Progress

Today, even I could tell from outside K’s bandage that we’d inched in the right direction. It looked and smelled much better. The vet later confirmed my impression during our appointment so I’m feeling a hint of optimism that the antibiotics are starting to knock down the infection. Her paw is still draining bad stuff but more slowly.

K sends her thanks to all of you who have sent her such nice messages!

I asked our vet how the bone infection probably started, and the answer is that no one fully understands bone infections. If I'd seen a wound on K's paw or even a badly cracked toenail in the recent past, the wound would have been a route for the bacteria to get to her paw bones. But, I know that she didn’t have a wound. Thus, the best guess is that she ingested or inhaled bad bacteria that survived in her bloodstream. For some reason, such as a slight injury to the bone, the infection settled in her toe. We’re still awaiting the final pathology report to be certain of the no cancer diagnosis and to find out what type of bacteria is inhabiting her paw bones.

This morning, K and I did our usual tiny stroll in the woods. She seemed determined to tell me that she felt better. I was alert enough to prevent her from scaling any dramatic boulders but I did let her stand on a small rock. She looks ready for a fight against the infection, doesn’t she?

During our walk, K voraciously inhaled invisible scents along our route. It turned out that a bobcat had visited after daybreak, giving us a rare glimpse of his fur in full daylight. Alas, he is determined to keep his tail turned toward my trail camera.

He entered our clearing and sniffed a stump that the coyotes like to mark.

Tail held at full mast, he scanned the area.

Then, he added a message to the stump. I wonder what it says? Maybe "Be feisty K, just like me!".

In addition, nearby, a parade of mule deer had passed another trail camera. Here, a curious mother and almost full-grown fawn posed! Do you see why they're called "mule" deer?

After my walk with K, I had my minimum daily requirement of Vitamin R when he joined me for a snowbike ride. When churning through snow on my wide-tired snow bike, I’m much slower than on dirt, and R zooms back and forth, making a circle around me, as I inch laboriously toward my destination. His grace and speed make me jealous. We arrived at a lookout point and relaxed in the windless air and warm sun.

We descended through a south-facing meadow that has already lost its snow carpet. Below R's chin, you can barely see our local ski area that is just opening.

Then, pleasantly tired and sated by breakfast, R snoozed. He does mellow out sometimes!

At the end of the day, I noticed green leaves bursting from the base of some mature Columbine plants. I wonder if the seeds dropped by the plant this summer have already germinated? The sight of green leaves poking up through snow filled me with hope.