Bruiser Balliett
October 15, 1992 - September 6, 2003 I am “Rottonweiler" with a mild personality. When I was a puppy my mother (Echo) and I lived in a house with a fenced yard. I got out a couple of times but she closed my escape hatch. I was a people lover and I always jumped up and barked whenever I saw someone walk by. I was too little to jump over the fence. BIG mistake, the mail person sprayed me in the face with mace through the fence, not once but twice. They stopped mail delivery to our whole block and I, made the news as the scourge of the Postal Department. Of course nothing was mentioned on the news about me being sprayed with mace while I was behind a fence in my own yard. Mom had to add an extension to the top of the fence and tear down a wooden fence on one side of the yard to eliminate a gap caused by the neighbor's gate. Echo & I moved in with Grandma (Dot) and I still barked every time I saw a Mail Person. Unless I was in the back yard I was not allowed out of the house except on a leash. The Mailmen wouldn't walk anywhere near me even if I had my leash on. Grandma told one of them that it was safe to walk by when I was at heel but he said that he knew all about that dog. The Postal Department used the news footage as a training film. The funny part is that I didn't even acknowledge the mailman if I wasn't in the house and was told to leave it.

I graduated from the Academy of Canine Behavior and was so well behaved that I got to go to work with my Mom sometimes. She worked at Hiawatha Community Center and I loved to play with the children at Day Camp and even went to an overnight party with the children. You can have a lot of fun with 20 or more children ranging in age from 6-9 years of age. Since I am so people oriented I always managed to get into mischief when left home alone. I loved Auntie Cheryls' left shoe (no matter how many pair I got I only ate the left one. I showed her that I could even open the sliding door to the closet and reach the top tier of her shoe caddie. One day I managed to get the kitchen door open and eat four loaves of freshly baked cranberry bread on cooling racks before Grandma got home.

There isn't much I don't like to eat, cat food, chocolate covered coffee beans and even Advil. That ended being a nightmare I had to go have my stomach pumped. I loved to play soccer in our big back yard but would usually be sent in the house after a very short playtime as I was such a ball hog. I liked to play fetch if someone was throwing sticks into Puget Sound. That came to an end when they banned dogs from the beach and the water. Life was great until May of 2002. I started limping on my right front leg, they thought that it was arthritis. When I didn't improve I had x-rays in late June and in August. The August x-rays showed signs of cancer and I was referred to Veterinary Oncology Services. I was examined on September 3, 2002 by Dr. Meleo ,she was quite sure that I had Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) but could not be positive until tumor is analyzed after amputation. The tumor almost always spreads to the lungs prior to diagnosis, but at that time are usually microscopic and cannot be seen on a chest x-ray. She explained that the best course of treatment was amputation to alleviate pain produced by the tumor and to eliminate the spread to other sited of the body. Life expectancy following surgery is limited. On average dogs live 5 months after surgery and about 10% live for 1 year. Chemotherapy following surgery can slow growth of lung tumors and improve life expectancy.

AMPUTATION: I had my leg amputated on October 11, 2002. It took only a couple of days to discover that I had to shift my left front leg toward the center of my chest in order to walk. 1 needed some help getting around for the first couple of days. By the 3rd day Mom & Grandma had a hard time keeping me from trying to jump up on my favorite couch. Of course Grandpa had to snitch and tell them that I had already jumped up on the 26” antique bed while I was left in his care. I wasn't supposed to do any jumping until after my stitches came out. Needless to say they didn't leave me alone with him again until they were removed. By the second week I could walk around the back yard and then I learned how to negotiate two stairs. By the 3rd week I could walk about 2 blocks with a couple of rest stops.

DIAGNOSIS: Osteosarcoma, no evidence of spread to lungs.

TREATMENT: Chemotherapy, Mom and Grandma elected Doxorubicin as liver damage is not one of its potential side effects. Mom & Grandma figured I probably had already compromised my liver and kidneys by getting into chocolate, coffee beans and Advil. It is also administered on an outpatient basis so I would go every two weeks for 5 treatments. I had my first one on October 28, 2002 and didn't suffer anything greater than being tired for a day or two. I had my last treatment on December 23, 2002 MERRY CHRISTMAS. Now all I need to do is build up my strength so that I can walk farther, have a blood tests and chest x-ray every three months. 1 have no problem getting down the stairs and jumping into the car. I love to go out with Grandma. The end of March I am having a hard time walking, I get tired quickly and tend to rest a lot. The end of April I am having a harder time walking, I tend to walk in a crouch. At times my back feet cross so it is hard to move. X-ray shows arthritis.

