It's been so many years since I adopted Shylo, who you all knew as Jennie, and I just had to send you an update.  At the time I welcomed her into my home, I was caring for my Mom, who was dying of Dementia.  She only wanted to be awake for 2 hours at a time, so it made caring for her needs and feeding her
quite limited.  We had always had a dog when I was a child so I thought it would give Mom another interest, and reason to get up each day.  When Mom was waking each day I'd give her some dog cookies to have in her hands in bed.  Shylo soon came to understand when Mom was waking up she was going to get a treat, so she'd always be sitting quietly wagging her tail as Mom slowly greeted the day.  This gave Mom a happy little friend to be waiting for her at her bedside and they bonded beautifully. 

She also bonded with me from the first day, because I was the one who was always awake to feed her, groom her and cuddle with her.  During the stress of Mom's care she always made me smile and laugh every day.  As part of Mom's illness she would at times have brief TIA Strokes, and during them lose the ability to speak.  One day during one of these events, myself, a Nurse, a Home Care Worker, and a Bath Lady were all gathered around Mom's bed,
helping her as best we could under the desperate state of her health.  Right at that moment Shylo did something she had never done before or since.  She pushed her way in between all of us, put her paws up on the bed, leaned way in, and licked Mom's face 3 times.  In that exact moment, like magic Mom's stroke stopped instantly, and she said 'Hi Shylo'.  It truly was a miracle! 

Mom had short term memory loss so every day when she discovered we had Shylo, she was happy all over again just like Christmas morning.  She would gently pet her head, and every time she felt her ears, she'd always say with great excitement, " Oh they are just like velvet!".  She experienced this same happy discovery, day after day, week after week, month after month.  Every time it happened it was just as thrilling for her as the first time, because she had no way to remember the previous day.  Mom finally passed away on June 8, 2009, and my other reason for adopting Shylo was the sadness and loneliness I would suffer once that day came.  It was the best decision I ever made.  Even though it's been very difficult after her death, Shylo makes me laugh and smile every day. 

She has her own bed beside mine on the second floor, and another one under the kitchen table.  She enjoys sleeping in both, usually starting the night beside me, and going down to her own bed in the kitchen during the night.  She loves to sit beside me, or lay at my feet when I'm watching TV, always with her side or paw touching me.  She gives me kisses, rests her head on my knee or foot all the time, and I'm teaching her how to say I LOVE YOU.  She doesn't bark at all unless I'm trying to get her to speak to say I LOVE YOU.  She has permanent Happy Tail and is the happiest part of every day.  No matter what I might be doing she sits watching and supervising the entire time, whether I'm making dinner or cutting the grass.  She truly is my best friend, and I love her more every day!  Thank you so much for her, she means everything to me.

Sincerely,

Paul

Update July '12

Well, my baby girl Shylo has developed a cancerous tumor on her right front leg.  My Vet at Bridlewood Animal Hospital has sent me to a Cancer Specialist in Ottawa named Dr. J. Liptak, at Alta Vista Animal Hospital.  So tomorrow she's going to have it surgically removed, and until they send it to the lab there's no way to know the percentage of recurrence.  Fortunately it is quite localized and hasn't spread anywhere else.

So if any of you remember her, please say a prayer for her.  She means everything to me and I can't imagine my life without her.   Because I'm alone in this world, she's my only Christmas present, my only
Valentine, my only Easter egg, my only shamrock, my only Trick or Treater, and my only Birthday present.  All this she gives to me, just because I love her. 

All my best to you,

Paul

Update September '12

I just want you to know that Shylo is still thriving and doing fine.  Much to my amazement, she's recovered from her surgery and although she still has a tiny tumor in one breast, it isn't growing.  The site where the big tumor on her leg was removed has healed beautifully, and there is no sign of recurrence.  I know she technically still has cancer, but to my complete astonishment she's climbing stairs, running, playing, eating, talking, and saying I wove you, as well as giving me kisses.  She has no idea there is anything wrong, and in doing so, is just loving every moment of life.  Like she always has.  Perhaps this lesson is her greatest gift to me.  Having just lost my best friend from High School to cancer this week, and watching Shylo, she's reminding me to be happy in the moment, and try not to worry too much about what may come tomorrow.  I love her so much, and I'm still so grateful to have her a part of my life.

Sincerely,

Paul

Update July '13

Well it's another hot summer morning, a year after her surgery, and I'm happy to announce Shylo is eating, playing, and thriving like a puppy.  There is no sign of the cancer returning on her leg at all.

Her affection, kind demeanor, and optimistic approach to me and all the people she meets, endures as always.  She never barks, except when we play "Who's a Good Puppy?" and when I say "I love you", she'll
answer "WHY WOFF WUU" in Husky whiny woffs.

She's the best little friend I've ever had and I love her more than life it self.

Thank you so much for loving her and caring for her till I found her with you.  Your efforts are still bringing happiness to a 62 year old single man.  She is now and always will be my Baby Girl, which means everything to a man with no children to love him back.

All our thanks with warm regards,

Paul & Shylo

Update August '15

So as another summer draws to a close, I just had to let you know Shylo is still well and doing fine after all these years. She was called Jennie by your shelter because she came to you from another shelter and had no history. She survived cancer 3 summers ago, and is doing very well. I'm so grateful to have her in my life, and we love each other very much.

Thank you again for bringing us together.

