Happy Birthday, Mary Ann!

I won’t say exactly how old Mary Ann is, but she was showing me a picture of a trilobite that lived in a pond where she grew up.

In honor of Mary Ann’s birthday, I’ve honored her request and posted footage of an aardvark and the giraffes at the Brookfield Zoo during a recent visit.  The footage is special in that it’s the first time we ever saw an aardvark doing anything but lying in a motionless heap.  Also, we caught the giraffes while they were being given a special leafy treat.

Lots of love, Mary Ann, and many special leafy treats in the future!

P.S.  The binturongs send their best wishes too.

Mack: A Tribute

I’m still editing some footage from the Wisconsin trip this weekend. I went up there with long-time camperfriends Mike and Brian. Brian brought Mack, one of the great dogs I’ve met. I’ve known Mack ever since he was a little puppy. He’s about ten or eleven now. Like all three of us, he has a little mileage on him, but he still enjoys life. He’s been a wonderful friend and companion for Brian, and he sure as heck keeps those raccoons away! Mack continues to enjoy people, the outdoors, and above all…meat.

So, here’s a tribute to Mack that will endure for eternity…or at least as long as I keep this blog up.

Bad Luck For A Good Cat

Not only are Mr. Bonkers’ lymph nodes acting up again, but I noticed the other day that he was limping. It seemed to improve, but then worsened again. When we checked, the underside of his paw seemed discolored. So, it was back to the vet’s, where everyone will be able to buy a new boat this year.

The diagnosis? A nasty infection, probably caused by a splinter or something. They gave him antibiotics and put a big lumpy bandage on his paw. This was with Mary Ann this morning. When I arrived home, I noticed that Bonkers appeared to have three front paws. Somehow the bandage had worked itself off (or been pulled off by Bonkers), and was dangling uselessly by a piece of tape. It was back to the vet’s for further review. This time, they put a collar on him. He really, really doesn’t like it. I wouldn’t either. Of course, I’m not the one that bit his bandage off, am I?

Preki Has More Than Me

Preki is now on prednisone, a human drug frequently prescribed to humans (or vice-versa!). Anyway, his prescription is filled at Walgreen’s, so he now has his own drug-saver card. I don’t even have a drug-saver card.

Preki Says Thanks to Mom and Dad

Recently, mom and dad sent Preki this really sweet card:

Enclosed was a check.

Preki says thanks very much to mom and dad. He is very sorry to have to tell everyone that he slipped the check from my wallet, forged my name, and spent all the money on booze and gambling. He is awfully ashamed and promises it will never happen again. I’d like to think we can believe him.

The Cat Where He’s Not Supposed To Be

This is by request.  You know who you are.

       

 

Preki Doing Well So Far

The tumor removed from Preki has been evaluated as a Stage 2. There are three stages, 1 being the most easily treated and 3 the worst. If they got all the tumor, prospects of survival should be pretty good for Preki. There was an area near the ear where they weren’t able to cut as much of a margin away as they would have liked. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit that area with some radiation.

Frankenpreki Doing Fine For Now

Today when I fed the cat in the dining area, a single tiny kibble tumbled from the container onto the floor. In a heartbeat, Preki, who had been sound asleep moments earlier, darted from the bedroom, snuffled, and gobbled it up. He’s not supposed to do that, but this time I couldn’t have been happier to see him. Plus, his tail is doing that mile-a-minute wag again, another good sign. Maybe it’s easier to recover from unconsciousness when you don’t have that much consciousness to begin with.

The Return of Frankenpreki

Frankenpreki is in da house. I have some really, really gross pictures, but this should be enough to give you an idea. His ears are even more asymmetrical than before, what with all the skin-stretching they had to do. Nonetheless, he’s doing surprisingly well. He’s already able to walk, eat a little, drink a little, and snuffle. I don’t see any quit in this beast.

Preki Survives Surgery

I haven’t felt like blogging for a while because of this Preki thing. I just flat out haven’t been in the mood. However, I just talked to the vet, who informed me that Preki made it through the surgery OK and is already sitting up. I’ll be able to take him home tonight. She said the surgery went well, and that they were able to remove some decent margins around the tumor, and also take out another area that looked a little suspicious.  I was very afraid that, being as nervous and anxious as he is by nature, Preki would have a heart attack or something and not make it off the table. So, even though I’m crying as I write this, I feel better. The next step will be submitting the mass to the lab to determine whether it’s a stage I, II, or III tumor. I just wish I could make the little guy understand that even though he’s hurting, it’s for his own good.

I think that for the rest of his life, Preki can have a treat whenever he wants.