FIRST VISIT TO WELLSPRINGS; May 20 2003. I met Sheila and liked her but was not thrilled to be going in that pool! She just sat down on the step in the pool and coaxed me into her lap, massaged a bit and even had me swim with help, had me wrapped around her little finger in no time. I think I'm in love.

May 27th, my 2nd visit. Poor Sheila, I passed out on her in the pool. My pulse rate dropped, so she and Mom and Grandma made an emergency trip to Sheila's Vet. They put me on oxygen until I was stable. And then transferred me to Animal Emergency And Referral Center in Lynnwood to be monitored overnight. Sheila suggested we see the Vet Cardiologist while we were out there for a check up on my heart before I continued swimming, as swimming can be strenuous. He did an echocardiogram and everything checked out completely normal; He cleared me to swim as much as I wanted. Sheila had only had me in the pool for one slow lap so the DR's figured I probably got over excited, as everything checked out fine.
After the 3rd visit all Grandma had or Mom had to say was "are you ready to go see Sheila?" and I was out the door, in the car, and would whine if Grandma didn't get there fast enough. I got to go there once a week, and Sheila was also teaching Mom and Grandma how to do self-swim with me so I could go more often. Twice a week!

NEW PROBLEM: In June I was still having trouble walking and sometimes had to be carried out to the car. Sheila recommended I get a Hartman Hip Helper Harness that supports me front and back. The leg straps are padded so it is comfortable and makes it easier for Grandma to either help me walk or carry me out to the car in it and lift me in. The swim therapy is going well. I am getting stronger and am able to walk now on my three remaining legs where I couldn't before, as they had gotten so weak from just lying around so much. The massage has helped with getting my back to straighten out so my back legs work better too.

My front leg is swelling up though and so it is back to the vet for x-rays. Looks like I now~have arthritis in my wrist, so my exercise will be limited mainly to swimming. August 1st I go my Muttluks ( non-skid booties) so that my feet won't slip on the hardwood floors and I won't scrape my paws going down the stairs. Now my shoulder, foreleg and paw are very swollen and my only relief is when I am in the pool and, the times Sheila gets done with my massage session all the swelling is gone.

August 19th, the swelling is worse and I am experiencing some pain so back for x-rays of my shoulder, leg and lungs. Can't tell from x-rays of shoulder if the swelling is just muscle mass or tumor. More worrisome is the lung x-ray. It does not look good so will be sent out to be read by oncology specialist. I had my last swim with Sheila on August 30 and was able to do a self-swim with Mom and Grandma on September 3rd. The cancer has spread to my lungs and I am in a lot of pain. The only time I am comfortable is when I am in the pool.

I died in Grandma's arms at 2:50 a.m. She called my Mom and they took me to Emerald City Emergency Clinic so that I could be cremated. I am now out of pain and at peace, my ashes are in the garden under my favorite tree beside my friend Lady Lowrider.

THANK YOU SHEILA: You helped me beat the odds. I lived more than a year after diagnosis. I appreciate being included in the article in the Seattle PI and in the Evening Magazine segment about Sheila Wells and Wellsprings, such great mementos for Mom and Grandma. I hope that you know how much I grew to love you. You not only helped extend my life you added quality and made it worth living. Thank you for your loving, gentle care and your compassion and support of Grandma and Mom. Quinn and Drew, thank you for sharing your Mom with all of us. She is definitely a very special person.

Love and Many Doggie Kisses,
Bruiser Balliett

WELL SPRINGS: We cannot say enough good things about Sheila Wells. We wish we had known about her services sooner as I'm sure that Bruiser would have had better quality of life after his amputation and chemo if we could have started him in swim therapy and massage sooner. Had he been in better physical condition before surgery he may have recovered his mobility and stamina much more quickly. As it is we know that you not only made him m ore comfortable but added a great deal of joy to his last months. You are the very special blessing Bruiser brought into our lives and we have truly benefited from your kindness and friendship. A friendship we hope that continues.

Our love to You, Quinn and Drew. 
Dot & Echo Balliett

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Revised: 15 Apr 2006 14:48
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