Retrieversonthego (2025)

20/02/2025

happy almost weekend🥳
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we have Anchor’s 8th intravenous chemo treatment this afternoon which means that after today we only have 2 more and he will be done sometime in March! we aren’t sure what’s to come after this so for now we are just taking it one step at a time and counting down these last chemo treatments.
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overall, he is feeling amazing and he’s finally starting to grow some hair (white hair🥺) where the mass was removed. looks like he will eventually have a white spot on his head to match his little white chest patch.
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I know I haven’t been the best at posting on here, but through all of this I’ve been trying to live more in the moment with the boys and it’s been so good for me mentally. I’m hoping to maybe make a comeback in the next couple months but the best place to stay up to date with us right now is through stories🧡
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16/02/2025

just a retrievin’ boy and his duck🦆
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there really is just something so special about seeing your dog do something that they were bred to do and absolutely love. he might be out of show lines but this boys bird drive and enthusiasm for birds is my favorite. Anchor’s land retrievals are pretty solid so we have started honing in on water work and we are SO close to being ready for Junior Hunt!🧡
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28/01/2025

first year of barn hunt✅🐀
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2024 barn hunt stats were posted and I am so incredibly proud of Anchor for being the # 2 fastest senior class dog for the state of CA and for being the # 6 senior class Labrador in the nation! his average senior course time was 1.85 minutes🤯 he has achieved so much in such a short time all while going through cancer treatment and I truly could not be more proud! we have signed up for regionals in May and I’m so excited to see what we can accomplish there!

21/01/2025

ready for a short work week💜
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it was a busy weekend but it was filled with doing the things that anchor loves the most. as far as this week goes, he has an acupuncture appointment today and then his 6th chemo treatment on Thursday. we will be over the half way mark and I’m really looking forward to that 10th treatment when he’s done with intravenous chemo! he’s such a resilient boy and continues to blow me away everyday. hope you all have a great week!
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📸 .with.dogs

14/01/2025

first duck hunt was a success🧡
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I never thought I’d be a hunter or waking up at 2am to go hunting but there’s something so special about doing things that bring joy to your dog. although the dogs weren’t able to attend this duck hunt because of blue green algae we still went for the experience and had the best time. we all shot our first ducks and I’m so excited to cook with it soon! if it wasn’t for Anchor I would have never met and .doggin.sd and would have never learned about bird dog things. I’ve learned so much this year and I’m looking forward to next season when we can have more hunt days together with the dogs🧡
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big thank you to for hosting the duck hunt and letting us join!🦆

13/01/2025

safe to say he likes his birds🤪
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it’s been a little bit since I’ve given an anchor update. if you couldn’t tell already, he is living his best life and is still the same goofy, smart boy. we are officially half way through his Vinblastine chemo treatment and for the remaining five treatments he will be going bi-weekly instead of weekly meaning that we will be finished in March! I am so thankful that he has been crushing treatment while continuing to do all of the things he loves the most🧡
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01/01/2025

I couldn’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year…Anchor is officially a Tracking Dog (TD)!🥹
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we had a 4am wake up call to track in beautiful alfalfa fields for the Southwestern Rottweiler Club of San Diego TD and TDX tests. we were the last TD track of the day and the conditions were perfect. our track was 450 yards, three 90 degree turns and Anchor went straight to work finding the glove in 4 minutes! I am beyond proud of how well he worked and proud of myself for trusting him on those turns. this boy is going through so much yet continues to blow me away, he truly is the most special dog and I’m so grateful that I get to be his teammate in all of this🧡
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thank you to our Judges Steven Nytko and Heather Smith, our track layer Danielle Richards , our instructor Linda Ivy and Elaine for the photo and supporting us while we tracked!

