On Saturday, June 23rd, Tony and I said goodbye to our beloved Hudson. Hudson came into our lives in December 2006. He was our very first big dog and taught us all about the true meaning of “gentle giants. He was a patient brother to his bossy little sister, Lexi, and a protective tough guy for his timid brother, Porter. He was a goofy boy who loved to play, even if it wasn’t playtime. One of his favorite fall past times was tearing open the bags of leaves that we had just raked and making nests of the leaves. He loved the water and spent each summer lounging in his wading pool at home. One of his favorite places was the dog pool at City Bark Parker.
Hudson was a people lover and never met anyone he didn’t like, but he was a mama’s boy through and through. Wherever I went, he had to go too. We had a special bond that can’t be put into words.
In May 2011, Hudson started limping. After lots of misdiagnoses, it was determined that he had Osteosarcoma. He underwent an amputation surgery three days later. Four hours after his amputation, he got up and was walking. Some big dogs struggle for a week or more to learn how to walk without one of their legs. I remember the vet tech calling me in tears to update me on how well he was doing hopping around the lobby. Three weeks after surgery, Hudson began IV chemotherapy treatments. He was a trooper through everything, and a sweetheart to all his doctors and techs. Our oncologist confided to me that his appointments were automatically scheduled to last 20 minutes more than any other dogs because the staff all wanted time to see him. Before chemo, he would be paraded through the back rooms of the hospital visiting all the techs and specialists, even if they didn’t work with him.
Chemo fought back the cancer and while he did get metastases in his lungs, he was considered in partial remission since they were not growing. Hudson was happy, healthy (aside from the cancer) and enjoying attending BDHP events as a Great Dane ambassador. Sadly, in May, we began to notice lumps under his skin. When biopsies were performed, they were found to be osteosarcoma. Only 10% of osteosarcoma cases metastasize in the skin, once they do, they begin to attack the liver hard and fast. Our vet hypothesized that he had 2-3 months of quality life left.
Soon thereafter, we began to notice a decline. He was still feeling fairly good, but he was sleeping a great deal more and tired easily. On Wednesday night, the 20th of June, he began limping on his front paws and we knew we were in trouble. We took him to his oncologist on Thursday and were told that the cancer had moved to his front leg. Amputation wasn’t an option. Osteosarcoma is extremely painful and drugs only dull the pain, so we made the very difficult choice to let Hudson go. He went home with us and was spoiled rotten the next few days. His final dinner was a medium rare steak from Outback, with a Chocolate Pecan Brownie Sundae for dessert.
Hudson passed in our arms on Saturday evening, surrounded by his family at home.
Hudson was an inspiration. He got us involved in rescue, which has become one of our greatest passions. He has given hope to others fighting the cancer battle or facing an amputation. Three different vets offices have taken videos and pictures of him bouncing around on his three legs to show to families who are facing the decision to amputate. Hudson and I have personally met with four families dealing with amputation and/or chemo to talk them through their doubts and offer hope for the future. We will be forever grateful that we had the chance to love him and be his people for 5 ½ years. He taught us what it was to be brave in the face of overwhelming odds, and how to battle them with grace and strength. He will be forever missed and leaves a huge hole in our hearts.
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