WHAT IS THIS SITE ABOUT?

Xaros (pronounced ZAR-os) is my K-9 partner that I have had since 1997. On June 26, 2003, he was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a type of cancer that affects blood vessels. This site is about him, about the trials and tribulations with his treatment, and generally what's happening to Xaros as he fights cancer.

My name is Randy Joy, I was a Lieutenant with the Wise County Sheriff's Department. Xaros and I lived in Paradise, Texas (Wise County).

The site was written as a "blog" (though we didn't call them that in 2003) so it is first-person at the time of occurence.

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When Xaros was diagnosed last week, I knew little about hemangiosarcoma. I spent a lot of time on the internet researching it, but first-hand information about the disease and how the dogs were actually responding seemed to help me more than the clinical statistics. Finding diaries that people had written and message boards with thoughts, discussions, and prayers helped the most.

So, I created this web site, both to help me express my thoughts and feelings and to help others that have a dog with cancer.

Randy Joy
June 28, 2003

P.S. - I made the last entry to the site on August 31, 2003. Thanks to everyone that has helped Xaros and me during these troubled times. If you have any questions or just want to share, please email me.

P.P.S - I added a page "1 Year Later" on June 25, 2004, one year after Xaros was diagnosed with cancer. I updated the page on August 25, 2004.

And another: I renamed the "1 Year Later" page to "Passing of Time", and updated it with Darek.

(This site uses frames. If you linked directly to this page from a search engine, please click here to open the main page).