Harvey loves his vets!

We ventured out into the frigid weather for Harvey's bi-weekly check up and acupuncture session with Dr. Towle today. He loves his outings when he can pretend he's an only dog again. And he looked really cute in his winter coat.

Instead of electroacupuncture this week, Dr. Towle injected B-12 into the usual acupuncture points. He doesn't seem to be as tired as he typically is after a normal treatment - probably the B-12 gives him an energy boost, but he's definitely relaxed and will sleep like a baby tonight! He also had a pretty extensive chiropractic adjustment from his knees to his neck. These adjustments really help his mobility and overall comfort.

He was feeling so well, we decided to stop by our primary vet's office to let Harvey say hi to everyone there. He really loves the staff at Briarwood and enjoyed visiting with Tracy and Dr. Skibbe for a few minutes.

After spending some time with me at the office, we headed home to feed the rest of the critter gang and let him finally take a nap. He's snoring away at my feet right now, so I guess we'll head off to bed soon.

Fun in the snow!

If there's one thing my dogs love (except for Fred, the Boxer), it's romping in a foot of freshly fallen snow. We still have plenty left from a few days ago and more of the white stuff came down today.

Harvey had a ball running in circles as fast as he could in snow up to his tummy. That's especially challenging for him because of his physical disability following his recovery from back surgery 2 years ago, but he doesn't let it slow him down a bit!

Max wanted to play kickball, Rusty and Winston were wrestling all around the yard and Fred, dear Fred, just kept sticking his head out the dog door and barking at us.
I'm sure he thinks we're nuts.

Sad news about a cyber-friend today

Since we received Harvey's diagnosis two months ago, we've encountered many kind, determined people who are engaged in battling this disease with their own furbabies.

Today we learned the sad news that Gussie, a beautiful Italian Spinone who has been an inspiration to us on one of the message boards, lost her battle with HSA very early this morning.

Gussie had 4 months and 12 days of good, quality time after her splenectomy and seemed to be doing very well until yesterday.  One of the very few "blessings" of this disease - for the animals, at least - is that, more often than not, the end comes quickly without a lot of pain or suffering.  We family members are, of course, never prepared for their leaving.

While Harvey is still doing well at this point, he is only halfway to the survival time that Gussie reached.  We had hoped to share our new friendship with this precious dog and her dear mom, Mickey, and celebrate many milestones with them for a long time to come.

This is a heartbreaking day for us, as it brings back into sharp focus just how dire this diagnosis is and what an uphill battle we're facing to achieve one of those remissions that happen far too rarely with hemangiosarcoma.  We are, however, determined to carry on the battle that Gussie fought so valiantly.

Rest well, dear Gussie.  Your determination and cheerful spirit will carry us forward as we battle on.  You will not be forgotten.