big impression

No doubt we'll soon be able to write about Daisy without tearing up. Just not yet. We still expected to be fighting the good fight with her; we still want to be fighting that fight. It's hard to turn off that instinct, though it isn't doing us any good. She became such a big presence in our daily lives, always in the middle of whatever was going on, with that big heavy tail ready to sweep coffee tables clear or wreak havoc with low-napping cats. It will take some doing to begin to fill the emptiness and to focus on the many good memories. She was quite something, our Daisy.

sigh

In reading through Daisy's adoption papers, there were a few guesses as to her age. By our vet's estimation, she likely still had several months to go before turning three. Not that this makes things any better or worse; we're still heartbroken.

Sigh. :(

intangibles

1. curiosity
2. honesty
   
3. honor
   
4. gratitude
5. hopes
6. dreams
7. practicality
8. laughter
9. love
   
10. joy

so thankful for these.

In Memory of Daisy

Rest in peace, Daisy girl. You'll live forever in our hearts.

oddly-named baseball teams

Represented here are some of the best (named) in baseball. There are teams named for food, occupations, historical figures, insects and animals one wouldn't ordinarily associate with athleticism, and a few things that defy ready explanation. One thing is for sure: the household t-shirt collection is about to get a lot more interesting.

1. Modesto Nuts
2. Bradenton Juice
3. Newark Pepper
4. Lubbock Crickets
5. Savannah Sand Gnats
6. Grand Prairie AirHogs
7. Batavia Muckdogs
8. New Bern River Rats
9. St. Cloud River Bats
10. Leones de Ponce
11. Cincinnati Porkers
12. Rochester Honkers
13. Mayfield Clothiers
14. Madison Hatters (now the Great Lake Loons)
15. Wilson Tobs (as in, Tobacconists)
16. Appleton Papermakers
17. Holyoke Paperweights
18. Evansville Triplets
19. Anchorage Glacier Pilots
20. Thomasville Hi-Toms
21. Wichita Wingnuts
22. Waterbury Frolickers (later the Waterbury Spuds)
23. Casper Ghosts

... and finally, the most inspiring team name of them all:
...24. Fukui Miracle Elephants

Wow. Now that's a great name for a baseball team!

raccoon, you say?

430am. "BOW! Bow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Bowww! Bow! Bow-ow-oooow!" Guess who has treed a raccoon. Good girl. Very impressive. It took considerable convincing and, eventually, physical inducement to get her to let him go about his business. It was fun to see her so lively for a little bit there. She had a very good time, and was understandably proud of herself. We were too.

signs that it's time to get a new camera

January 2004: Very first digital camera arrives!

1. 2005: camera lens begins to disintegrate
2. 2006: lens cover stops closing properly
   
3. 2007: camera begins turning off of its own free will
4. ...repeatedly
5. ...at key picture-taking moments ... resulting in much hushed cursing within earshot of children and the elderly
   
6. camera software begins malfunctioning, requiring clever user procedures to permit proper downloading of photos
7. 2008: after growing increasingly disagreeable over the last year, an important camera button begins detaching of its own free will
8. ...repeatedly
9. ...and is then forever lost at a ballgame
10. camera stops recognizing light when turned on, shows nearly black screen

I concede the match. Really, it has been clear that this day was coming sooner than later. Three weeks after buying $100 of printer cartridges and paper, the printer purchased especially for this camera broke and would print only partial photos and very streaky ones at that. It lasted about two years, all together. Oh well. There it goes.

recuperating

Last Friday's chemo was a bit rough. No sooner had we gotten Daisy home from treatment than it became apparent she needed to go right back to the hospital. Once there, things got even more dramatic. We were so glad that her oncologist and vet tech were there to help. They checked her in for another overnight stay, administering antibiotics, other meds and fluids intravenously. She was well-hydrated and in good shape, though quite tired, when we picked her up Saturday afternoon.

We're hoping for a return to her high energy levels of last week. It was wonderful to see her so playful. Since Saturday, she has de-stuffed a couple of her toys and played a little chase, so her mood remains pretty upbeat. This is helped in no small measure by the excellent homecooked meals she's enjoying - rice and turkey, rice and chicken, mm-mmm! The doctor expects she may be tired for a few days still, and confirmed we should continue to step down her Prednisone dosage through the remainder of the week. The Zantac and anti-nausea meds will continue as needed.

