Bullwinkle J. Moose

Well, we did not see Bullwinkle, but we did see his wife and child.  All set to pull out of the Diamond M RV Resort/Park yesterday and I looked at the large lawn outside our door, thought about how Skruffy and Bubba both like the grass so much every day, many times a day.  Thought about how it would be in Homer…out on the spit.  I have researched being out on the spit a lot.  It will be crowded, it will be sandy, rocky, no grass, no peace and quiet…but the view would be out of this world.  Told Marcia that I felt we should stay…be close to the vet here that knows what is going on…and let the dogs enjoy the grass some more.  So stay we did, now through July 6th, Skruffy’s next scheduled appointment.

But that does not mean we are going to sit in the RV park all day…and we both wanted to go back to Seward before the huge 4th of July crowd arrived there so that we could say hello to Maxine, and let her know how Skruffy is doing.  We got over there, and Maxine was not at her trailer.  We looked all over for her, we talked to the campground host, but after a few hours she never showed up to her trailer.  We left her a long note, and I know she will hate the fact that she missed us.  It was on the way home that we saw the mother moose and her calf way in the distance.  Above you can barely see them…but eagle eye Marcia saw them.

Took us awhile, but we finally made up for that moose whose picture we missed on the way up the Alaska Highway.  That seems so long ago now…it was 36 days ago that we left Watson Lake, Mile Zero on the Alaska Highway.  It was 32 days ago that we first entered Alaska with our visit to Skagway…and 27 days since we re-entered Alaska.  So much has happened in this short time…so many good things, one very hard thing with Skruffy.  But we are making the most it, it will be easier when she gets stronger. We do see progress…she does not need help getting into the motorhome most of the time now.  She’s being a little picky with what she eats, and just does not want to take her antibiotic pill.  It is a struggle, but we are getting through it.

Since we had the camera out, Marcia got a few more pictures on the way back to Soldotna.  It sure is a nice drive, but a lot of concentration for the driver. 

At the turn to head toward Soldotna, there is a nice turnout looking over a huge open field with lots of water, they call it Tern Lake…the White Bird in the picture is an Arctic Tern.  There are lots and lots of birds, and the other day on our way to Anchorage, and earlier today we saw a Trumpeter Swan swimming around…but not on our way back.  Perhaps next week when we leave we will get a picture of it.

    

We drove to this view area, and there is what Marcia described as a Babbling Brook running under a bridge we drove over.  It is much more pretty than the pictures show.

From Tern Lake, the route to Soldotna follows the Kenai River most of the way.  The river is at a very high level right now due to the high snow melt and recent rains.  The river empties into the Cook Inlet just past Soldotna.  The other day we saw fishermen and rafters in the river.  Don’t know how they can stand the extreme cold water.

It was a nice day, despite some light rain, and despite not seeing Maxine…but leaving her a note about Skruffy was worth the drive for sure…seeing the Moose and scenery, well that’s the topping on the cake.   Unfortunately, as we got close to Soldotna, we came upon a wreck which shut the highway down…although we were able to bypass it on a dirt side road where traffic was diverted.  Found out that a 50 year old woman was riding her bike alongside the road and swerved into traffic, being hit by a F-350 commercial truck.  She did not make it…what a shame.

Tomorrow Bubba gets a haircut at Petco, and then we are going out to dinner with the twin brother, and his wife, of some people who use to attend our church back in Florida.  They just happen to live right her in Soldotna area, and are friends with the family who own and operate the RV Park. 

Yet Another Skruffy Update—Anchorage Ultrasound

Yesterday (Monday) our Soldotna Vet, Dr. Meezie Hermansen, was still concerned about one blood result…Skruffy’s Red Blood Cell count has continued to decline, while everything else leveled out and got better.  For instance, her blood sugar is down to 125+, and we reduced her insulin to 2 units from 3 twice per day.  Her White Blood Cell count is coming down, but still high from the the combination of pancreatitis and her still healing anal gland.  She suggested that Skruffy have a high density ultrasound, and the best machine and the best Vet to do it was up in Anchorage at the Anchorage Veterinary Clinic and Animal Hospital, the Vet is Linda Chang, who just happened to graduate from the same Veterinary College in Colorado as Dr. Hermansen, though a few years before her.  (They have a ultrasound machine in Soldotna, but it is not as good for what was needed.)

We have been staying at the Diamond M Ranch RV Resort (park), and extended Monday morning for two more days.  It is a 300+ mile round trip to Anchorage, a good 3 hours each way.  We left at 10 am for a 2:30 pm appointment, and stopped for gas at Fred Meyer (30 cent discount due to our rewards card, $2.39 a gallon), and then we stopped by Soldotna Animal Hospital to get our Amazon Package for the blood sugar tester for Skruffy, then we got to Anchorage an hour early.  They got is in right on time, and Dr. Chang did a wonderful job explaining Skruffy’s test results.

At left is a typical dog ultrasound.  She showed us Skruffy’s Liver, Gall Bladder, Adrenal Gland, and Spline, and we could barely see the Pancreas…which she said was good, because if you can clearly see it, it is so inflamed that it sticks out more.  She said that what she saw of the Pancreas bore evidence of some problems, but not a chronic condition.  The good news was that there was no sign of any tumors anywhere.  There was no blockage of her digestive tract.  The liver was larger than normal, but that is likely due to pancreatitis, and chronic stage of diabetes that Skruffy was in last week.  She said she could do a biopsy of the liver, but that is dangerous in her condition.  She could do a needle biopsy, but that would only show that small area the needle hit.  She said that there is a rare cancer where the cells spread out in the liver, and capturing one or more of these cells with a needle is like finding a needle in a haystack…and it is a very low probability of Skruffy having that condition.  Her recommendation to Dr. Hermansen is to put Skruffy on a milk thistle type of liver restorer for dogs (prescription), followed up with more blood tests next week.  We hope Dr. Hermansen is in agreement, and if tests next week look better, then we know all we are dealing with is diabetes in the long run.  By Wednesday of next week Skruffy will be done with her antibiotics, and will have been home for 13 days. 

We continually see signs of the “old Skruffy” coming through…like when we were leaving the Clinic in Anchorage today and a Doberman walks in…she gave that Doberman a good barking at.  Now this Doberman could have had Skruffy for lunch…but it just looked at her, she trots out of the place like, “Take That!”  Yep, Skruffy is coming back!

Tomorrow we go back to Fred Meyer for one night, so we can get clothes washed, and groceries bought before we go to Homer on Thursday.  We have reservations for the 1sth through the 5th…but we might check in a day early.