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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">m sending one message to multiple people</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">/organizations</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">, so maybe only half of this will be of interest.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> But I</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">m emotionally drained and don</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t want to try this twice. I</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">m sure most of you will understand how that feels.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Fortunately, it</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s fairly good news on both subjects. Hound one: the stray is on his w</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ay to a new home. The rescue in northern California picked him up this afternoon. Believe me, I really</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">spent a lot of time worrying about what was best for the dog,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">but that would still be doable from my end. I just couldn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t do any long road trips right now, but the dog needed to go to a rescue that understood hounds.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">After long conversations with this rescue, and several people who have had dealings with them (including a personal friend who adopted from them in the past), I</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">m very confident he will be well taken care of</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">. While it was fun to have him here, it was</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">definitely</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> not something I could manage long term. After all, the stinker jumps 5 foot fences any time he wants to</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> <grin></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">And now news on the other hound: Maggie d</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Earest is doing a little better.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">I took her to the vet again this morning, fully expecting that</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">I could have to let her go. After the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">x-ray</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">, the little tumor on her side has nearly tripled in size in just 6 weeks. It</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s no longer</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">little. But at nearly 3</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> wide, it</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s growing way to fast. Maggie a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">lso is running a fever</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">there</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> is some infection going on that they couldn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t specifically identify. We may know more after the blood work is finished. So we decided to try further</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> pain meds</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> Tramadol</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">A</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">moxicillin for the infection. There</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s two weeks of meds. If she gets better, we</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ll take another look at the tumor. If not, well, even good dogs don</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t last forever. And Maggie hasn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t always been a good dog.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> ;)</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">But the vet informed me Maggie is older than I thought. Their records</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">say she is 14 years old, not 12. So I think all we</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">re doing here is helping her be comfortable for awhile longer, but not long enough. It</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s never long enough.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Maggie hasn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t eaten</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">much</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> for two days. So tonight I fed her. No, she didn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t eat</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> I fed her: open mouth, insert kibble, close mouth, watch her swa</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">llow. Repeat. Oh</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> the kibble had yogurt all over it</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> guess how messy that was! But that was followed with meds. And later in the evening when I had visitors to pick up the big hound, Maggie</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">was all happy and got up and walked around and wagged her tail. She wore out in about 4 or 5 minutes, but I was really happy to see her picking up some energy.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">So, that</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s all for now</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> it</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s wait and see. And maybe I</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ll start to recover my own strength soon too.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Tim</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">‘</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">n Puppies</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Maggie d</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Earest</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Leia Round</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Dexter</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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