Johnny's Story

It's been almost a week since we had to put our beautiful Johnny to rest. 

We discovered that he had cancer five weeks ago when he started having neurological symptoms, and within only a few days he went from enjoying walks with Mark and Osgrrr to being unable to lift his head off his doggie bed.


Through tests we learned that what we hoped was a treatable neck injury was in fact a large tumour compressing his spinal chord.  We started to say our good-byes because, at that time, it sounded like there was no treatment.  However as the doctors reviewed tests and consulted with one another it was determined that an operation could possibly give him some good quality of life.  Although he was 12.5 years old and a large dog, he was in excellent health.  After much discussion with his neurologist, we all agreed that we would move forward with the surgery - not only was it our last hope, but the odds were good that enough of the tumour could be removed, therefore giving him back his mobility. 

Relaxing at a cottage earlier this year

His condition declined so quickly that they had to move up the surgery and, on an emergency basis, he was operated on on Saturday Dec 3 2011.  We were told in no uncertain terms that if he experienced any difficulties at all during or immediately after surgery, that there was no choice but to euthanize him.  Once again, we thought we might be saying goodbye to him.  We pretty much held our breath for almost 5 hours, dreading bad news, but started to become cautiously optimistic as the hours passed.  Finally, we received word from the vet, who tearfully said "the tumour popped out"!  She was elated and so were we, as we never expected it to be removed intact.

There were many hurdles that Johnny had to overcome...can he breathe on his own, can he swallow on his own, how much mobility will he get back.   But he slowly started overcoming each one.  Here, he is taking one of his first assisted walks at the clinic:
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We visited Johnny daily and introduced "cheese therapy" - Johnny loved cheese and we worked on his neck muscles by getting him to reach for it :)

Finally the day came when we could take him home and nothing was sweeter than getting him back.  Over the next few weeks he was improving by leaps and bounds.  Here is one of his first real walks with Mark:

However, our joy was short-lived when we got the pathology report back - the type of tumour was extremely aggressive (we couldn't have known that without getting the tumour tested following surgery) and that it would likely grow back quickly.  Devastated, we hoped that we would have him for at least several more months.

But just a few weeks later, after having given us a wonderful Christmas, Johnny's neurological signs started returning with a vengeance and within 3 days he had severe pain and had lost his mobility.  He was trying so hard for us, but we couldn't put him through any more pain.  With no other choice that was humane or fair, we had to have him put to rest.  We gave him a last piece of cheese and then did the  hardest thing we've ever had to do.  At least he was no longer suffering.

Enjoying a quiet moment at the lake

That was what the last month was like, but he had almost 12-1/2 years before that, that were for the most part wonderful, aside from his first few months of life.  We adopted Johnny just shy of his first birthday from a doggie daycare.  At 3 months of age he had been abandoned by his former owners and while we don't know what happened during his first few months of life, we know it wasn't good.   Fortunately the daycare, where Osgrrr went to play while we were at work, took him in and took good care of him.

I will never forget the first time I saw Johnny.  He was in the lobby behind the counter and it was love at first sight for me.  The ladies at the daycare recognized that I was going to be an easy target and before I knew it, we were bringing him home to live with us.  While Osgrrr didn't share my love at first sight, at the time both being roughly one year old males, over time the two created a very deep bond and Osgrrr is missing him terribly now.

Because of Johnny's less than ideal start to life, he had many problems when we adopted him.  He hadn't lived a normal puppy life - he didn't quite understand what grass was; I called Vet Emergency one evening because I thought he was seizing (turns out he had never worn a collar and was over-reacting!) and he had huge fear issues particularly around men.  He walked with his belly almost touching the ground when outside for the first several weeks with us.

But with a lot of work over the years he blossomed into the most loving and grateful friend you could ask for.  His tail would almost propel him off the ground when he wagged it, he would smile when he was happy, and I know there is nothing he wouldn't have done for us or for those he loved. 

He had many nicknames, as most dogs do:  Johnny the Explorer, John John, Downtown Johnny Brown (don't ask, we don't know where that came from) and he was nicknamed "Sir Johnny" by both our neighbour and my mom, neither knowing the other was calling him the same thing.  What he loved most was exploring down at the lake, snuggling in bed, eating cheese and just being with us. 

Whenever I think of Johnny at his happiest, I picture this. 
Shoulder to shoulder with his brother, off to their next great adventure.

He was a dignified, quiet dog and was very insightful.  One memory that stands out is when Mark's dad, who himself was very sick with cancer, came to visit with us for the last time before he passed.  Although Johnny didn't know my father-in-law all that well because they live out of town, he would lay down beside him, on duty and obviously protecting him, when Mark's dad would take a nap.

He touched the lives of our friends and family and was loved by many.

We are so grateful to have had him in our lives, as is Osgrrr, who also at 12-1/2, is fluctuating between manic puppy and very sad brother right now.

In time we will be able to look beyond the past few terrible weeks and reflect with a smile on every other wonderful moment he gave us. 

Johnny taught us so much, and he really was a gift.  We will always miss him.

We want to thank the caring staff at the VEC hospital in downtown Toronto.  They treated Johnny as if he were there own.  In particular, the ICU staff, Dr. James who masterfully performed the surgery, and especially Dr. Susan Cochrane, Johnny's neurologist who went so above and beyond in guiding us through this difficult experience.