23/12/2024

it’s me, hi, I’m the present, it’s me - brew + anchor🎁

16/12/2024

two years ago today we brought home the sweetest, squishiest boy🖤⁣
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time really does fly by but it feels like we have known anchor way longer than the 2 years that he has been a part of our family. because of him and brewski I have met some of my best friends and so many wonderful people in the dog community. I will forever be grateful for that. ⁣
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those who have met anchor know just how special of a dog he is. he thinks everything one is a friend and he has such a love for life. he’s goofy, smart, sweet and I feel so lucky that he is ours. although he might be going through some hard times right now, you would never know that anything is wrong and he is still living his very best life and we hope that he still has many more years to continue doing that.⁣
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happy gotcha day sweet boy, we love you Anchor⚓️🖤

12/12/2024

I want to start this post off by saying, thank you🧡⁣
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the support we have received since anchor’s diagnosis has been overwhelming and we are so thankful for each and every one of you that has shared, donated and sent words of encouragement. we are kicking off a Bonfire fundraiser for merch with two different art styles done by the amazing 🥹 this fundraiser will also go to any costs associated treatment that isn’t covered by insurance in addition to helping support him holistically. ⁣
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the update I have as of today is that anchor has now completed his 6 radiation treatments and has had 1 chemo treatment. we have decided to switch conventional oncologists and had our first appointment with the new oncologist oncologist team this morning. it was a breath of fresh air to meet an oncologist that’s compassionate, listened to our concerns and is getting right to work on anchor. as I type this, Anchor is getting another ultrasound, some lymph nodes are being aspirated and he will get his second round of chemo (pending WBC count). we feel SO much better and confident in his care team now that we switched and I can’t thank everyone that recommended this Dr to us🫶⁣
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in addition to his conventional care, I also had a consult with a holistic vet yesterday and that also went well. on monday, we will be going to LA for a microbiome test in addition to some other tests. ⁣
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lastly, I wanted to give a BIG thank you to for organizing this fundraiser and drawing Anchor perfectly all while going through personal medical issues as well🫶 I will share the links to the bonfire campaign in my bio.⁣
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thank you again for your continued support and I can’t wait to see everyone in their Anchor gear⚓️

06/12/2024

thankful and lucky🧡⁣
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thankful that anchor is able to get the treatment that he needs. thankful that overall anchor is feeling great and has shown no signs of being sick other than a little nausea from chemo. thankful that so many of you have gone above and beyond to share, donate, and send us words of encouragement during this hard time.⁣
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lucky to have a community not only in person but virtually. the last 24hrs have been so emotional for us and the outpouring amount of support is overwhelming but it is appreciated more than you and for that we are so so lucky. ⁣
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we aren’t sure what the road ahead looks like but we do know that we are going to do everything we can to prolong Anchor’s life and give him the best shot at beating this. he is young, strong, and the bravest boy. if any dog can get through this it’s him. we have 1 more radiation treatment, 7 more weeks of chemo and hopefully will be on the road to recovery. thank you again for all of your support and love🖤⚓️

02/12/2024

and just like that the long weekend is over🥲
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we had a busy but fun weekend full of playing NASDA and a bird day. it was so nice for anchor to have a break from treatment and to be able to do some of his favorite things. he went 16/16 in all of his NASDA runs, received his versatile locating bronze and brace level 1. seeing him running around looking for rats and birds this weekend was just what we needed before treatment starts back up again today.
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Anchor will have his 4th radiation treatment this morning and his first chemotherapy treatment. I’ve been dreading this day all weekend but I know that he is a strong boy and we are doing everything we can to fight this thing. Anyone that saw him this weekend said they would have no idea that anything was going on with him and I hope it stays that way💪🏼⚓️ I have a consult with the integrative vet today and I’m really looking forward to learning more about how to support him holistically through treatment and after treatment.
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I realize I haven’t been the best at posting but I do appreciate you all so much for checking in on us and for keeping anchy in your thoughts🧡

25/11/2024

finally some good news to share🧡
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I was a nervous wreck waiting for the results of his ultrasound and xray on Thursday and when we finally received them I felt like I could breathe. the doctors saw nothing concerning on the ultrasound or xray meaning that it hasn’t spread and they could move forward with his first radiation treatment. Thursday was his first of 6 radiation treatments. he does have to go under anesthesia for these treatments so he was a little sleepy after treatment but has been completely normal otherwise. after this week we will be half way done radiation and then it’s on to chemo. if all goes well this week and he’s feeling good I have some fun things planned this weekend🐀🐦 that is all the updates I have for now, hope you all have a great Monday!