The best news is, no chemo this week! We'll take her in for some bloodwork, to confirm her white blood cell count is where it needs to be, but other than that, she gets to lounge around for a bit. Thank goodness, too. We're all ready for a small break, and Daisy surely deserves one.

full moon dog

Good girl.

bracing ourselves

Daisy has had a really good week. she had a little bit of nausea a couple of nights ago, which was addressed easily with medication. she's otherwise been amazingly peppy, interested in playing ball, de-stuffing her favorite stuffed animals, cadging treats.

tomorrow she gets her first dose of doxorubicin, a very powerful chemotherapy agent. it can cause damage to her heart, so they will administer it very slowly, and monitor her closely throughout and for a few hours afterwards.

we are hopeful for continued good results.

so LAME

fake fireworks, fake beauty.

this girl is LOVELY. what is wrong with people?!

Flawless.

thankful

Relief! --- sweet relief. The meds worked some magic. Shortly after 2am, about two hours after taking Zantac and metoclopramide, Daisy nosed and then ate the biscuit G had given her several hours earlier. An hour or so after that, she got up, wagged, and ate about half of her dinner. By 330am, she was back in her bed, ready for more peaceful snoozing. I stayed up to keep an eye on her until 7am, and with all systems seeming to be in good shape, headed to bed myself.

Today, Daisy has had a good day. She rolled around in the grass and chased after her favorite ball a couple of times. When G got home from work, she was happy to see him, and readily responded to "sit" and then "puppy up!" (our tactic for letting her know when it's okay to jump up on us).

We hope the chemo will do some significant work at combating the lymphoma, and allow her a few good months. She's just such a young girl. Cancer always sucks, and it's never fair, but ... you'd think a dog could be spared such drama. Unlike people, dogs have little need for drama.

Well, it's time for our little household to get some much-needed rest. Daisy has already gotten started, lying with her head tipped over the edge of her bed, as always. Her feet are twitching as they carry her toward interesting smells in her dreams. Good night, everyone. Sleep well.

=^-^= ... =^-^= ... =^-^= ... =^-^= ... ()^-^()

hoping

Daisy had an okay morning, and an okay afternoon, but the evening has been awful. After much debate, we gave her doses of Zantac and metoclopramide to help settle her belly, then followed that up with one of her favorite treats, a fortune cookie. She always waits patiently for her fortune to be read to her, and then it's cookie time. Tonight, her fortune said:

You are heading for a land of sunshine.

I don't know why that's making me cry.

tangibles

1. family
2. friends
3. health
   
4. shelter
5. food
6. water
7. clothing
8. transportation
9. gainful employment
   
10. ripe cherries!
    

no complaints, none at all.

an observation

the people who say "don't squash mosquitoes that are biting you, it might make things worse" probably aren't the people getting eaten alive by them. i've dispatched five of the little buggers in the last two evenings, and that's just inside the house. if they have tiny little souls, i don't want to know about it.

just saying.

better

for the first time in a couple of weeks, Daisy's appetite was somewhat lacking today. she is still lethargic, but she continues to have moments of simple doggy happiness and energy. she still wants to smell everything that can possibly be smelled on her walks. she still perks up at the sight of treats (really, the sound of a treat bag being opened is enough to bring her trotting over) or of a favorite toy. her respiratory rate was much better this evening, which means we are all breathing a little bit easier!

breathe in, breathe out

Daisy seems the same today as yesterday, mostly lethargic, and then very rapid panting in the evening. the doc believes this is not due to the slow step-down in steroid dosage, but rather a continuing symptom of lymphoma that (we hope) will resolve as chemo continues. it's very tough to see. we can't tell if she is mostly okay or is suffering. when G squeaked her favorite purple puppy toy, she waited to see if he was sincere about playing or just tricking her into going outside. (it was both.) he squeaked the toy again and Daisy bounded up from bed, tail wagging high and happy, and paused only briefly before deciding it was okay to go outside and play. they had a pretty good time, as evidenced by G's delicate handling of the rather soggy puppy as he brought it back inside.

so, we wait, we watch. we hope.

day 15

day 15 of knowing Miss Daisy has stage 5 lymphoma. she has become a fast favorite of the doctors and staff at the animal hospital. on our last visit, they spent more time playing with her than talking to us about how she is doing, which is actually fine, as they encourage us to call with updates or questions at any time. we feel good that she is in well-qualified hands. and she seems to feel good as the abatement of most of her symptoms continues. we hope for more of the same.

seriously?!

here's a list i didn't really need.

1. ox tongue
2. pit viper
3. eel
   
4. chicken wing
5. bitter gourd
6. persimmon
7. caviar
8. goat
9. garlic
10. charcoal
11. raw horseflesh
12. lettuce and potato
    
13. cactus
14. silk
15. stout
16. cypress tree
17. whale
    
18. hot spring
19. tomato
20. squid gut
    

these are japanese ice cream flavors. seriously. not kidding.