As the fireweed goes into cottony end-bloom, Stevie's nose has started acting up again. Despite having a biopsy that says "the cells are consistent with chondrosarcoma" I wonder very much whether what happens to him might just be a very severe allergic reaction.
We moved from a thick, white spruce forest to a much thinner aspen and birch forest, with the occasional white spruce. When the landlord cut spruce branches out where Stevie plays, he started having sneezing episodes that culminated with a couple bloody nose episodes, but he seems to have gotten over it now. He's still having a little trouble, but he isn't bleeding, thank goodness.
Stevie the Wonder Dog has survived several lives: two mysterious life-threatening episodes of a strange fever coupled with an almost zero count of white blood cells, but no signs of infection anywhere; someone shot him in the HEART with a .22 or .32 and I have the X-RAY to prove it, it's still in there and doesn't cause him any trouble at all; he nearly drowned several weeks ago and I jumped in and saved him (see Water Sports blog entry); and he was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live back in April. Let's see, that's five lives so far. And he still runs around and plays like a dog of seven. He's 16. He's not even gray in the face, just a little more tan. Let's hope he has four more just like his cat friends.
