Weekend Update (now I suppose I'll hear from SNL)

I haven't posted nearly enough, have I? The hours and days fly by. Work is busy--the book business seems to have changed overnight and keeping up is a challenge! The e-book revolution, predicted to be a slow march away from physical books to "e", is not slow. It's more sprint-like even, and what we knew months ago is no longer true.
I've been in the book business for 35 years now, and have survived other big changes, but this one is breathtaking. A page turner, for sure---twist ending? We'll see.
On the home front: Maggie is at the vet as I type this, awaiting her chemo. She got a (planned) week off after the "big gun" dose of Doxorubicin/Adriamycin. This drug gave her a short-lived bout of bloody diarrhea (sorry) and made her RBC count drop. They shouldn't be allowed to send out a lab report with the word "PANIC" on any values!! But as I am grateful to see them each week, I did not panic. I called and was reassured that this happens, isn't cause for too much concern, and to keep an eye on Maggie for lethargy or pale gums. We then consulted with Dr. Heather Evans, Maggie's chiro/acupuncture support team member, who advised that we could boost RBC growth (which should recover on its own) with some rich foods (yay! raw beef liver!) and vitamin B. Regarding her gums: after the first few inspections, Maggie was heard to mutter "poke them again and you WILL feel teeth." Yes, they were fine. Lethargy? Nope--in fact three days after the treatment Maggie turned in one of the fastest agility runs of her long career.

Today her labs came back nearly perfect. have I observed how remarkable it is to see these rebounds? The whole experience is awesome, in the literal sense of that over-used word. I was thinking about it driving back home this morning. The clinic has just added an oncologist to the staff, and we met her this morning. The mere fact that this is a required specialty now speaks volumes about canine care. I am sure that cancer is both more prevalent and more often diagnosed than it was even 10 years ago. And the treatments abound! This means that we are responsible for making decisions that weren't available to be made. The decision to treat this "touch of cancer" was made because the alternative was certain (Maggie would have left us by now, untreated) and the predicted outcome with treatment was very positive. But in the end, all our lives WILL end. One of the vet techs is changin jobs at the clinic to work exclusively with the cancer pups, and I heard she was a little reluctant because of the end-of-life scenarios. I don't blame her, but I hope she will get to focus on all the good work she is doing--the during-life! We're all gonna leave these bodies some day, it's a fact. So let's make all the days before then count.

OK, the other corgis are demanding some words here.
Winn has been such a great partner this summer. Although he has his "middle child" moments around home, he's been terrific on the course--either agility or herding. He has more initials behind his name than a law firm, and ribbons adorn my office. Last weekend was a dream--he was clean, fast and perfectly in tune.
His herding is improving, too--actually it's MY handling that's improving. I have decided that I need to treat my herding lessons the way I treat an agility class. Run the course, then discuss what happened with Susane, then pick out pieces to re-run in an improved manner. This seems to be a solid approach. I can wish I'd thought of it sooner, but frankly until this summer I wasn't really sure what the options were, so it's all good. We're aiming at qualifying at the Corgi Nationals. There, I said it.

DDare! continues to provide much joy. Puppies are a lot of work, but the rewards are certainly there, sometimes instantly and mostly over a short time. Potty training: dare I say that it's been nearly two weeks without a goof? (sure). Bite inhibition: I have NO current scabby spots on my hands and arms! Tricks: the "wave" is coming along, the "roll over" is next. In the meantime, he remains confident, fast, and happy. He will fetch a toy dozens of times. He loves life. We love him It's a good deal.

Waiting for Puppy

It's nearly midnight on a Sunday night. Maggie, Winn and I ran agility this weekend, TDAA-style, and I should asleep. Maggie's gone ahead to bed, Allen's upstairs too. Winn and I are on the computer--because a litter of corgi pups is being born right now and the news is coming ever so slowly for our impatient selves.
Winn's uncle "Beau" is the sire for this litter, which is being whelped in Arizona. As of right now, 6 of the 7 puppies have been born: 4 girls, 2 boys. We're third in line for a boy and so I am staying up a bit longer, hoping for more boys parts to appear!

Winn earned his Teacup Agility Dog Championship this weekend, so now he's gotten a Ch in three of the organizations. I am so proud of this wonderful dog! Teacup is a challenge--the distance between obstacles demands collection on Winn's part and handling on mine. Our teamwork has really come together in the past six months. Last week I was working on sending him to jumps 50' away, and today he had to maneuver serpentines about 3' between jumps.

Herding is going pretty well, too. We have moved back outside and I am anxious to see if our progress this winter in the arena will hold up once we're in the larger field.

So---Maggie is clearly not as excited about the prospect for a puppy. We know that a boy would be easier to incorporate into our pack. (Winn doesn't care, he just wants someone to PLAY with) If a male puppy isn't in the cards, I'll have to decide what to do. I so want a puppy from Beau!
I realize I am rambling tonight, as my thoughts are zinging around. Winn's calmly sleeping with his nose an inch away. How can he be so relaxed??

Winn herding

This is Susane Hoffman, our wonderful herding coach, with Winn at a June trial. I knew that Winn was ready, but I wasn't, so I asked her to handle him for me until I felt 110% prepared. His first try wasn't successful, but the next day he worked really well, qualified and placed. It's interesting how much confidence this actually gave me.