Love from Shylo and Paul.

Update September '15

So Shylo's cancer came back in the same spot on her elbow. I noticed the old incision starting to swell, about the time I had her other warts removed. So yesterday Dr. Liptak performed the second surgery on her elbow and gave her a mastectomy for the other tumour they found right after the first operation 3 years ago. He had to do a flap to close the wound because the tumour was attached to the skin. She hates being on meds but she has to be because it was major surgery, and she's got to be in a lot of pain right now. The white towel in bed on her wound is an ice pack. I have to catch her when she's sleeping, or it doesn't stay on long.

I have no fear about her recovery now that the tumours are gone, and due to her demeanour, prior to this bump in the road, I predict she will bounce back in a short period of time. It will just be frustrating for her because of how she hates the affect the medication has on her equilibrium. She's wearing the vest to prevent licking, although with the wart removal she had stitches and never licked at all. However these need better protection. She still isn't hungry but I bet by tomorrow some chicken will do the trick. She's such a wonderful, loyal, loving, playful pup, and she's going to come through this just fine. She did before and was well worth that effort, and now she's happier, more playful and affectionate than she ever has been. So I simply had to try and give her the years of happiness she so deserves.

All the best from Shylo & Paul

 

Update November '15

So as I told you before, Shylo's cancer came back this fall. I took her back to Dr. Liptak at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital, and he was happy to operate on her to remove the tumour as he had previously removed 3 years ago, as well as another tumour growing on her breast, so he did 2 for 1 since he had her under the anaesthetic. The mastectomy went well, but when he went in to get the tumour on her elbow, he discovered it had not only attached itself to her skin, but there was another tumour growing underneath the first one. Therefore he had to remove some tissue as well as all her skin in an area of about 3 1/2 inches x 9 inches. Then he cut a large skin flap from her side of the same size and relocated it over her elbow to cover the huge wound.

We returned home, and over the next 2 weeks of recovery there was a complication because the lower 1 1/2 inch of the flap died, in spite of hot and cold compresses. Dr. Liptak had warned me it could happen, but I had no idea it would ooze fluid continuously and smell like rotting meat. It was such a horrible odour, and there was laundry every day for towels and bedding, not just for the fluid but also the Incontinence which she usually gets after being under anaesthetic. Dr. Liptak suggested I could gently bath the wound in warm water with a paper towel applied softly to wipe the stinking fluid that had dried all over her leg. Unfortunately the second time I did so the bottom of the wound opened a little, and cups of the pink fluid started flowing all over the kitchen floor. I quickly wrapped and taped a tea towel around it and rushed her back to the Alta Vista Animal Hospital where they covered the wound with a dressing and started her on antibiotics. The dressing had to be changed every 2 days but when I went back in I could smell the rotting under the bandage, and when they removed it the wound was at its worst, so it then had to smell and remain open to the air and the apartment. Pee-U it really smelled like rotting meat as well as the apartment.

Then she went back in the following week for corrective surgery to cut off the dead skin and then pull the remaining skin down very tight and close with new sutures. He was able to do so except for the bottom 1/4 inch of the wound, as it had to heal from the inside out. Back home again on 2 more weeks of antibiotics and still a little oozing. She also stayed in the hospital overnight with each surgery, before I could bring her home. After 2 weeks we went back to the hospital to have her stitches removed and they discovered they could only remove the ones at the top of the wound, because the bottom was still not fully closed. So we returned home again with another 2 weeks of antibiotics, and 3 stitches still in the bottom of the flap.

With the original wart mass removal that I had done at Pretoria Animal Hospital at the beginning of September to remove warts from her two front paws and on her back, that's when I first noticed the mass on her elbow regrowing. She had now had had 3 surgeries in 6 weeks, and for any pup let alone a senior dog, that's a lot of stress to go through, not to mention living with the cone on her head as well throughout. Shylo was so good because she never got cranky, and once on her antibiotics she wanted to play to get her treats again like always. Because she didn't know how serious it all was she was happy to be home with her Daddy, and went right on with her life. What a lesson for us to follow. At this point I knew she was feeling much better because she started pushing me around the apartment with her cone, saying get a move on Dad, life's waiting for us to play. Again we went back home with stitches in, and after two more weeks and more antibiotics to have the stitches removed, but again returned home with more antibiotics and another 2 weeks of healing because it wasn't closed yet. Finally yesterday I took her in and the last 3 stitches came out, and the cone came off. She's such a happy doggy now. Her prognosis is excellent because all cancers were self contained, and she will be able to go on and have a better time through the last third of her life.

I'm so grateful to Dr. Liptak and the entire team at the Alta Vista Hospital because they were there for us throughout the whole ordeal and were a tower of strength to us both. Because Shylo picks up on my mood, I had to keep my brain in a positive state of mind, so she wouldn't pick up on my sincere worry about her survival. However I was able to maintain the illusion all was well, and not cause her stress. But Lordy the stress I felt weighed a ton. So now we're safe and sound and back home as happy as always. This year I turn 65 and Shylo survived cancer twice now, so we are going to have the best Christmas ever !!!! Thank you to everyone who sent their kind well-wishes to Shylo during her long ordeal, because I believe all our prayers were answered, and your support was invaluable.

Our kind good wishes to all from Paul and Shylo Xoxoxo

Shylo has passed away and is now remembered on our Rainbow Bridge page.

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