Jasmine's Cancer Story

Life After...

Monday, November 6, 2006

Boy, where to begin? We started moving the library the week after Jasmine passed. It was physically and mentally exhausting. Three weeks, and 5600 boxes later, it was all done. To see what it was like, check out my photos in Flickr!. When I had a chance, I took the pups (Levi & Nixie) on walks or to the dog park to get more socialized. They seemed to enjoy it. It was good for us to spend time together, with Scott only coming home on weekends, and Jasmine no longer there. Scott and I started talking about adopting another dog. I found the website for the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc. and I applied. They managed to squeeze in a home check during lunch one Friday. We passed (we do own a Dane after all) and after discussing it with Scott and their adoption coordinator, we opted for Jolie. She was about 6 months old when she wrecked her owner's semi and he was fired on the spot (that's the story, at least). She was in the shelter there in eastern Kansas, not doing very well, when the Rescue adopted her. She was fostered in Colorado Springs, and she learned some manners. We adopted her on July 22nd at 7 months old. The "pups" thought it was fun having a new playmate, but grew tired of her after a few hours. She has learned to not bug Nixie too much, but she does like to pick on Levi. She will be a year old on November 22nd (our made up birth date for her), and is longer than Nixie, but she isn't done growing yet. She definitely keeps me on my toes.

The family, the day we adopted Jolie
July 22, 2006

I remain on BoneCancerDogs even though Jasmine is gone. I lurk most of the time, but I do pipe up whenever I feel I can contribute something to the discussion. The end of October, I participated in the 2nd Annual BCD Reunion in Loveland, Colorado. My photos are here. Words cannot describe the kinship I feel with the women and men who also participated. It was a celebration of our heroes' lives, those gone, and those still fighting. The day spent at CSU VTH hearing from some of the top veterinary oncologists and specialists was wonderful. I still keep my SDIs set up and researching canine osteosarcoma and treatments. I will continue to update the webliography whenever I find something relevant. I'm not sure how much of it is obsession, since I did this for two years, it is hard to stop. But, I also own two Danes, and they are prone to OSA.

Jolie the truck driving Dane, July 22, 2006

Monday, January 22, 2007

I promised the BCD folks a break down of the costs associated with Jasmine's care. So, here they are, listed below. I didn't include the costs of usual pet care (annual exams, illness not related to cancer), but I did include her arthritis medicines, since they were usually part of her metronomic protocol.