The oncologist called yesterday to let us know that Bailey’s biopsy results came back. Unfortunately it confirmed the bone marrow report–Bailey has lymphoma.

Bailey started on Prednisone last week. Within 24 hours, her appetite came back and she seemed to have her spunk back. The last couple of days she has started to slow down again. Not as much as prior to the Prednisone, but a definate slow down. We also noticed a lump today. It’s hard to see such a loyal family member wither away.

Needless to say, Bailey is being spoiled as much as possible during her last days.

This photo taken Nov 25, 2006, is a quick shot of Bailey supervising the traditional Christmas light installation at our home.

Nick thought she needed to be comfortable, which is why she is sitting on a chair on our driveway with a scarf around her neck.

We found out this week that our family dog, Bailey–a Sheltie–has cancer. It is stage 5 lymphoma–it’s in her bone marrow. She started out 2-3 weeks ago with a decreased appetite and became more lethargic — definitely a change for her. We took her in to our vet, who did several tests. She was referred to an oncologist who ran some additional tests and discovered the lymphoma in the bone marrow.

Given the stage of lymphoma, we made the decision to not put her through chemotherapy. Bailey is expected to have about 4 weeks left, so our family intends to keep her comfortable and enjoy her while we can. It is almost inexplicable how attached we have become to Bailey–she is really part of our family. I’ll update this blog periodically with her status and will include a few photos of good times with her.

This photo is the first time we saw Bailey at the breeder’s home south of Boston, MA in the summer of 1999.