Bitty Update....

If I stare at this door long enough, it WILL open!

You might have read about a hitch we have experienced on this journey. One of the Paws that make up the Paws and Friends of the Roving Riders has been feeling a little "punk". We visited a vet in Carson City, and stayed an extra day there for Bitty. Her red blood cells where below the "normal" level, and it appeared that she was not making more....plus, she had been eating rocks (what else is there to eat in the desert?!) and through a couple of x-rays we saw the rocks scattered throughout her digestive track.....  The vet kept her overnight, and kept her on fluid therapy to move those rocks along....! With success, we might add, for when we picked her up Saturday afternoon, a recent x-ray showed a small

"bundle" in her tummy. They took another CBC, with a little improvement on the second, so the vet felt it was okay for us to go on, but important for us to get a CBC (blood cell count) test in 3 to 4 days.

Mike used her smarty phone to locate a place just south of Shady Cove, All Creatures Animal Hospital, where we made an appointment for Bitty. The results of this test was about the same as the second test in Carson City. The vet suggested we try steroids, which we agreed to, with the requirement that we find a vet in Eugene for another CBC. The steroids should help the red blood cells regenerate.

Once again, the smart phone comes out and Mike found a list of four--choosing one which once again proved to be a great choice! The CBC here showed some improvement!  Hooray! Bitty was regenerating blood cells, but not at a great pace. Now, there are improvement in the numbers! The vet agreed with the steroid therapy, adding one to the regiment, but not wanting to go too much, considering Bitty's age. He suggested, if we could, to return in two weeks for a follow up, and we agreed! After explaining the situation three times to three different vets, we  felt consistency would be important, and we will be in Oregon through the month of May. After all, we spent 40 years in New Mexico where driving 140 miles one way was necessary for shopping, and initially, to get Baskin Robbins Ice Cream! (before Gallup got "civilized" and got a mall and a local Baskin Robbins!) We'll be driving 120 miles one way for these

We call her the Space Alien...! 

follow up trips, but will gladly do so, especially if Bitty continues to show improvement!

She is more herself, bouncing around, snarking at Rupert and us! We bought a muzzle to keep her from eating stuff she shouldn't, which she hates! But, good dog that she is, she puts up with it. When we found grass, however, she did her usual rolling-in-grass routine with the additional twist of getting rid of that thing!
We are so glad for the positive trend--and will do what we can to support her so she can continue to improve. Bitty will be 13 in May!  She is even older than Lindy!

Thankfully, our home on wheels gives us the flexibility to adjust to meet the needs of our family.....We are SWIRVIN, moving on down the road carefully, thoughtfully, giving Itty Bitty the very best care we can!