Alki is still doing well, approaching two years since her cancer diagnosis, the beginning of that long adventure. She still takes medicines twice a day, and we check in with her oncologist monthly. She’s had some age related problems creeping up on her – dimming eyesight and not hearing well. Sometimes those are a blessing, because she doesn’t set off barking every time she hears the neighbor slam their car door – in fact she sleeps through most deliverymen now. I can clickertrain Barclay in the other room and she doesn’t hear it (which is good because otherwise she comes and demands treats). But we do have to be careful not to startle her when she’s sleeping. Usually a gentle touch wakes her up enough and she’ll roll over for a tummy rub. Dogs know the best things in life are free!
Category: alki
A good morning for Barclay
This must have been Barclay’s idea of a perfect morning. First off there was snow…
And then he chased Alki a bit, which annoys her plenty…
Then he found a fresh molehill to dig up.
Then he snuck into the pen and chased the goats and tried to get Houdini to play. Then he chased the rooster. Then I took him inside and he sat next to me on the couch and laid his head on my chest and fell asleep. It’s that last part that always makes me forgive all the other stuff 🙂
Eeeek! Devil Dog!
Isn’t that how it is? You’re minding your own business, feel a big yawn coming on, then some idiot comes along and snaps your picture – mid yawn, eyes closed. Oh well, I hate the way I look in pictures too! (that’s Alki, BTW – her choppers aren’t as white as they used to be)
Beautiful Alki
Caught Alki and Barclay taking a nap on the couch. It’s not odd to have dogs on the couch, but it is odd to see them sharing it 🙂 That’s Barclay closest to the camera, and Alki farther back.
Dave and Alki
Alki might be almost 14, but she’s still got some play in her. She likes to play footsie, where you try to grab her front feet and she bounces away then comes back for more, then she gets a good scratch 🙂
Snowdays!
We got an early blast of winter weather. Snow at Christmas is just about unheard of around here! But lucky us, it started snowing a couple days ago. First day we got around fine in the Stealth, because it has front wheel drive. The van is useless in the snow, and it was a bit hairy getting it home the first day. It was snowing hard and I closed the shop early and slowly drove home in the van, and it hasn’t moved since.
The next day we headed out in the Stealth to go to work, and hit a slick spot and put it in the ditch! Luckily it was a shallow ditch, so the only damage was a few scratches from the bushes. Kyle came and pulled us out with his monster truck. Our hero! Once we got safely into town Dave bought cable chains for the car and then he was able to safely drive between town and home.
Yesterday (Saturday) Dave had a matinee play, so he dropped me and Barclay off at work in the morning, and I was there all day, watching the snow come down down down. Only a couple customers came by all day because of the snow, so it was just me and Barclay entertaining ourselves for hours on end! He didn’t make it back to pick me up until after 7, so it was heading for 8 when we got home.
Since Saturday was so bad we decided to close today (Sunday) and just stay home and enjoy the snow. And it snowed all evening and this is what we woke up to.
8 inches of snow with a nice icy crust on top! That’s a LOT of snow for the pacific NW. I can hear it occasionally falling off the trees with a crash!
Alki didn’t like it at all! She just wanted to get back inside! Barclay liked it so much he went way out in the pasture and just sat and watched and listened.
The sheep didn’t seem to mind. Some had snow on their backs, even though there’s a cozy covered stall for them to use. The chickens didn’t want to come out of the coop, so I fed them in there and moved their water nice and close. The llamas also do not seem to care about the weather, though they are staying under the shelter for the most part.
I don’t think there is anything quite as beautiful as fir trees weighted down with snow. Days like this make me feel so lucky to be able to live out here in the country!
Update on Alki
Well, the oncologist examined the sample and didn’t find anything too abnormal in it. She was more concerned about Alki tinkling more frequently. So she’s putting her on a round of antibiotics in case it’s a mild bladder infection. She says if it continues after that we might need an ultrasound to see what’s going on in there.
Alki cancer update
Alki has made it over a year since her cancer treatments ended, and so far so good. But today she went in for a checkup, and they found some abnormal cells, and sent it off to the lab for further testing. I knew it would happen sometime, but I’m still not happy about it.
Luckily she’s as happy as ever. After the vet visit we stopped at her favorite park for a walk in the rain.
Hope for the future
Like many Americans we were glued to the TV last night watching the election results. The dogs even sacked out in the front room with us and didn’t cause any trouble most of the evening, dozing away while the results rolled in. I have to say we were very happy with the outcome. Obama seems like the right man for the job. I think he’ll represent us to the rest of the world intelligently, and with a dignity we have been lacking for a long time. I liked the plans he laid out, and I realize they may or may not pan out, I’m not some starry-eyed idealist, I know how political promises work. Either way, it’s better than when Bush won by 51% and declared he had a mandate to ignore the other 49% of the country. Obamas speech last night inviting all of us to work together again was a good sign for the future.
Alki and Barclay
I just love the look on Barclay’s face – he’s such a clown!
Steff Does Stuff! 