Ills, House-Sitting and Horse Racing

My brother-in-law's youngest brother (whom I consider to be my brother-in-law) has been re-admitted to the hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota.  It had been hoped that the last surgery at the Mayo Clinic had removed all of his brain tumor, but that apparently wasn't true. Kent will begin another round of chemotherapy later today.  Please send your prayers and kind thoughts about Kent Snow to whomever you worship...
   The owner of the Denver Broncos, Pat Bowlen, is stepping down from his ownership duties after 30 years, and they will be taken over by Joe Ellis.  He has been (quietly, and unknown to most people) battling the effects of Alzheimer's Disease for the past three years. The news greeted local football fans this morning, and most are heart-broken.  Bowlen purchased the Broncos for $76 million 30 years ago; the franchise is estimated to be worth $1.6 billion these days.  Please send your thoughts toward Mr. Bowlen and his family for an easy transition from high-powered, successful businessman to a quiet family man....  Even though I am very much aware of the costs of Alzheimer's....
   Home this afternoon, and I get to sleep with Lovey and Nedi tonight. Tomorrow I'll walk Rosie, return home, and then take Tina to the Denver airport, whereupon I'll move in with Tess, Lily, and Lyra until Monday night. On Wednesday, the day of the Pony Swim, I'll start taking care of Sasquatch and Tugger again - 4 visits a day; and the first weekend of August, I move in with Rosie, then back over to Tess, Lily, and Lyra.  My poor kits.....
   Five racing thoroughbreds have had positive results for morphine following their races in Great Britain. All five positive tests were at the same race track, in a period of two days; each horse had a different trainer and owner.  Doing more specific tests, it seems that each horse ate the medication - it was not from an injection into the horses' veins or muscles. The main reason that this has raised brows across the pond is because the Queen's horse, Estimate, a five-year-old mare, turned up as one of the positive tests.  The racing authority is making a thorough inquiry, but it seems there was "contaminated" grain involved.

Starquest Princess Suki's Peek-A-Boo

I moved to Colorado in mid-November of 2004.  Boo, my brother-in-law's Samoyed, was 3 years old and had just been invited to the Eukanuba Invitational Championship at Tampa, Florida.  We were all excited, but the handler/breeder decided that Boo was just too hyperactive to take on a road trip that would last at least 3 days, one way.  For a year, though, we all called Boo "Eukanu-Boo."  Four years ago, Boo started limping on her left hind; it was diagnosed as bone cancer.  Jim and Kathy took Boo up to the Colorado State University Veterinary School, in Fort Collins, and found there was a program of radiation and chemical therapy combined that had proven effective in fighting Boo's type of cancer.
   In mid-May, Boo started to seem as if she didn't care whether she ate, or not.  She was still interested in what were, normally, treats - but she wasn't up and wanting breakfast at the crack of dawn, nor was she eating as if there was no tomorrow.  Soon, she was skipping eating breakfast.  Then Jim went to spend a week with his brother in South Dakota, who underwent brain surgery recently.  Boo wouldn't eat much at all for mys sister, Kathy. When Kathy joined Jim in South Dakota, I pulled Boo over to Rosie's house and kept them together.  Seeing Rosie eat on the other side of the glass door, Boo ate her meals - but not with gusto.
   When Kathy and Jim returned, and Boo went home, Boo stopped eating again.  She'd take a bite of this or that, but had real no appetite. Jim took Boo in for a check-up last week; on Friday, her blood tests came back.  Tuesday, she had an abdominal ultrasound performed.  Her abdominal cavity was full of fluid (the vet removed 1.5 liters) and she had a tumor the size of a baseball on her liver.  Boo is now on anti-nausea medications, and an acid reflux medicine, as well.  The fluid and the tumor press on her stomach, and make her believe that she is full of food and contented.  In reality, her pounds are melting off.  All we can do is make her comfortable, and give her lots of love  - and recognize when she is truly suffering, so we can say goodbye.  
   I met Jim in December 1979, when he and Kathy first started dating.  He has always had at least one Samoyed as a companion...  I'm not sure what he and Kathy will do when Boo crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

Boo Cancer Update

Boo Snow (aka Princess Suki's Peek-A-Boo) will begin undergoing an 18-day stretch of radiation therapy to be certain that the cancerous growth on her left hind leg is "kaput."  This comes after an all-day consultation with the canine oncology vets at Colorado State University.  Boo is her usual irrepressible, incorrigible self - squealing with delight when she sees someone she knows, jumping up onto people's chests, and licking any human skin that is exposed, plus barking for attention...  I'm happy that she is feeling normal!  The vets say that this low-level radiation therapy has had an 85% success rate over the past 20 years, and that they feel certain that Boo will respond to it.  Boo will have weekends off from the treatment, to allow her body to recover.  She starts therapy on Wednesday, 20 July, and will have finished the entire course on Friday, 12 August.  That also means that Jim and Boo will be spending a lot of time on the roads, driving back and forth from Fort Collins every weekday.   -   And now Suki, Boo's Mom, has developed a nodule/lump on the same leg as Boo originally had.  The local vets will remove that on Monday, and send it away to the pathologist.  Cross your fingers for Suki, please!

I traveled out to north Boulder early (at 6 a.m.) this morning - took the bus, had a nice walk, and then spent 90 minutes with Rascal.  (This evening is my last visit to him, as his family returns around 9 p.m.)  Then I snuck into the Rs' house and took them out for a walk.  Since last night was "Opening Night" for the three plays that the three family members are in, I left them a note saying I'd slip in as quietly as possible to take the Irish kids out.  I was totally amazed, but it worked!  I unlocked the front door, and I could hear Remy snoring upstairs, so on my way into the den (to grab harnesses and leashes), I whispered over my shoulder, "Rosie! Remy! Come on down!  Walk time!"  Before I was half-way to the den, both dogs were dancing and prancing around me.  I am still astounded that they didn't bark.  Anyway, we took a leisurely one hour walk - the temperature was 67, and the humidity was 85% - I was totally drenched in sweat by the time we got back home.  The dogs were panting like mad, even though we'd stopped twice for water.  Joel was up when we slipped back in - he said he never heard us depart.  He had drifted awake, and suddenly realized that the dogs weren't in the master bedroom, so he set off in search of them.

Lovey, Nedi and Mocha are doing well. Lovey had a "wet" eye yesterday, but I couldn't see anything wrong with it.  I put in some opthalmalic ointment and today she is her normal self.  Nedi has found himself a "hidey-hole" in the closet somewhere - I haven't been able to see him, but he appears from that door, casually waving his plumed tail.  Mocha.  Poor little Mocha.  I give her as much love as I am able, but I always know that (a) I'm not her person, and (b) my cats and she are not friendly.  I'm sure it's very stressful for her to live like this.  But her owner really wants her back, as soon as he can afford a place of his own.  -  Tomorrow, all I have to do is clean my kits' litter boxes, do some laundry, and cook for myself.  What an easy, relaxing day!  (And I'll probably finish the 12th Foreigner book tonight... Then I'll start on The Blending books again!)