A Gold Star Friday

It's raining today but there is nothing that can dampen my spirits. Bacchus had his monthly check up at WSU yesterday. He had an echo cardiogram and x-ray of his lungs. His reveal was read. His ears were scratched and he got lots of hugs. One of the techs brought him out to us. We waited patiently for his cardiologist. She was beaming as brightly as the sun that was shining outside the windows.

"He gets a gold star!" she grinned. The enlarged ventricles had not enlarged further, his respiration and pulse were as good as could be expected all things considered. His puffing that has worried me is from a lung ailment he has had for as long as we can remember - probably exacerbated because of where we live. His weight was holding steady. The heart is functioning well enough to keep everything else working. At least for the time being. I felt the tension fall away. Without a glass or two of wine!

We had our discussion about his eating habits - or lack thereof. He's developed a taste for grilled chicken, lost his taste for chuck roast (thank heavens), and developed a healthy taste for yogurt. As you can see!

Once again the cardiologist said to feed him anything he will eat, except grapes and of course chocolate. He will now get all the sausages he wants, rice, chicken or pork, beef, pasta, and real yogurt. None of that non-fat stuff that Mom and Dad have been sharing. The objective is to get some weight on him.

It's been nice having a really positive weekly update. I hope there will be a lot more but no matter, we'll take whatever we can get.



Last but not least I can't leave out the WSU raptors from our monthly visits. This week I met Gwen, a Screech Owl that had been hit by a car resulting in brain damage and partial blindness. I love how socialized these birds have become under the care they've received and consider it a privilege to get to see them up close and personal..