Time for an update finally

Wow. Can't believe it's been February since I last posted. Time has gone way too quickly.

I guess that's what happens when your life is dominated by a very smart, willful malamute puppy who is receiving messages from the big Spirit Tika in the sky.

I thought I was weird for thinking it, but when my husband said it, I was like, yeah, no kidding.

Every little torment that Caya ever did to Tika, Sitka now does to Caya, it's creepy. Well, Tika was called creepy before....

The little demon, er, darling is now 5 months old. Holy crap! The vet is asking when we will spay her. We plan to, but after reading some very scary studies about spaying pups too early and how it increases their chances for osteosarcoma, I'm just not going to rush it.

On that note, I knew we spayed Tika early, but just didn't realize how early. At the time it made since, she was big, healthy and she had to be put under to have a baby tooth removed. (It was broken by Caya while playing, oh yeah). The vet said, why don't we just do both and save having to put her under again in a few months. Seems reasonable.

Well, looking back at the bills and pics--she was 3 1/2 months old. OMG. I just bawled all day long, I felt like when I agreed to that in the fall of 2004, I signed her death warrant. I have been dealing with guilt for the last few months also. My husband tries to reassure me that I can't prove it, there's no way to prove it.

So needless to say, my girl is with me in my mind all the time. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry. Sitka will do something that reminds me so very much of Tika and I'll start bawling and bless that little pups heart she just wants to console me. I am out of town this week and called Tim because I was having a hard time and Sitka could hear my sorrow over the phone and then I hear slobber, slobber, slobber through the speaker.

I am trying to let go and just remember the good times, but there's silly little things. Tim has offered to get my car detailed, but I can't bring myself to get the nose prints and long white hairs removed. I should, I know. I guess all of this is being brought on by the fact that this weekend will be 6 months since Tika passed.

I think I am grateful that Sitka is so different, if she was more similar I would probably try to compare her more to Tika. But Tika was an 'old soul' since she was a pup. Sitka is a malamute version of Caya as a puppy. Girl has got attitude.

But I save the BEST NEWS FOR LAST!!!!!
We just got an update on Caya's kidney values. She is normal in her BUN and just above the normal range in her creatinine. That means her kidneys are functioning at a much, much higher level than any of us thought would happen (any of us meaning, Tim, me, several vets, coupla specialists, etc). She is on a mix of large breed Science Diet and K/D which balances well with her pancreatic problems. When they called with the news, I just cracked, the sweet vet tech started crying too. She said, "We love Caya too, we are so HAPPY!"

Tim and I think Sitka might have a bit to do with that. Sitka has brought out the puppy in Caya and Caya will be six years old this year. She has a compatriot in arms now. She truly loves her little sister and is very, very, very patient with her. Much more than Tim and I are.

I will post a pictorial update when I get home.