ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS > FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE

Vet says Christa has lymphoma.

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jalentour:
Jim,
I'm not familiar with Christa. 
What did she mean to you and your family, besides being a member of the family?
JV

Dallasbeek:
Sorry to hear that.  Losing a pet is hard.  Losing a service animal must be even harder.  I have avoided having a pet for the last 35 years after a lifetime of having one or more dogs, because the pain of losing an old friend got to be too much.  I can remember every one of them and the great times I had with them, though, so I guess that's something.  Still, I see puppies and think about adopting one.  My latest favorite is the Norwich terrier.  My sister-in-law has some and they are the most adorable little things I've ever seen.  But then I come to my senses.  At 82 and on chemo, bees are even more than I can tend to.

BeeMaster2:
Thanks Dallas.
JV,
Our first service dog, Radar, helped save my son, Wesley, a quadriplegic, from ending his own life.
Christa has taken over as a helper and a ever constant friend for Wesley. These dogs are amazing. When you get them they have a vocabulary of about 85 words and can easily learn new words/commands. You get very close. I broke down really bad after spending an entire night with Radar when he was in so much pain and could not sit or lie down all night and I had to take him to the vet for the last time. Pain killers did not help.
Now we are going through the same thing again just different organs being involved.

We started the prednisone yesterday and after she walked around totally bling for over 24 hours, she is getting her eyesight back in her left eye. It is a lot less scary for her now.
We have been spoiling the heck out of her, she is always hungry.  Not so much since she was diagnosed. 😊 Judy is giving her cheese and crackers and she can see them when she holds them out.
Hopefully she will keep improving. The Dr did not give us any hope.
Jim

Dallasbeek:
I think I've known some people who didn't have 85-word vocabularies. 

What is the prospect of getting another (trained) service animal for Wesley?

Are these dogs like the ones for blind people in that they're like any other dog until you put their harness or whatever on them and then they become all business? 

BeeMaster2:
Dallas,
Radar was all business when he was on a leash.
Christa?s nose was always getting her into trouble. While Wesley was walking her she always had to smell everything. This meant she pulled on his weaker arm. He was getting more and more frustrated. He has been leaving her home a lot when he went to doctors and such. He never did that with Radar. Before Christa got sick, Judy and I were working on retraining her to ignore her nose while walk on the leash. 
Right now we do not plan on getting another dog.
Jim

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