Bluesky

I hope Jake is doing OK today. Lord knows you could use a break.

We did no prep whatsoever other than hoping the blood count was OK. We only kept an eye on her afterwards to make sure she wasn't sick or anything out of the ordinary. We were also told to wash the area where she urinated with a bleach/water solution to dilute the chemo drugs that went into the soil. Cali was only sick after the first treatment and just a little tired on the subsequent ones. Where will the chemo treatments be done? I'm glad to hear that Charlie is doing well and hope he continues to improve.

We went to visit Cali at Alta Vista. They were really great and let us spend as much time as we wanted. Cali was very food oriented but wouldn't eat at the vet, even when we brought her raw food from home. She didn't want to get up at first, but when we were there she tried her darndest to get up to say hi, so our visits helped for that. That being said, after you talk to the vets, you could go once and see how it goes and just take it from there. Glad Charlie made it through!

Very sorry.

Our sweet Cali passed during the early Tuesday morning. She was a 1 year cancer survivor who didn't let the lack of a leg slow her down in the least. She woke me up around 4am Tuesday morning to go out and I noticed that she was walking a bit wonky and didn't make down the stairs to the yard to do her business. I thought I would check it out later in the morning when I got up to feed the pups, so didn't worry about it. We all went back to bed, but I noticed that Cali was panting really badly. Again, I didn't worry because it's been a bit humid so I thought she was just warm. She nested a bit on her bed and went to sleep. She didn't wake up. When I went to give her her breakfast, she didn't get up and that's when I realized she had passed. She looked so peaceful, I kept waiting for her to take a breath and get up. We got Cali 2 days after her 3rd birthday and I couldn't have been happier. We had had Vern for a couple of years and decided we needed a little girly pup to keep him company and so then along came BOC's Kaylynn. Her name was too close to my daughter's – Kayla – so we changed it to Cali. I was bouncing around with joy on the day that we were to pick her up at the adoption group! We knew we were in for an interesting time with her when she was the only one in the kennel who was barking and bouncing around! What a firecracker! In the course of her 6 years with us, she taught us patience and to make sure we put all food items out of reach and blocked off the cat food and litter box. Our sneaky girl was so smart she could open cupboards, closets and had no problem taking things off the counters and dressers. She never knew a food she didn't like, especially if it wasn't good for her! She even teamed up with other greys to get what she wanted – remember, Janet? Takeout with Foxy! She's given us our ups and downs, amazed us with her perseverance and any who ever met her loved her, especially children. My autistic nephew would sit and stroke her for hours and she seemed to know that was what he needed to calm down and laid patiently while he pet her fur. What I admired most was how she adapted after her amputation. She had an infection in one of her back legs and she could still get around on mostly two legs! She sailed through chemo making new friends wherever she went. She enjoyed running with other greys and still kept up with them and still had the bunnies and squirrels in our yard on full alert! She always knew where I was in the house and if I got too far away she would follow. I'll miss her cute roo-ing when we would come home, her bouncy helicopter tail and her smiley face when she was happy. I'll miss her kisses and playing bitey-face with her brother. I'll miss my snuggle pup and Cali-cow. Godspeed sweet girl and know you were loved. Cali's Hope for Hounds Story

Here's Cali, sharing the couch with Opie, who had her last chemo for osteo on October 29, 2009. Her story is on the Hope for Hounds website.

Hope you keep getting better sweet boy!

Good luck. Just finished this with Cali. She was a gem and only got sick on the last one.

I'll be thinking of Star and you. My Cali had her amp done in June and has now finished chemo. You can do it, Star!

Good news!

Just got off the phone with the vet and Cali's coming home tonight! I was told that she's eating and peeing and tolerating her meds and so she's ready. In case you're wondering about the pooping, Cali is shy and doesn't like to poop on leash. She prefers to be off leash and find her own spot. Silly girl. Apparently she's roaching in her kennel with ETS and her eyes open, all while sleeping. Definitely a good sign!

Been back for a bit now, I'm just not good at the picture thing. Cali is definitely on the mend! The vet tech said she didn't like to be woken up to come visit as she was roaching happily! She perked up when she saw us and went right on to get lots of hugs. She laid down and whenever I stopped petting her I got the "look". You know the one - Hey why'd you stop? I fed her some food and despite what they said she was hungry. I could only give her a bit cause they're still monitoring her intake. She still has her IV in just for fluids, but the rest of the meds are given orally. So...if I do this right....here's the princess herself. If all goes well, we'll be able to take her home tomorrow evening.

Crap.

GT prayers are amazing! Cali has started eating and walking around looking for lovin's from the staff at the hospital! I have suggested that they keep her for 1 more day - just in case - to make sure she's not regurging any more and still eating. I also want to make sure that she's tolerating the oral meds they've started. Since she'll be on her own once she's home, someone's gotta work to pay the vet bills, I have to be doubly sure she's OK before being discharged. The vet that's on now was the vet who was on when I brought her in yesterday morning and she has noticed a big improvement. We have an appointment to visit at 7pm, so I'll make sure I update when we get home. Thanks so much. Vicky

So, I talked to the vet this morning and Cali seems to be doing a bit better. She's getting up on her own now. Yesterday morning she needed to be carried and yesterday evening she needed to be helped up, so to get up on her own is great! She's still not eating, but they're going to try heating up her food to see if that helps. She's not leaking out the back end any more, so that's good news, too! I'll be talking to them later today to find out about when we can visit again. Thanks for thinking of Cali. Vicky