Journey with Luna

​2024 had some rough moments with our pets. I particularly hard time was with Luna.

In April we received a lymphoma diagnosis for our 6-year-old dog Luna. This is our son's dog who spent her days with us while he was at work. His career shifted to travel 100% of the time with some exceptions for being home over a weekend every few months. This led Luna to be under our care. When she had a nosebleed we could not get under control led to an emergency trip to Oregon State University Animal Hospital and a diagnosis of Lymphoma, we were devastated. It is this part of my journey that has led me to understand the power of a diagnosis.

At the moment a veterinarian provides a diagnosis, no matter how treatable, there is an energy shift.  My mind immediately went to “How can this be treated?” What do we need to do for her?  I sat with Luna and shared what we had learned.  I said this means you could die.  Her response was, “That is ok.  My contract with Bryan is done.”  It was like she was telling me this was her destiny.  The plan.  The agreement for her time on this earth.

The next appointment was with the oncologist.  Since this hospital is about an hour's drive I packed up Luna and headed out, just the two of us, while my hubby holds things down at the farm and our son is working.

This is a teaching school so three people came into the room ready to discuss her condition and options. 3 against 1.   It is not supposed to feel like you are outnumbered, but it felt out of balance.  As we were discussing options I was ready to sign on the dotted line to put her through the full chemo treatment.  3 trips a month to the hospital and then 1 week at home. This was going to be a big commitment in time, money, and energy. But hey, we had a diagnosis.

In the middle of this appointment, the doctor was interrupted by an emergency which left us alone in the room for over 30 minutes.  Finally, a student came in apologizing for the inconvenience, and said we would either need to reschedule or finish the discussion over the phone.  Little did I know at that time this was a blessing in disguise. 

Let me interrupt this story by saying the people at this school, particularly in the oncology department since that is where we have most of our experience, are phenomenal.  Super nice.  Patient. Informative.

So as I am leaving the parking lot I call our son to get him up to speed.  This is indeed his dog and ultimately his call.  After some discussion I was able to bring my energy back into a state of love and get centered, we realized we needed to do more research.  We found that, in this case, it was likely a single medication could help put the disease into remission and was part of the larger chemo protocol anyway.  It would not require weekly trips to the hospital but a smaller number of trips to the local vet for regular blood checks.  The prognosis would be similar but our stress levels would be lower. So we decide to move forward with palliative care.  We are now in charge of the diagnosis and managing our expectations of the outcome.

I am happy to say that Luna had several months where she was well served by the single medication.  She did begin to experience a skin condition which required us to take her off that medication and do a single Elspar dose which she responded well.  Her lymphoma was in remission and continues to be so at the time I am writing this note, early January 2025.

However, on Christmas day we noticed Luna was experiencing what looked like seizures, which we later learned are called focal seizures.  After the 3rd in as many hours off to the emergency vet, we would go.  Thankfully with some standard seizure medication, the symptoms were reduced but not completely gone. After a few days, we took her back to her regular vet for a follow-up and determined she needed one more medication to help manage the seizures. 

What causes seizures? It is thought that either an issue with the liver, which checked out fine for Luna, or a brain growth.  So likely a brain growth. The next course of action would be an MRI to confirm or maybe not.  Would confirming a non-operable brain growth change our decisions for Luna's care?  That answer was no.  So we stay the course to keep her comfortable.

So here we are in early January.  Her lymphoma is in remission. She is now on Gabapentin and 2 seizure medications which means she gets pills 4 times a day. With the help of a pill dispenser and alarms set on our phones, we can keep track of her care.  She does not mind pill time.  It means food and peanut butter. 
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Luna does struggle with mobility and is not able to get her own hind end up.   With the help of a harness, she gets up on her feet and is enjoying time out on the farm sniffing and romping around.  
Some might look at her and think, “What sort of life is this?  Pills 4 times a day and she needs help getting up.” Others may say, “Good for you supporting her.”  No matter what people think or say we know she is not in pain and happy to take her medications. She is improving in her mobility each day.

So what does this have to do with animal communication?  Let me share some significant moments.

• During a vet visit before the non-stop nosebleed, Luna shared that her left nostril was stinging and then had a small nosebleed.  2 days later we learned her complete blood count (CBC) was around 5k.  It should be 150K.
• When we learned of the Lymphoma Luna said, “It is ok.  My contract with Bryan is done.” This, of course, had me break down into tears. 
• I am in communication with Luna regularly.  I ask what she needs and share what is happening.
• At each vet visit I share what she could expect and what they needed to do, in detail.  She has always had the option to say, no thank you but continues to power on.
• Since she needs help getting up we have made an agreement that she would
  • Whine when she needs water
  • Bark when she needs to go potty
• Luna shares how the medications make her feel.  So far so good.

This is a story that brings to light how out of balance our energy gets when faced with emergencies and the power of a diagnosis.  It is important to remember to take the time to get back into a balanced and centered state so that we can think clearly.  It only takes a few minutes in the morning and at bedtime to go into that centered state.  Practice makes better.  The more often you focus on being grounded and centered the faster it will come and the longer it will stay.

These situations are sad and scary.  This is a time to open ourselves to sharing love and finding peace in the moments we have together.  People often regret not taking advantage of a special moment and never think I should have felt more afraid. Raise your vibration and open your heart space to love.  Ask your ancestors, guardians, or whoever you pray to for support and guidance.  All you need to do is ask.  They are waiting for you.

​If you have lost a pet and have any feelings of guilt or remorse, try to think of good memories of the pet and all the wonderful times you had together.  Open your heart to the love you have for that pet.  They are there for you.  You just need to ask.

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