Oh... DEER!

Paddling out to BBQ cove

A Kingfisher squaks at us for disturbing him (but he wasn't nearly as obnoxious as the cranky Great Blue Herons!)

   Joni and I went kayaking out at Hillsdale Lake yet again, and yet again we'd planned to stop at Hillsdale Bank BBQ to get takeout on the way there. Big burnt end sandwiches on incredible homemade wheat buns! SO GOOD. We arrived at the put-in and paddled over to the cove that we have deemed "BBQ Cove" to enjoy our dinner.

(photo coming)

   We were sitting in the middle of the cove, smacking our lips and talking, when all of a sudden we heard a noise that was too big to be a fish or a bird. We looked up to see twin fawns approaching the water... right in front of us! It had been over 100 degrees all day, and they were very thirsty. They drank for a long time.

   Suddenly their watchful, high-stepping mother came down silently to check on them, and to herd them off to safety.

   Such an amazing experience to see them so at ease in their natural environment!

Enjoying "dinner and a show"

   On top of this, it was just a beautiful night to be out, as the breeze cooled us off and the heat slowly subsided. There were very few boats on the water, and we were the only kayaks, so we had the place to ourselves... other than the wildlife. Perfect!

臭気犬

   Shibas are Japanese dogs. Aki has a nice Japanese name. 「秋」means "Autumn". Her original owners named her Paige, but that didn't sound like a dog name, nor did it suit her, so I changed it.

   Taylor, on the other hand, came with that name. You could write it phonetically in Japanese as 「テーラー」but that's not quite the same as a real Japanese name. By the time he made his way to me (his third home), he was already two and a half years old, and he knew his name, so I didn't want to change it. I liked it anyway, so it stuck.

   Joni, however, seems to feel sorry for little Taylor; why shouldn't he have a nice Japanese name, too? So tonight at happy hour she had me look up the Japanese word for "stinky", her moniker for him, and it's 臭気 or「しゅうき」pronounced "Shuuki". And just like that, his new name was born... my little 臭気犬.

Synchronicity

   I came home from work last night and took care of the animals, which is the first thing I always do. Gypsy hadn't eaten a bite... for the second day in a row. (The dogs love this, because I give them Gypsy's leftovers.) She seemed to rally after the low around Christmastime, and was back up to 11 lbs, from 9. But her appetite has been weak again since I returned from San Francisco on March 6.
   She always acts very interested in food—even follows me around shouting at me when she's hungry, pronouncing every letter in "MEOW!"—but when I put one of about 15 different foods down, she sniffs it and walks away. It's very frustrating. She's getting lighter and lighter.
   Later I went down to the laundry room to find that she had vomited clear liquid. Not good... definitely something to watch.
   This morning I saw that she hadn't eaten anything overnight, and she had vomited in the basement again. I called Joni to tell her I'd join them later for our hike if I could, and headed right for the vet, who graciously squeezed us in.
   We saw Dr. Miller, who hadn't checked Gypsy before. I could see the concern on his face when he read her charts. She was back down to 9.4 lbs. and he recommended bloodwork to check her kidney levels, subcutaneous fluids, and an anti-nausea injection. He palpated her and noted that her kidneys were huge... which has never been the case before. It's definitely cancer. And when you add that to the renal disease, it equates to, "we can't do anything but keep her comfortable and try to give her a good quality of life a little longer".
   None of this was a surprise, of course, given the last few months of history. But it did break my heart. I only lost Atom five months ago, Gypsy has been up and down since, and Taylor is seriously ill as well. They say things come in threes. I've found my unlucky number...
   I brought Gypsy home and comforted her, then took the dogs up to the dog park to meet Joni & friends. I shared the bad news, but we didn't dwell on it—I needed to get my mind off it for a couple of hours.

   When I got home, I opened up today's paper to see this:

   Synchronicity. Unfortunately, the article didn't offer any answers or much comfort. The author just confirmed that the lost of a beloved pet, a being who is devoted to you and depends on you, is very difficult—often moreso than losing a friend or close human family member. Again, not a surprise. Despite my other three pets, the house feels empty without Atom's presence.
   At dinner last night (Joni and I piled up the kaiten-zushi plates at Sakura), we talked about this subject. She noted that you always think your pets will live until tomorrow; but eventually tomorrow becomes today, and today becomes now. We agreed that the one good side to pets' lives being so short is that if you could keep them forever, you'd lose the opportunity to rescue more of them.
   I agree with that, but somehow I know I won't adopt another kitty. I've already had the two best kitties anyone could have... I can't imagine another that would live up to the standard mine have set. Most likely I will begin to foster dogs again, someday when time has helped heal my heart.
   Until that day, I have to be thankful for every moment I have with Gypsy. It's tough because it is plain to see that she is slipping through my hands, and though she is still here, my heart is raw, anticipating the inevitable. I have to keep reminding myself that I thought I was going to lose her on my birthday, so the last three months have been bonus time, and I'm thankful for it.
   Joni just emailed and reminded me: "Beginnings and endings are what life is all about.  It's what makes life so hard.  And it's what makes life so magical." She's a wise friend.

