A miraculous world

I need quell everyone's fears by revealing that R was only about 5' off the ground in the last photo yesterday. He can clamber on and off of the boulder without jumping because it's sloped. So, he was never in any danger at all! I like creating optical illusions in my photos.

This morning, K struck a defiant stance as we explored a boulder area, hoping to find animal tracks. Although the chemotherapy makes K very sleepy when we're hanging around the house, she's always full of spunk for our hikes.

Some new readers have asked why K didn't have her tumor-ridden leg amputated. That is the standard treatment for osteosarcoma but we happen to live within driving distance of a cutting-edge Canine Cancer Center. They offered us the option of stereotactic radiation to kill the tumors. We chose it primarily because we live in a place where K must negotiate difficult terrain just to go for a simple walk. There are no sidewalks here, and we have months during which deep snow covers the trails. We thought that keeping all four legs would help her hike and romp at full strength for whatever time she has left.

You can see the leg in the photo below. Fur is growing back very slowly on most of the leg (7 weeks post-radiation), except the pink area that received the highest dose of radiation. We don't know if she'll regrow fur in that burned area but it's no big deal.

I think that we humans have a much harder time with cancer than dogs do. I feel certain that K knows that something is wrong inside her, and I think that she may even know that it's very serious. But, she keeps romping, squeezing every last bit of fun out of life.

Sticks are a favorite toy for K. Alas, finding sticks is difficult when there is a deep snow covering all the fallen sticks. So, K has certain sticks that she plays with on almost every hike. She tries to hide them when she's finished playing.

One way to hide them is to dig a deep hole and put them in it. She was approaching China on this digging expedition.

As far as I'm concerned, K is a miracle. Her amazing attitude has taught me so much. But, I'd be lying if I said that I don't occasionally fall into the abyss of despair that my heart dog has incurable cancer. It usually happens when I'm away from K, snowbiking without her even though she was my bike riding companion for more than 7 years. However, I have to keep biking so that my spine doesn't hurt too much, so I ride even though it makes me sad some days.

Even when K is not running by my side, her spirit is always with me. She's a miracle in a miraculous world. I'd choose her all over again, even if I knew that we'd be fighting osteosarcoma now.