Max the dog- Brain Tumors, Cyber knife, HBOT and beyond!: Buster

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We had a really tough Christmas. Not only did we loose Tulsa on December 17, but we lost our beloved beagle Buster on December 23, a few days after he had had surgery to remove a mass on his liver. I knew we shouldn't have gone forward with the surgery. I felt like Buster kept telling me that he didn't want to do it and he wouldn't come home alive if we did, but the logical part of my mind kept telling me that it worked really well for our golden Daisy years ago (same surgery, same surgeon, same lobe of the liver, almost even same size mass, in fact is was uncanny ). I also wasn't convinced that I wasn't still morning Tulsa so much that I was in a funk and just needed to take care of Buster so I pushed forward. He made it through the surgery well, but threw a clot a few days later after they had weaned him off of his pain meds. This was such a hard loss. Buster had collapsed a few weeks before - probably a clot as well - which is how he ended up in the ER (with an ER doctor who didn't know what she was doing, anyway her boss saw something on an x-ray that she missed, took more and found a mass on Buster's liver. I kind of went into automatic pilot having been through this before. I knew the risks, I knew the signs, I knew the dangers, I knew we had some time. I knew which surgeon I wanted to use, but still interviewed others, got a 2nd and 3rd opinion from specialists I trusted, I knew the whole surgical team and they even knew Buster from when Daisy had been in the hospital. It just wasn't supposed to happen like this.. but maybe it was in the grand scheme of things. In my mind it certainly wasn't supposed to happen like this.

Buster explaining he didn't want surgery

When I took this photo, I had just asked Buster if he wanted to have the tumor removed, every time I asked him he looked directly at me just like he is in this photo, and I kept feeling like he was just repeating, NO, I won't come home alive if we do. This went on for 2 weeks until he was up there. Even when we first walked in to see his surgeon, she looked at me and said, "You just don't have a good feeling about this one. You didn't feel this way with Daisy, I can tell you feel this way with Buster". She even gave me an extra day to think about it. I feel horrible, but in my heart I think I knew that it was his time. I just feel horrible that he spent his last 4 days in a hospital, and he had had his belly cut open and he only saw me for a grand total of 15 minutes those last 4 days and he was in pain each time he saw me. Right before he was taken back to the kennel to stay over night before his surgery, he walked up to me and licked me in the face. He has never done that before in his life. He knew.

Score! Found some poop

The photo to the left was taken the day before we left to take him for surgery. He was foraging around for poop. The morning we left, I woke Buster up, and he reluctantly followed me to the kitchen and out to the garage. He went to go potty, then decided to sniff around and took off wanting to go chase deer. He was feeling so good when he went in, and he never came out. I hate that. I know he's at peace now. I know he doesn't remember any of the pain from the last few days, but I feel terrible for my decision. I know he remembers all of the good times we had together, I certainly do. He made me laugh, he's scared me more times that I can tell you.. running home with 1/2 of a dead rabbit in his mouth across main streets, just so I wouldn't catch him and take the rabbit out of his mouth. I remember him snatching birds out of the air at the field, Breaking into trash cans, cabinets, and feeding himself.. then there was his art work - see below - painted in blood on the ceramic tile floor after he took a pyrex bowl off the counter, ate the contents and decided to paw print. He used to run into the woods and take naps under trees, and Buster would NEVER bark.. probably the only beagle who never barked - UNLESS he was hunting and caught a scent, or within the last few years, barking along with Rex and demanding I feed him his meal faster than I currently was moving - boy those two thought that was the funniest thing!

Enjoying a ride in the car

Buster was always a clown - he could be feeling horrible but would bounce right back up.. This was a few days after he had collapsed and he was goofing around in the back of the car - smile on his face! Sometimes he'd flip his ear over! When he was younger, he'd run around in circles and dart right and left, and then dive and roll.. come to think of that - he did that a few times as he got older as well! Even with his bum legs! I will never forget Buster playing with his buddy Beau - those two beagles LOVED each other so much and they would see each other at the field would just run and role and play tag - I've never seen Buster like that with any other dog! Unfortunatley the only photo I have of Buster and Beau is of Beau humping Buster.. Buster was always quite humpable.. I guess in the dog world that may mean loveable? Boys and girls loved to hump him! There was a great dane who loved to hump him.. I think Buster just thought he was a big tent - he'd just provide shade on hot days - he was so much bigger than Buster that it didn't phase him at all.

