Friday, July 24, 2009

Weird Science

The UPS truck dropped off Jake’s chemotherapy drugs this week. We were going to the CSU Animal Cancer Center today for his final biopsy of the clinical trial so I just took the medication up there. I figured that they are experts at giving pills to reluctant dogs. I’m so happy that we were able to participate in the liposomal clodronate study. I really do believe it slowed (or stopped?) the growth of his tumor. The ulceration is almost gone, too. And I’m also proud that we were part of a research study that may help other dogs, and possibly even humans, in the future. His next drug is called Lomustine (CCNU). They gave him 4 pills today and he’ll do this every 3 weeks indefinitely. He’ll also need to have his blood checked within 10 days after each dose to monitor side effects. But that will give us a good excuse to go visit his regular vet, Dr. Hedlin.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A Different Kind of Weather

If you live in Colorado, you know the weather has been unpredictable this year. Turn on your TV and there’s a good chance you’ll see a severe thunderstorm watch or a tornado warning. We were watching the late news one night and I had one of those “what if?” moments. It took a couple weeks to pull this one off but here you go: Jake in the 9News Backyard. We did it at 1pm to work around the newscasts so we didn’t get to say “hi” to the meteorologists. Too late for Becky Ditchfield. Too early for Kathy Sabine. Since it was a weekday, we missed Ashton Altieri and Marty Coniglio, too. But we got bonus points for meeting one of the anchors, Kirk Montgomery.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Lunch Break

After a flurry of doctors’ appointments, Jake and I were ready for a proper lunch break. It’s great to see his usual routines restored. He seems mostly unconcerned about the bump on his leg. Sometimes he tries to get the bandage off but it’s not having an impact on his quality of life yet. And amazingly the ulceration is healing up quite a bit, probably due to the clinical trial treatment. I was pleasantly surprised to see its condition yesterday when I changed his dressing. Maybe the bandages will be able to come off occasionally? We headed downtown, with no particular destination in mind. On 17th Avenue, I noticed the patio at Steuben’s was almost empty. We snagged Doris Day parking right in front. It’s a fun throwback 50’s style diner with comfort food. I love the location in a converted auto-body repair shop. Like many table-service spots, you officially can’t have a dog on the patio but Jake’s good about sitting on the other side of the fence when you ask him. They brought him a bowl of water, too. Always appreciated. I ordered the cheesesteak and Jake helped me with the fries. Soon we were home, where Jake headed immediately for the oasis of the bathroom floor.