In an effort to get Teddy in and out of the groomer's in record time (to follow the "pee frequently after cyclophosphamide" instructions) and to even out the patchwork effect, Teddy got the grooming of his life on Friday. He gets a trim every now and then, but this one took all of the feathering off of his legs and sides. No matter what, he is still a very handsome boy!

He just finished his second round of chemotherapy. His home dose of cyclophosphamide was delayed this time because his infusion treatment suppressed his bone marrow too much and he had no white blood cells. He immediately went on an antibiotic, and we had to take his temperature three times a day (yes...like that). His white blood cell count came back to normal pretty quickly, and we gave him his cyclophosphamide a few days later. He will be back on his normal schedule on Tuesday. They won't recognize him at Ohio State with his new 'do.

He seems to handle the chemo well, and hasn't been really sick while on it. He had chest x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound last Tuesday, and everything was clear. There is some bad news,  however, which is a second kind of cancer that was revealed upon biopsying the cyst on his back. When the results were read to me over the phone, I heard "trichoblastoma", which is generally benign and not a problem if it's not bothering the dog. But upon seeing his most recent discharge papers, I saw that is was "malignant trichoblastoma", which is rare and subject to spreading. I don't know if they didn't tell me it was malignant or I didn't want to hear it, but it is. They are proceeding by staying on course for treatment of the original cancer and will address the new cancer after he finishes chemo. Hopefully the chemo is attacking the malignant trichoblastoma, too. So, for any of you that I initially told that the new cancer was probably not much to worry about, that was wrong. I suppose cancer is always something to worry about. So, Teddy still needs your prayers and well-wishes.

He acts like he feels really well, and I think he looks pretty content:

Teddy had his second chemotherapy infusion two days ago, and he is feeling pretty good right now. He was a little shaky coming home from that one because they sedated him to biopsy that cyst on his back. I had no idea they would have to shave such a large spot on his back to do it. Now he has a bald spot on his shoulders in addition to shaved strips around his legs and very short fur on half of his tummy where he was shaved for surgery. He looks like a patchwork retriever. He seems to be feeling pretty well now, although the storms last night kept him and Maggie (and, therefore, me and Art) up last night.

What could make him feel even better? Jelly beans...