Hanging with his angel buddy Tulsa

Tulsa had a very special bond with Buster.. and LOVED to sit on Buster. Not so sure how Buster felt about this. But Tulsa was especially close with Buster in his last couple of weeks. he didn't want to leave Buster's side. This photo was taken the day Buster came home from the ER, at that point, Tulsa couldn't walk and he managed to flop himself out of his bed in the background to go lie next to his buddy Buster. He wanted to sleep with him at night too. I almost feel like Tulsa helped cross Buster over to the other side to be with him.

Apparently still hungry

Buster in true form - I was working at my desk, heard some clanking around, went to the kitchen to see what was going on and found the cabinet to the cat food open... with Sir Beagle-man Buster, ripping open a container of cat food... while is faithful canine companion Maxwell Smart, stood by looking on wondering when he'd get a chance (see below)

It's never been a dull moment with Buster in my life. I first brought him home from the shelter in 1999, he was about 4 or 5 years old at the time and had had a rough life prior. The shelter workers said he was next on the euthanasia list, which was why I adopted him.

Teaching Max tricks

They said he was howling in the shelter, but he never howled for me, ever! Once I got him in the car he was darting all over over the place. When I got him home he ran all over the house, upstairs, downstairs, into every room exploring, and then he collapsed at the top of the stairs and couldn't walk.. seriously... all 4 of his legs had given out! When I took him to the vet they said he had been beat up so badly that the cups around his leg joints were all worn away. His face had also been kicked in and he had some broken facial bones..

ART: paw painting by Buster - Blood on Ceramic tile

We let him heal as much as we could, he eventually got Tiny Tim like braces from Dr. Kanappe at www.vosm.com which he tolerated, and then we decided he could just hang out at home and go at his own pace, or ride around in his chariot (pictured below).

Buster had eventually started having really bad sinusitus and post nasal drip to the point where he was getting chronic bronchitis and developing frequent pneumonias. We had numerous vets and ER vets tell me that I should put him down, but I knew he was a fighter.

More ART:Paw painting Blood on Ceramic by Buster

.... and I always fought for him and he always fought back and survived. I feel horrible I didn't fight as much as I should have for him this time, but something was holding me back and I'm not sure what it was - maybe it was just the recent loss of Tulsa - and maybe it was all too much too close together. I just don't know, but I really miss my beagle boy a lot. For such a small guy he had such a huge personality.

Also.. the floors are not nearly as clean, the cat food bowls are no where near as clean as they used to be, dishes aren't as clean going into the dishwasher.

Buster Doing his Chores

Buster contributed so much to the cleaning of this house! (and others), unfortunately he would also plaster walls with snot as he sneezed everywhere but you give a little you get a little.. and we have something to remember him by.

Buster had the patience of a said, the determination of .. well a beagle, and although he took a long time to trust (and who wouldn't after having bean beat up so badly) he was so incredibly loyal, loving and dependable. I love that he'd snuggle up to me, or step on my foot so I'd know he was there. He had the softest ears in the world and loved to have them rubbed! Buster was so incredibly good with little kids and would let them sit on him and pull at his ears, and never once ever bit anyone. He loved his vets dearly and when ever he wasn't feeling well he'd go out and stand by the car and want to be taken to the vet. A few times he even ran upstairs at their office to fund Robin's "special bag" and let her know he needed some healing!

And who can ever forget the true antics of Buster - some caught on film.. this is my very favorite video of Buster... I had just come back to the house after taking Buttercup for a walk in the woods, I had the video rolling actually as I walked in the house b/c I was taping Buttercup.. but this is what I found when I opened the door! (gotta love Buster!)