Happy Hounds

   To lighten my mood, I headed over to Shawnee Mission Park shortly after I returned from the vet this morning, hoping that Joni & Alan, Wager, Kippy & Asher; and Kay and Bella; and Kristi and Brandy would still be there. And what luck! The park was PACKED, but just as I drove up a parking spot opened... right next to Joni's car!
   The Shibas and I jogged down to the beach, and we met them on the hill. Everyone had a blast, and all dogs got along great. The Borders swam, and my guys skirted the shoreline. Taylor spent most of the time off-leash and did VERY well with recall! I never had to "go get him", a real milestone. It helps to be surrounded by awesome people with well-behaved and balanced dogs!

Ash takes the high road, Tay takes the low road

Wet Asher

COMIN' THROUGH!!! Tay almost gets intercepted by a Dane

Waterlogged dogs

Aki love

Adorable Brandy

Krazy Kippy

Nyaah-nyaah!!! Puppies are brats!

Seeing double

Beggars

Beggars x3

Oh, THERE you are!

Kip & Wage

Kip & Wage

Border Boys

Beggars multiplied!!!

Psst... Taylor! I didn't get a treat yet, did you?

Happy hounds

Leaders of the pack

Heading home

The Aftermath

Smithville Hike Photos Posted

Check out the awesome hiking weather we had in January!
...and the trouble Aki got herself into!

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed!

   What more can you ask for, for Valentine's Day than a safe flight home from an awesome vacation, with perfect weather & good family & friend time, punctuated by baby kisses and copious amounts of sushi? How about:
   • Being invasively felt up in public and also x-rayed by the TSA screeners at LAX (thanks to this cumbersome orthopedic boot!)—and cracking them up by making comments like, "I knew you couldn't resist getting a better look at my sexy boot leg!"?
   • The super-nice and hilarious flight attendant on Southwest who presented me with a free gin and tonic—and a Valentine's Day card?
   • An airport pickup by best friend Joni, with Wager, Kip and Asher in tow? Talking and laughing all the way home?
   • A chorus of shrieks, howls, and purrs in celebration of my return? A friendly fight to decide who monopolizes my lap first?
   • A steady stream of texts from friends welcoming me back?
   • And a surprise piece of homemade turtle cheesecake in the fridge from my friend, petsitter, and angel Mary Ann?
   Not a bad haul for the holiday!

Bring me the head of Tay

   Joni came by this morning, having graciously offered to be my airport ride, since I'm a gimp. And no sooner did she sit down than she had a lap full o' Shiba love. I think Mr.Tay has a crush on her, the goddess of border collies. (And he looks like a disembodied head in this photo!)

Fun with Surgery

   I was just talking with Joni about my surgery experience and it made me remember a couple of things that happened. We've all heard horror stories where a doctor has operated on the wrong limb; and apparently they've implemented some clever ways to prevent this mistake. When the nurse first brought me back, she asked me several times which ankle required surgery. Then she sat me on a gurney and handed me a permanent marker. She told me to write my initials on the foot that they would be operating on. Once I had marked my "JR" on my right foot, she wrapped black and yellow tape around my left leg that said, "DO NOT OPERATE".
   We also talked about the vasovagal episode I had, and about the possible causes. Nervousness is an obvious one, but honestly I was SO excited and looking forward to having this surgery done, hoping it would alleviate my pain. I didn't feel nervous that day—I felt hopeful. As we talked through it, though, I realized that for me it was probably mistrust of that nurse, who would be caring for me. One of the first things she said to me that day was, "So you don't have any allergies..." and I immediately became worried that no one had bothered to read all the information that I had carefully gathered—at their request. I had submitted all my allergy and medication information days earlier, and even followed up with the receptionist to make sure they had received it, and she and I went over it together in excruciating detail. When I responded with, "No—I have a LOT of allergies! Did you not receive the information I provided?"  she seemed irritated and just said, "It's probably here in your folder."
   Given that I didn't trust her (and I think, for very good reason!), I think it's reasonable to think that having her care for me made me nervous, hence my involuntary reaction to the IV and anesthetic. The surgicenter sent a survey to me yesterday, asking about all aspects of my experience. I read through it, and waited several hours to fill it out, wanting to provide a true and thoughtful response. My feedback was glowing overall, but I was very honest about my thoughts on that nurse, how I felt she treated me, and how I didn't appreciate the snarky comments about me and eye-rolling she did when talking to Kelly. I hope that the surgicenter will address this with her and deal with it appropriately. My name was on the survey, so time will tell!

Clinton Lake has Gone to the Dogs

   This afternoon I took Aki & Taylor out for another hike with Joni, Alan, Wager, Kippy, & Asher; and Susan, Mark, Sanda, Louie, & Scruffy. This time we drove out to Clinton Lake, to enjoy the freakishly nice, 45-degree, sunny January weather! Susan & Mark drove separately, while the Shibas and I crashed the Bordermobile...

My best friend, Kippy

"Asher, stop licking my eye!"

"MOMMM! Asher's sticking his tongue out at me!"

5 people + 8 dogs (Joni was behind the camera)

Susan leads the pack

While not water dogs per se, the Shibas sure enjoy playing and exploring on the shore!

Gorgeous Wager poses as soon as the camera come out

"Pay attention to me."

"I said, PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!"

Louie leads the pack

Taylor poses up on high

Joni caught me holding my apple while digging through my pack...

   After the hike, Susan spotted a Mexican restaurant as we drove through Lawrence, so we stopped. The fajitas were great (I had the shrimp & scallop variety), and the frozen margaritas were REALLY great!