19/11/2024

ready for more days like this one🧡
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I didn’t think I’d be posting so much on ig after hearing that Anchor has cancer but to be honest this space has always been a happy place for me to share my favorite times with the boys and I want to continue doing that even if writing these captions makes me emotional. so here is another picture from the weekend of Anchor retrieving 🐦
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as far as updates go, I had a consult with last night to talk about how to best support anchor through nutrition. a lot of information was shared and I’m so thankful for Sammy for joining me and taking notes during the call. we really are the luckiest to have so many amazing people in our corner and I can’t say thank you enough. we have our appointment on Thursday and I’m definitely feeling anxious about that but trying to go in with a positive mindset. I have also reached out to for a consult with Dr Trina Hazzah whom many of you recommended so I’m looking forward to speaking with her. please continue to keep Anchy in your thoughts for Thursday and I’ll do my best to keep you updated🧡

18/11/2024

every day spent with you is the best day🧡
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my heart is so full. we had the best day yesterday since receiving anchor’s diagnosis. i knew anchor loved birds but yesterday seeing him out there and even being so excited before we started solidified that this is his favorite thing to do. he ran in the field with 3 other pointing dogs, found pheasants, retrieved them and had the best time doing so. I didn’t really have any expectations because he had never hunted this way before but he put his nose right to work and I think surprised a lot of people. i really can’t thank .rainier and for letting us join them yesterday. it really meant the world to me to be surrounded by so many amazing people and dogs. I’m looking forward to many more bird dog days ahead🧡
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16/11/2024

sweet, innocent boy we love you more than you know💙
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we had our oncology appointment yesterday and had to officially hear that anchor’s tumor was a grade 3 mast cell tumor (the highest level that they can be). the tumor is removed but they weren’t able to get the best margins given how high grade mast cell tumors spread. since the tumor was already removed, our next steps will be an X-ray and ultrasound on Thursday to see if it has spread elsewhere. if it hasn’t spread, Anchor will have his first of 6 radiation treatments and then after his 2nd radiation treatment he will also be starting chemotherapy.
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I’m honestly still in shock and can’t even believe that I’m having to write a caption like this about my perfect two year old puppy. we are going to be doing everything we can to make sure he lives the fullest life that he can and beat the prognosis of 18 months. I’m so thankful that he is still acting like himself but please continue to think of him and us as we navigate these next few weeks💔 also thank you to everyone that has reached out and sent love it means so much and I feel so lucky to have such an amazing community surrounding us.

15/11/2024

happy 8th birthday, brewski💚
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this week has been incredibly difficult and it’s really hard to want to celebrate anything but today we celebrate our og boy, brew. i cannot believe that you are 8 years old. you are still just as crazy as you were when you were 2 years old and we love you for that. at 7 years old, brewski received his first dog sport title, dock master and if given the opportunity would play fetch all day. there truly has been no slowing down for this boy and I hope that it stays that way for many more years. we love you brew, happy birthday buddy💚

13/11/2024

this is not the post I thought I’d be making today on my 35th birthday
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i had envisioned coming on here to say that our post op appointment went great but that was far from the case. the mass that was removed from anchor’s head was a mast cell tumor and high grade. i am at a complete loss for words and honestly feel like my world is crashing down on me. those who know anchor know just how sweet of a boy he is and he quite literally is my anchor in this crazy world. we don’t have all of the answers yet and are currently waiting to make an oncologist appointment which I’m hoping is soon. we are going to be doing everything we can to fight this thing and making sure that anchor lives his very best life 😭🧡 please keep anchy in your thoughts and I’ll try and do my best to update you when I’m able to

Retrieversonthego