Here’s my idea, one via which I turn my own personal lemons into everyone’s lemonade:
It’s the SophieCam, a video spot on Dolittler where anyone can watch my Sophie Sue sleep, eat, get petted, and be generally adored while she’s with us at our hospital. This cancer survivor, like so many out there, deserves the attention. And so does the cancer that afflicts so many of our pets.
Here’s some background:
Sophie Sue is my eleven year-old Frenchie. I adopted her as an adult after a whelping-gone-wrong landed her in my lap. For nine years she was the picture of health, save the manageable allergic skin disease common to so many of her breed. Then along came last year.
At the outset of 2008 she suffered two ruptured discs in her neck. Though she never lost her ability to walk normally (many are not so lucky), she experienced extreme pain as a result of these diseased discs. A “ventral slot” surgery cured her. Sophie was back on track just days after surgery.
But only 3 months later she began acting sluggish. Occasionally, she would lose her balance entirely and fall to the ground––though she never lost consciousness. Her low-ish blood sugar during these events (and the possibility of an insulin-secreting tumor on her pancreas (insulinoma) led us to explore her abdomen. To no avail. Clean.
That’s when we CT’ed her head and spine (which, in retrospect, we should have done first) and located the offender: a tumor in her brainstem. Next step? Radiation.

After 18 doses of radiation (under anesthesia every time), Sophie’s cancer was in remission...but for how long? Half of all dogs with this kind of tumor live more than a year after their diagnosis. And Sophie’s almost there now.
The good news: Since late September of last year, Sophie has been enjoying the time of her life. She’s been, happy, playful, trim and––above all––eminently comfortable. In short, it’s been a success story all around.
Then fast forward to last week: Again, sluggish, quiet, unwilling to jump, no standard Sophie Sue playfulness. Is it the tumor? Or are there more discs to blame?
That’s when I had a radiation oncologist and a surgeon evaluate her. They concluded that neck pain was the likeliest source of her unhappy behavior. But is it another disc or two? Or the result of a meningitis not uncommon to dogs post-radiation (even eight months out)? The treatment? Steroids will handle either condition. That’s why Soph is back on the prednisone she’d had to take before the radiation.
And she’s feeling so much better, thank you very much. But the recent jolt of reality courtesy of my beloved canine time-bomb serves to underscore (yet again) that I’m living every moment with a dog who should be well-loved 24/7 in advance of her last day in my company....
...which is why the SophieCam needs to happen sooner rather than later. The inspiring story of pets who survive and live well with cancer means more pets will be treated to radiation, bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy and other modalities of cancer treatment increasingly available to our pets. Proving pets like Sophie can live well after cancer diagnosis and treatment is what it's all about.
So wouldn’t it be nice if the Panasonic PetCam people (whose product I’ve talked up so much on Dolittler) sent me an example of their wonderful wireless device? I think so. So many mommy bloggers get all kinds of freebies for talking up products they could care less about. So why shouldn’t Dolittler qualify for a product I believe in?
So why not give a Dolittler a hand and send the nice folks at Panasonic’s SeeMyPetCam website a message: “We want to see Sophie on Dolittler!” you’ll say. And I’ll give you the credit (along with Panasonic, of course) once my PetCam arrives. Deal?
PS: Here's the address to write to: webmaster@seemypetcam.com
Add Comment31 Comments
I sent out an email. I hope you get your cam. :)
Anlina Sheng - abnormalloveofcats.com May 19th, 2009 01:22:25 PM
I'll send one, too. I'm a big supporter of canine cancer support resources. We'll link to this blog posting in our next newsletter which is all about pet cancer. Good luck!
Laurel Lagoni May 19th, 2009 03:42:13 PM
Just sent off an e-mail to them. Fingers crossed. In the meantime, hugs and kisses to Sophie Sue. She's sooo cute!
Ingrid King May 19th, 2009 03:55:32 PM
Email sent (and recruited a couple of friends to do so too).
PJBoosinger May 19th, 2009 04:18:33 PM
Done Dr. Patty! Thank you, I love your blog and would love to give virtual lovins to Sophie.
Courtney May 19th, 2009 04:26:25 PM
We immediately shot off an email to the PetCam Community folks after reading this post. And we'll spread the word for tripawd discussion forum members to do so too!
As you know, canine cancer is dear to the hearts of everyone at tripawds. This the least we can do after you wrote about our own plea for help here.
tripawds.com May 19th, 2009 07:34:38 PM
many good thoughts for Sophie S.! That picture in the tube is precious and she looks darn good! Look at how clear & bright her eyes are...very worthy of Petcam fun!
Barbara A. Albright/NH May 19th, 2009 09:54:44 PM
We sent out our e-mail tonite!
Eleanor Maloney May 19th, 2009 10:14:51 PM
How amazing that pets can be treated successfully with radiation and chemotherapy like humans. I know that they use a lot of the same protocols and medications on pets as people. Any dog undergoing chemotherapy deserves a great place to lay their paws. Check out a great selection of dog beds at www.petdirectexpress.com
Julie May 19th, 2009 10:23:02 PM
I sent an email to them. I'll look forward to seeing Sophie on Dolittler. She's a cutie.
silkenpaw May 20th, 2009 12:46:51 AM
Yes I did too!
GP May 20th, 2009 01:09:05 AM
I hope you get your cam, but there's much less gimmicky ways to do it. :P There's opensource cam software, or services like Ustream (former home of the Shiba Puppies). I spent $4 for a cheap USB Microsoft Lifecam with 640x480 resolution at a thrift store (You don't NEED really high resolution for webcam setup unless you really WANT to pay for tons of bandwidth use) - and it was SUPER simple to set up.
Cait May 20th, 2009 07:20:21 AM
erp, should clarify - the gimmicky ness is THEM, not you, Dr Khuly! Just putting a label on a cam to label it as being for pets doesn' tmean it's anything new under the sticker!
Cait May 20th, 2009 07:20:59 AM
Cait: I'll look into it. Thanks!
Dr. Patty Khuly May 20th, 2009 08:30:25 AM
sent the email and have my sister spreading the word with her tweeters.
Good luck Sophie- we're rooting for you.
angel wrigley May 20th, 2009 04:09:55 PM
Per SFShiba (owner of the Ustream Shiba puppies): "Q. What webcam do you use? A. We are using a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 attached to a 16' USB repeater cable that is connected to our PC. Also note that when we record footage ourselves (not on Ustream) the quality is MUCH better." As one of the SFShiba Six addicts, I can assure you that camera was more than adequate until the pups were old enough to run like the wind and the pixelating then was more a ustream bandwidth issue than the camera. Decide what service you want to use (Ustream and many others are free) and then don't buy more camera than is needed for the bandwidth.
This one would probably work. http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-5M-WEBCAM-Camera-Mic-6-Infrared-LED-PC-Mac-UVC_W0QQitemZ200255300608QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Video_Conferencing_Webcams?hash=item2ea0256400&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
The camera is nearly identical to one of my security cameras and I can hear what my neighbors are saying inside their condo if I don't turn down the mic volume.
PJBoosinger May 21st, 2009 01:01:40 AM
I sent an email, fingers crossed!
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We'll link to this blog posting in our next newsletter which is all about pet cancer.
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