Happier news

Sooooo, Sammy and I decided to give chance a try and we went to another vet for x-rays today. There was great news and there was weird news! So the Great News is first.

His cancer appears to be in remission.

All the lumps are still gone from his gums. And there is no sign of it in his lungs or enlargement in his lymph nodes. So we might just have beat the deadly ailment for now.

Now the weird news. There is also no apparent reason for his ataxia (falling about) and proprioceptive deficits (not knowing where his hind legs are). His spine, joints, and vertebrae all look great on x-ray. Two pairs of eyes could not find anything more than a tad bit of arthritis (normal for a 10yr old). His hips look excellent!!

SOOOO!!! That means he either has something soft tissue impinging on his spine or its a disease affecting his nerves. So we will try him on some antiinflammatories and steroids for a couple weeks to see if there is any improvement. If not, we will try a specialist for a procedure called a myelogram (injection of dye into his spine to better see the spinal chord on x-rays) and possibly surgery if that's determined to be of help.

So until then, Sam gets to borrow a wheelchair from work! Its pretty awsome. He's not sure about it yet. He's still a bit groggy from his sedation today so I'm not forcing the issue, but it should work great once he gets the hang of it. AND he can go jogging again.

Tomorrow I will take some pics and you can see how he looks in his.

ALSO

I have two new additions to my household. My roommate and I are currently sharing a foster kitten named Angel, aka Creepy Kitten, aka Oracle Kitten. I think you see the fact that she might be a bit "different". She has no eyes. She came to us as a 4wk old kitten with empty sockets. I had to send her back to her owner as she was too small, but told them we would find her a new home if they brought her back in a month. Well they did. She's so gosh darn cute! And friendly. She had no eyes, a small nose, and no ovaries, of all things. She is playful and affectionate and a real spitfire. Right now she has a cold, and we are technically seeing if she would fit well into either of our households for permanent.

The other addition is a 5 year old black Quarab mare named "Moonless Night" or Luna. Luna I purchased over the weekend after a small scuffle about the missing Coggins test. She took about 30minutes to get in the small trailer but otherwise did well. She is still too skinny and a bit jumpy, but she did very well in her first lesson today. I think she has a good head on her shoulders and if that proves to be true, then I shall keep her and breed her to a Friesian stallion this spring for a 2010 foal. Very excited about that. She reminds me a little of Quana 15years ago, so I see potential. Will keep you posted and post pictures as she gains some weight. For now here are a few of her as she arrived. SO VERY DIRTY!