Checkup

Leo's been having a bit of trouble with his throaty-thing, so it was back in to see the doctors.  This wasn't a "let's do something!" visit, but rather a "let's figure out if we should do something" visit.  And again, after a lot of time and patience and poking and prodding, we've come to the conclusion that there's nothing obviously wrong. Which is good!

Luna's Birthday

There are a few pictures from Luna's last birthday, when she turned 14.  L celebrated her birthday on Halloween.  Here are the pics from 12/31/2013.

Heartbreak

This is a blog about Leo, but there are other animals in the house.  There was Bit, and there's the other dog Luna.  Luna was a slightly neurotic, slightly crazy, completely sweet and wonderful 14 year old dog.  And Sunday morning, she was put to sleep.  My heart is aching.

The Plan

The vet that Leo goes to is quite expensive - even for NYC.  I do understand that many of these procedures are pricey, and of course real estate is costly, as is expertise. That is the part I'm most thankful for - the expertise, and the care that comes with that.  Dr. C, Leo's oncologist, has been nothing but kind and compassionate, as well as being top-notch.  I recently got to spend a little more time with Dr. S, the first doctor that Leo saw, as part of the follow-up on his throat.

Not the worst news...

That was an expensive ear cleaning! I only say that because dark humor is my way of dealing with the anxiety of what's going on with Leo. Leo is now back from surgery, and I've spoken to the surgeon. More on that later.  Leo was a trooper through it all, and probably handled everything better than I did - although he was quite drooly and unstable when I picked him up.

Maybe more than a scare

Sometimes, when you have a dog that's been through what Leo's been through, you see little things and think that it's nothing, and sometimes you see little things and KNOW that something is amiss.  This is one of those latter times.

Scare

We had a bit of a scare just recently.  There was a period of good health and generally good times, including a trip to a cook-out (courtesy of the Smiths) and some more hiking and camping, but then Leo stopped eating.