Does anyone have info on the whereabouts of Michele Craddock, who used to own Dragonfly Labradors in South Dakota? She also was based out of Maryland for a time.

I bought Rufus, my male chocolate Lab, from her 7 years ago, who is the offspring of Castle Rock's Magical Merlin "Toby" and Dragonfly's Shimmer, born on 12/25/2004. He is unfortunately dying of colon cancer and I don't have long with him now..he's on his last few weeks. My heart is breaking, as he has the sweetest disposition of any dog I've ever known and is a true companion. I was wondering if there are siblings or descendants from Shimmer or maybe even Rufus' siblings (I remember he has a sister Hermione)?

Thank you for anything you can provide.
Jennifer

Try contacting Sherry at Hayshaker Labradors http://hayshakerlabs.com/

Thank you! That did help...

I am very sorry for what is happening to Rufus. I had a Dragonfly puppy too, his name was Luke. I lost him in February to liver failure. He was only 7 years old as well. He was born 3/10/04 and his mother was Glory, Teracrofts Red White & Blue. His sire was Max, Sho-Me's Maximus at Dragonfly. I don't know if there are any similarities in pedigree there.

I understand what you're going through, so if you need to talk or a shoulder to cry on or whatever, please feel free to email me.

Melissa

Jen,

I'm so sorry for you and Rufus. I don't know if this would be of any help to you in regards to finding dogs related to Rufus, but Belquest has "Toby" on their web site in the "past greats" catagory on their site. Maybe Vicki Creamer would be able to tell you who may have puppies or adults from "Toby's" lines.

Again, I'm very sorry that your sweet boy is so sick.

It is so nice to know there are people here to support me through this. I found out yesterday at the vet checkup that his colon tumor has tripled in size to about larger than a softball. It is rotating out of the way when he defecates because it is on a small stalk. You can imagine it is uncomfortable, but he is not yet in full-blown pain. that will come soon enough and I will make the decision to euthanize him so he won't have to endure this through agony. He still is having fun and eating and seems happy. He just turned this negative corner recently, so I'm keeping a close eye on him for that moment when I hope I'll just know it's time. When he stops eating, makes audible painful noises when defecating, etc. My vet indicated to me it's soon, but not quite yet.

I have been emailing with Sherry at the above website and she has been a wealth of knowledge on Toby and even had met Rufus when he was a puppy in South Dakota before he was shipped to me! Her current litter's momma is Toby's granddaughter! :) So, if I choose to get another Lab, I could get another with this wonderful disposition.

Melissa,

I am so sorry about Luke! I'm sure you feel his loss...Labs are such wonderful dogs! :(

I don't know much about the lineage and illness...etc. My guess would be since they are two different diseases and different parents we may have just been only meant to have these wonderful boys for 7 years. 7 great years.

Jen and Melissa,

I too lost my canine soulmate at 7 years old. He was not related to your dogs in anyway. It's been 3 years since I lost my "Sailor" and I will miss him until we meet again. After I lost my special by I was blessed with a beautiful, kind and sweet yellow boy. At first I didn't think I could love another Labrador as much as I loved my Sailor but getting a silly, foolish, happy-go-lucky goofball was the best medicine for me, my husband and our other two Labradors. This puppy just wiggled his way into our hearts forever. I am greatful every day that my friend entrusted me with this boy. He continues to keep things light hearted around our home.

I hope that Rufus will be around for a while as long as he has comfort and happiness. He is lucky to have a family who loves, cares for and respects him.

Rufus was diagnosed last July with colon cancer. We had a colonoscopy done that had a loop cutter at the end to "snag" and debulk the tumor, which also enabled a biopsy to be taken so a lab to look at the cells. It came back as adenocarcinoma in situ. They told me the type it is was very aggressive and likely fatal, but his life could be extended. I only wanted to do it if he had a quality life and not too much pain in the process.

