Hero Dog of the Month: Parker the Weimaraner Who Battled Cancer

  Recently on Facebook I came across a page for a special Weimaraner named Parker. Parker was battling cancer and passed on Oct. 6th of this year. His family posted pictures and updates, and we just want to thank them for taking such great care of their beloved dog, and pay tribute to Parker. 

Here's the letter they posted on Oct. 10th about Parker:

https://www.facebook.com/ParkersBucketList 
Dear Friends,

With heavy hearts, we said our goodbyes to Parker on Monday, October 6th. We are still grieving and missing him very much. We had hoped Parker would be a cancer survivor, but his cancer was relentless. We would have moved mountains to save our sweet angel. He was a brave and courageous fighter all the way to the end.

Parker was scheduled to start his 4th chemo agent last week, but his red blood cells were extremely low, so therapy was suspended. We had hoped that once the last chemo agent was cleared from his body that his red blood cells count would go up, but it didn't. His tumor continued to grow and he continued to become severely anemic. He developed a heart murmur from the anemia and his heart rate became very rapid. He was not eating which made taking pills more unsettling for his stomach. He was getting fluids a couple of times a week to keep him hydrated, but he even lost his interest in peanut butter the last few days.

Parker never lost his interest and desire to be with his family, though, which made it difficult to accept that the end had

come. However, his breathing was labored and his body was shutting down. He wasn't in any pain, but he was uncomfortable. We discussed giving him oxygen, but that would only help his breathing while he was receiving oxygen. We discussed a blood transfusion, but the fact that his own red blood cells were not increasing on their own meant that he had internal bleeding or the cancer cells were killing the new red blood cells. We attempted to give him iron supplements, but this caused GI distress on an empty stomach. We never wanted Parker to be in any pain, so we felt it was time to let him go with dignity.

Parker went to the park one last time on Monday morning. He wasn't able to walk with us, but he did enjoy being there with us. When it was time to say goodbye, we held him and told him how very special he was, as we showered him with kisses. We are so very grateful for the 5 wonderful years he was in our lives. He was loved deeply and will be missed immensely.

We sincerely thank you all for your support and encouragement these past few months as we have been sharing Parker’s life. Your kind words have been a comfort for us.

Forever in our hearts : Parker, August 29, 2006 ~ October 6, 2014

xoxo, Parker’s Family