Friday 30 November 2007

Hope & Prayers for Chi

Nancy found this charming site and sent us a candle so i lite one for Chi this morning and started a group so other ppl can also light a candle to send their good wishes and positive thoughts.

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng

Pls copy & paste the site details above. When you arrive at the site go to search (top left of page) then put the initials LLS in the initials box(obviously!) and the letter O in the group. You should then be directed to Chi's candles. Click on a candle that isn't lite and you will be guided threw how to send a message and light the candle. They last for 48 hours.

Thursday 29 November 2007

Dick White Referrals

We set of for our specialist appointment at 2:30pm. The journey was s'pose to take 2hours 35 mins - it took us 5 hours because of an accident on the M25 that involved ppl having to be air ambulanced off the motorway! Fortunately Gran'ma OBay is a brilliant map reader and found us a way around the blockage. Having decided that we would divert at the next exit i put on my hazzard lights and cruzed along the hard shoulder - i sooooo did not want to miss this very important consultation.

Unfortunately, with the exit only a few yards away, we came to another grinding hault - there was a truck in the way, straddling the lane and the hard shoulder. Bernadette got out of the car to ask the lorry driver to let us pass (this was, after all, an emergancy!)i phoned the clinic to let them know we were going to be late. Fortunately the traffic moved, the lorry was able to get into the hard shoulder and pull away, and the clinic told us not to worry just keep calling them every hour to let them know our progress - i could hardly beleive my ears, they didn't turn us away, didn't say sorry we have to re arrange your appointment, brilliant news!
At one stage it took 45 mins to get round a roundabout!!! And when we finally arrived at 7pm we were welcomed by the lovely receptionist, warmly greeted by the intern who took a history & relevant details and still had a consultation with Mr White!

The up shot is Chi will have a lymph node apirated tomorrow to check for signs of cancer, a chest x - ray & abdominal ultrasound scan to check for any metastisis and further surgery to ensure that there are good clear margins around the original site of the lump. The clinic will call tomorrow to let us know how he is and hopefully give us an idea when he can be collected.

Keep the prayers & positive thoughts coming ppl - they are very much needed over the next 48 hours and very much appreciated. Thank you very very much to all you well wishers your kind words & deeds are very suppportive.

Friday 23 November 2007

Cancer!

On Wed 14th Nov Chi had a very hard lump removed from his neck. We are so lucky that this lump was detected so early by a Galen Therapy student the Sunday after Discover Dogs. It wasn't palpable on the Wed before Discover Dogs when i bathed Chi.

It has turned out to be a fibrosarcoma, which my medical dictionary defines as 'an uncommon malignant tumour of the cells that form fibrous tissue. These cells can be found in any part of the body. Radical surgery is necessary'.

We have an appointment with Dick White, a highly revered soft tissue surgeon, next Thursday afternoon. Gran'ma OBay will be coming with us to the specialist to help us ask the right questions and provide much needed suport.



Chi is fine and his wound is healing quite nicely. He will have stitches out on Monday. I'm giving him Reiki everyday and my Mum is doing some distance healing.

It is very unusual to find such cancerous growths in a young dog (Chi is only 4yrs 7 months). Hardly a day goes by without me crying at the moment, (ridiculous but i know you other doggie ppl will understand) and i feel flat & numb.
I'm a gr8 believer that something good always comes out of something bad and so far i've really come to fully appreciate how much this special little dog means to me on so many different levels.

O Lord! i am so lucky to have been able to enjoy so much with Chi so far, plse don't take him from us just yet, plse give us the strength to get through what ever may come our way and most of all don't let him suffer anything nasty or unpleasant. Amen

Thank you to all those people who have already sent good wishes and especially to my husband Tony who has been a real brick, providing hugs, sympathy and support ad infinitum.

Saturday 10 November 2007

Discover Dogs - Earls Court, London

We've been looking forward to this for ages! Chi has never been in this environment before but he took it all in his stride, happy to be doing what he enjoys most - agility.


Chi's son, Todd (see link) bought him a good luck mascot - Lucky Ducky. Lucky Ducky has been attached to the training bag so that she may come with us where ever we go and bring all her good luck along as well! :)

Here's Chi with Lucky Ducky!



Gran'ma OBay groomed for us










Lots of friends were there, and lots of other people we knew, cheering us on. It was gr8 to hear the croud behind us, rooting for the only Sheltie in the line up! Lian took this photo of us waiting for our prize.





Chi had the privilage of meeting Mr Burns himself on the Burns stand.



And here is the video of Chi in action..........................

Wednesday 7 November 2007

Discover Dogs

Tonight Chi has been getting ready for his Discover Dogs debut. We received an invitation to participate in an agility demonstation at The Kennel Clubs Discover Dogs to be held at Earls Court, London this weekend, and naturally accepted. I'm really looking forward to enjoying the day. Gran'ma has volunteered to groom - good ole Gran'ma!


Here he is bathing.....



Shampoo & set plse? ROFLOL! (Roll on floor laugh out loud). I prob bath Chi about 4 or 5 times a year and try and groom him weekly. Lots of people ask me if he is high maintanance but if i am diligent he takes an hour a week. I always like to 'foof' him up before a special show and he seems to enjoy being groomed.



No discerning dog owner (especially a Sheltie owner) should be with out a high powered hair dryer. When Chi was a puppy, the 1st time i washed him Bernadette let me borrow her hair dryer - we haven't looked back and purchased ours at crufts asap! A high powered hair dryer removes all the dead under coat and enables you to see right down to the skin and between the toes. This is invaluable when you have dogs with long or short coats that enjoy country walks since it enables you to see if there are any embedded grass seeds. The result of high power hair drying is spectacular - as you will see when i post Chi at Discover Dogs!




Well the finished result (a fully foofed up Chi) will be on display on Saturday at Earls court. Bernadette has taken her grooming responsibilities very seriously and already trimmed Chi's ears - I'm still a big L on the ears, feet no problem, ears, still learning.