We scheduled surgery, at which time he went through 3 surgeries in one, I call it. (Wasn't planned that way, trust me.) He was "under" and they did three invasive surgeries. The idea was to do the least invasive method first, hoping that would work. One, they pulled his colon inside out rectally as far as they could without damaging the sphincter muscle, to get the tumor closer to the opening (tumor is located in a very difficult place in the middle of his pelvic cavity). That didn't work without the surgeon fearing she was causing sphincter damage, so they put the colon back in him and tried something else. Surgery number two: they cut under the tail, above the anus, and went in to try to get to it that way. That didn't work so they sewed that back up. She came out and discussed what they had done and said all that was left was to open him up, but she thought she could get it that way. I troubled over it a while, as he was under anesthesia. I said ok. They flipped him over, opened him all the way down the abdomen and went in that way. They cut as much as they could, but when they couldn't get all of it to ensure no cells were left to grow back, they shaved away part of his pelvic bone and got all they could. Needless to say, it was a horrible recovery and I wouldn't do that again in retrospect. (Although I never gave the ok for the middle surgery below the tail, or for the bone removal. I was disappointed in the surgeon's approach, but I know she meant well. My internal medicine vet I love though.) He barely recovered from that last August and we thought we might lose him then. But he pulled through and became happy and vibrant again.

I decided then if it grew back he'd have no more surgery.

After healing, the tumor began to grow back, as indicated in January. We decided on low dose intravenous chemotherapy that Labs tolerate very well. We went in with the understanding that if he seemed very sick or not enjoying life I'd stop at any treatment time. He ended up getting 5 treatments and tolerated them so well he'd fall asleep during them and eat treats immediately after, wagging his tail. The tumor shrunk, until prior to the 6th treatment when they did a sonogram. It was growing again..he had become immune to the chemo drug. We didn't do the 6th treatment.

They sent me home with metronomics, a pill that is a form of chemo that helps to slow down the growth, but doesn't shrink the tumor. I only gave it for a few weeks before taking him in yesterday for the checkup where they saw the tumor had aggressively enlarged. They told me chemo is no longer working and said I could stop. He is now just on a combo anti-inflammatory and pain med. And I'm spoiling him.

I'm sorry this is so long. I realized more explanation was needed for his condition and why we are at the end of the road. He has made it almost a year since his diagnosis, and far beyond what they thought he would survive. I just don't want to put him through any more, especially knowing this type is so aggressive and will just grow back. By the way, they believe it may be in his hind leg lymph nodes now, too.

Thanks for listening and for your support. I wish there was some way to stop cancer...Please, if your dog has blood in his stool at any time, don't spend 6 months trying to change his diet (like several local vets said) before they discovered at my insistence to check something else, anything!....that it was cancer. Have him checked for colon cancer before it takes hold.

Jen

Melody,

I really liked reading this. It's nice to hear how another dog can bring joy and help heal a person after they've lost their pet, even when we think we're not ready. It is something for me to consider. I know exactly what you mean by them being silly, and being goofballs! That's the best part of them. They're so sweet and always happy!

I'm so sorry for the ordeal you and Rufus have been through, Jen. I hope he continues to beat the odds and you have him around for some time to come.

Luke's passing was much more sudden. His symptoms started very non-specific with some intermittant vomiting and diarrhea, and some straining to defacate. I just thought he had an upset belly. I took him to my regular vet and she prescribed some medication for the vomiting and diarrhea. The next morning, I noticed his urine was very dark colored, almost like tea. I collected a sample and took it to my vet for a urinalysis. It came back with high levels of bilirubin, which accounted for the dark color. I rushed him in for bloodwork, which showed his liver enzymes were off the charts high.

