Off the gas

After treating Leo with L-spar and watching him be rather miserable on prednisone, we've decided that it's time to take the foot off the gas, so to speak, in terms of treating him. It's not giving up - rather, it's slowing down and allowing him to do things at his own pace.

Getting old

Today a woman saw us amble up to a stoplight. Leo sat down to wait - more out of tiredness than obedience (he's never taken to the whole "sit at the corners" thing all that well). She looked at him and looked at me and said "It's sad to watch them grow old."
I demurred and replied something about he's not doing bad, he's getting there, he's ok. But I thought about this. It's not sad.
It's been a privilege to see Leo grow old.

King of the Mountain, King of the World

The L-spar did it's magic on Leo's neck. Almost immediately it was less swollen, and he seemed to be a lot more comfortable. I was expecting a rather poor weekend - the L-spar can knock him out, and he was going to have to start the prednisone (his neck lymph nodes were still palpable, but small, by Saturday).
So, after shuttling him back and forth Thursday-Saturday, Sunday morning I picked him up for an "easy" hike. Well, ok, a "Moderate" hike, according to the trail guide.

Majestic!

Opening Day

Last weekend was a very crowded one at the house. Leo was here, as he usually is, as was my Dad, up from Florida for Yankees Opening Day. We had a good time - Leo has met my dad a few times, and we went for a little drive up to Bear Mountain and did a tiny bit of hiking before the rain hit.

The boys.

But I noticed some swelling in Leo's neck.