most dogs respond well to chemo, but prognosis is about 6 months.

Cutaneous lymphoma would be responsible for Jimmy’s widespread skin changes and flakiness. These issues may not completely resolve because they’re part of the cancer itself. but for now we’re hopeful Jimmy responds well to treatment and continues feeling better 💙

Jimmy update ❤️

Jimmy’s biopsy results from his mass came in. And unfortunately, we still don’t have the answers we were hoping to get.

The biopsy identified mast cells but the pathologist wasn’t able to definitively determine the type of cancer Jimmy has. Additional specialized stains have been sent out and those results could take another 2–3 weeks.

The possibilities now being considered are: plasma cell tumor, transmissible venereal tumor (TVT), mast cell tumor and lymphoma (including cutaneous lymphoma). Each cancer has a different prognosis and treatment plan so it’s important we get the diagnosis right before making any long term decisions.

While we wait on the stain results, Jimmy’s oncologist suggested a treatment trial using L-asparaginase (l-spar) today, so we did that. If his drain output decreases and his skin starts to improve, it could lean towards lymphoma being the underlying cause.

They’re also concerned about the amount of fluid still coming from his drain so they’re sending a sample for a culture to rule out infection.

The path forward may not be as straightforward as we hoped for but our commitment to Jimmy hasn’t changed. We’ll keep searching for answers and fighting right alongside him!

So many of you are rooting for Jimmy and so is Bear!

FOUR years ago, Bear was given a cancer diagnosis that came with a heartbreaking prognosis. He had carcinoma and lymphoma and was given 3-12 months to live. Today, he’s still here! He’s happy, loved and continues to prove to so many that sometimes hope has a way of surprising us.

While every journey is different, Bear is proof that a diagnosis isn’t the end of the story. Bear sends his love and well wishes to Jimmy and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Jimmy!

❤️🧸

Jimmy is still hanging out at Blue Pearl while we they monitor his recovery. Overall, he’s doing well!

He still has a drain placed and it’s still producing quite a bit of clear fluid, which is actually double today what it has been, so they’d like to keep it in place for now. Rather than rushing him home, they feel it’s safest to continue monitoring him closely until we have his pathology results and his drain output starts to decrease.

We know everyone is anxious for answers and we are too! But we’re thankful Jimmy is in great hands while he continues to heal.

In the meantime, here are a few photos of our sweet boy from a recent visit with him. He’s soaking up all the love and attention he can get!

Thank you all for continuing to keep Jimmy in your thoughts and prayers ❤️

Jimmy had some very special visitors yesterday!

A couple HPD officers from the NE division that helped locate and safely secure him stopped by to check on their buddy. They came bearing gifts too! They brought him blankets, toys and treats.

It’s amazing to see how far he’s come in such a short time. Not too long ago, he was surviving on the streets carrying a massive tumor around his neck. Today, he’s recovering from surgery and is surrounded by people who genuinely care about him. It really does look like a huge weight has been lifted, literally and figuratively!

Thank you, HPD, for not only helping save Jimmy, but for reminding him that there are so many people rooting for him 💙