My regular vet hospitalized him and began treating him for a liver infection, with IV fluids and antibiotics. He began refusing food and could not keep any oral medication down, so 2 days later, I took him to an internal medicine specialist. An ultrasound showed his liver was smaller than it should be. She wanted to do a liver biopsy, but his bloodwork showed his blood was slow to clot, which meant he would not survive the surgery. He was given a plasma transfusion and his doctor threw every medication she had at him. He just didn't respond to any of it. One week to the day after his first symptom, I had to let him go. His internal medicine doctor was amazing and her best guess is that he had Chronic Active Hepatitis, but we don't know what caused it because she was never able to do the biopsy. I opted not to have it done after he was gone, I just couldn't bear the thought at the time.

Luke was an amazing dog and he will always be in my heart. I did get another puppy at the end of April, mostly for my other lab to have a playmate again, but also for me. She has helped to heal my heart tremendously. I still feel Luke's absence and think about him every day, but raising a puppy has given me something good to focus on and her puppy antics make me laugh. She is no relation to Luke, but she has an amazing temperament and I already adore her. It's a hallmark of this wonderful breed.

Melissa

Jennifer, as I stated in our emails my heart aches for you, your boy and your family. I too hope Rufus beats the odds and hangs in there for you pain free. It certainly sounds like the fella has had a marvelous life with you....he is a lucky boy and you lucky to have crossed paths. Hang in there. Keep the Faith!!!

I also had my Labrador pass away with an aggressive cancer. We did as much as we could to help her but sadly by the time it was diagnosed it was too late. Labradors are so stoic we didn't even know she was sick until she began to refuse food, which as we know is quite unlabrador like. We did blood work, abdominal ultrasounds, and a second opinion, but it was also less than a week, like Melissa above, from diagnosis to when we opted to euthanize her. She had a very large, aggressive colon cancer that blocked her rectum so pooping was very difficult for her, and then she must have felt full so she didnt want to eat, or the cancer probably killed her appetite too. My veterinarian, and the university specialists told me that colon cancers like this can run in bloodlines of dogs, just like they can in humans, like my father in law and his brother. My breeder didn't really care when I told her about my girls Illness a s denied it was possible to inherit it, I didnt want anything from her, but maybe a little sympathy. I would just make sure tou buy your next puppy from a good breeder and not worrry if he or she is related to Rufus or not.

My heart really goes out to you, you have done so much for Rufus already, that I am sure he will tell you when it is time, like my girl did for me. The absolute joy of owning a Labrador is so worth the anguish of loosing them. I sincerely hope that Rufus's time that he has left is pain free as possible, and know that we are thinking of you both. This is the hardest thing we have to deal with when we open our hearts to a dog, especially a Labrador.

Julie,

After reading your more explicate discription of Rufus's diagnostics and treatment you can clearly see that you have gone to the ends of the earth to save your boy. You have done all that can be done and then some.....It also sounds like Rufus is doing his best to hang in there for you. This is why we are all so in love with this wonderful breed...there is no other dog that can compare with the all around beauty of the Labrador. My prayers are with you and Rufus for you to both stay strong. Julie, you are a wonderful "Dog Mom" Hugs for you and your gentle boy!

Thank you all for helping me to recognize that I've been a good mom to Rufus. I've tried to be...I've tried to consider how he feels at all times, but of course sometimes I realize my own selfish desires of wanting him around threaten that goal. I realize that, too, and try to temper it and keep it in check.

I believe God shows up in our lives in many ways, and one way is through the love of a dog. Rufus is special to me because of all the dogs I've had he has been the best representation of love I've ever seen. He has TAUGHT ME what true love looks like. He is completely unselfish, giving, always there for me, leans against me, shows that he needs me, isn't afraid to be vulnerable, forgives my bad moods, always comes back to love me more. He is never short tempered, would never bite even if someone hurt him, is happy, loves life for the moment he's in. Knows how to live in the here and now. I wish I could be half the person my dog is. There's a reason "dog" is "God" backwards. ;)

Oh, and Rufus was born on Christmas day. :)

I know that was completely sappy but you know, it's the truth. :)

Now you've got me BAWLING!