a quick carver update

carver has shown some improvement since he began his new pain regiment last friday. he has been walking in the house more, going into my office, where e and I are now sleeping on the futon. the room is closer to the living room, and I laid beds for him on the floor that go from the door to our bed. he tens to spend half the night in there, then back to the living room. our whole apartment is swathed in fabric and memory foam.
anyway, he seems to have less trouble getting up, is more alert, and continues to eat well. on the downside, his cognitive disorder (lets just call it Alzheimer's from now on) has been kicking in. wednesday and thursday were the worst, with carver barking & whining from about 4pm on until he fell sleep late in the night. I have to be next to him on the ground in order for him to calm down. this is cozy, but there are chores to do, and after a few hours I end up feeling cagey. the stress of it has taken it's toll. I really thought i was cracking up friday morning, when carver was crying because I was in the kitchen doing dishes. e got up early and laid down with him so I could finish. the weekend has been much better though. friday night and all day Saturday he has been calm, with us home, and he has seemed more like his normal self. being outside helps him always, so we have been spending a lot of time on the front porch, me reading & him barking at the neighbors. we were blessed with a few warm days but today the snow is falling again, and by tomorrow night we are suppose to have over a foot. carver usually loves the snow, and I hope this is still the case. as for me, I feel like i would give up my soul to see a crocus popping its head out of the ground. I need spring, this winter has been a long tough one all around. I checked in with the vets on wednesday-dr. m said she was surprised to see improvement to quickly, and to keep on the regime for a couple more weeks and see how it goes. c is still not wanting to walk outside at all for recreation, and does not seem to interested in the world beyond the porch, with the exception of an occasional passing dog, or a sniff at near by garbage. I really am a but anxious at wanting to up some of the meds and see if we can get him walking, but if we cannot listen to and trust the pain management vet, then who can we? another strange symptom has popped up as well-he is chewing on one of his hind legs, tearing the hair out. I spray it with bitter apple in the morning with bitter apple (which I tasted-I didn't think it was too bad, but carver disagrees) which does the trick, but my curiosity gets the best of me. is it pain? or a strange side effect from one of the drugs? boredom? hallucination? who knows. I have an email out to dr. m, and will hear from her tomorrow.
but, for now, things are quiet and peaceful. carver is sleeping next to me on the floor, very cozy. we have had a good morning, and have the day stretched out in front of us.

we received another offer of left over meds from a friend on the yahoo group bonecancerdogs
I continue to be amazed at the compassion, generosity, and support I receive from these amazing people.
If you have a minute, take a look at brian's blog
brian just passed a few weeks ago, and his people kept an excellent blog of his story.