November 29, 2003
A happy old hound. We're in the middle of a hike over and across the mesas near Carlsbad. It's late November, but still pretty hot and sunny for a black dog with lots of fuzz. The reason for her perkiness here is right behind her- that tall grass is at the edge of a small but deep stream. She made a beeline for it, and hopped right in.
December 20, 2003
About this time, Blanca agreed to share me with another girl. Kris put up with a lot from us- all that hair, her cat getting sick on dogfood, dirty pawprints on the carpet, my bad jokes... I think she always wondered if Blanca liked her. Well, she did, and would look around for Kris when she wasn't there. Kris thought Blanca was the most regal dog she'd known, that is, like an aloof queen. That was just Blanca's reserved nature, coupled with her need to always be off to the side, watching me.
Now, there's no doubt that Tim the Cat didn't like Blanca. On their first meeting, he managed to plant a sharp claw right in that soft fuzzy area where the wet nose ends and the furry nose begins. He drew blood. Blanca was just being curious. But from then on, they were frightened of each other, and we made lots of little dances getting one past the other.
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Kris carried this photo of Blanca and me while we were together.
February 7, 2004
Just another picture. Not a particularly good picture, but I like it because it shows Blanca's size and shape so well. Big tail, long legs, deep chest, long neck, smallish head. And perky floppy ears.
July 4, 2004
A summer day in American Basin: the streams rushing, the snow melting, wildflowers everywhere. And Blanca having her snow-snack.
September 5, 2004
My favorite protrait of Blanca in her old age, I think. She looks happy.
October 10, 2004
With Kris around, I accumulated a lot more pictures of Blanca and myself. It was difficult to get one with both of us looking decent. So I picked one where she looks good. Usually she was trying to get away, and I was trying to hold her back, as here.
30-DEC-2004
Blanca wound up on quite a cornucopia of medicine: the monthly heartworm pill, of course, but also Rimadyl for arthritis, Thyroxin for her hypothyroidism, Benazepril to fend off kidney trouble, Glucosamine to keep those hard-working joints moving, and the occasional course of Cephalexin to fight the ear infections. I wound up with my hand down her throat every morning and every evening. She'd clamp her jaws shut, but quickly relent.
January 16, 2005
After all those years watching Blanca eat snow, I thought I'd better try some myself...
September 4, 2005
Still chewing. Blanca expected two things everyday: her walk and her bone. Sometimes when I was busy I'd try to buy her off with two bones and no walk, but usually she wouldn't fall for it. This shot shows her fuzziness too- she's not all nice & shiny like so many of the other pictures. You can see all the big thick clumps of fuzz on her side. Sometimes I thought I should have taken up knitting.
September 28, 2005
Just a nice portrait of the old girl, looking pretty gray. I think she's tired out from wading through a muddy stream, judging by her paws. That gray on her left hind leg isn't supposed to be showing- it's just out of place due to a surgery. That was the knee that suffered the first cruciate ligament blow-out. The other knee followed, about a year later. But that left leg also developed a tumor a ways to the outside of the knee. It was a bad type of cancer, but fortunately it was over connective tissue, which formed a barrier, keeping it from invading too deeply. Some aggressive surgery took care of things, but also meant the loss of a good-size piece of skin, hence the need to stretch the inside of her leg to wrap around to the outside. And she managed to make things worse- I left her in the back of my truck for while, as the anaesthetic wore off. I knew from experience that it would be less traumatic for her that way. I asked a coworker who lives down the street to come by and help me lift her out. He did- and arrived to find Blanca waiting at the back door. She had decided to jump out by herself, which meant going over the tailgate and down 3 or 4 feet. She was fine, except that she loosened and tore some of her sutures. It was already a tight stretch, and the incision eventually opened up. There wasn't much to do but let it close by itself over time, which turned out to be a number of weeks. That all happened in 2001 or 2002, maybe early '03.
Two weeks after this picture was taken, I found a second tumor, over her ribs. It would be visible in this picture, except for her thick fur. I found it when I picked her up to carry her down some stairs. By this time she didn't like going down stairs much; I think it hurt her knees, and put her at risk of taking a tumble. Our friends at the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos took care of that one too; it would be the last surgery she had to endure.
Jett died in January, 2006. She'd been having trouble keeping her balance for a while; her strength was getting to be less than her weight. It didn't really bother her, though- she was always happy and ready to try. I don't know if Dave and Dawn ever learned exactly what happened to her. She suddenly got sick, and had to be euthanized a short time later.
This picture dates from happier times: a backpacking trip into the Gila. This is at the end of the hike in, and Jett's so tired that even her eyelids are drooping.
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I think Jett was the only other dog that Blanca really liked. She was friends with a couple of dogs along the way, but her relationship with Jett was special. Blanca looked confused the first time we stopped by Jett's house and Jett didn't come out to greet her as she got out of the truck.
February 26, 2006
This is one of the last pictures of Blanca. She looks kind of frail, although part of that is because she was stiff from being in the truck, and there was a cold wind blowing. We were returning from a trip to Chama, a trip that we had made once or twice a winter almost every year.
A few weeks after this day, I went on an overnight trip with Dave, an unsuccessful attempt to do a winter climb. Our friend Sue, the dogsitter, left a note saying that Blanca didn't seem too interested in eating or walking.
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Almost a week later, I was shocked and scared to realize that Blanca hadn't touched her food since I returned. I quickly picked up some canned food and treats, hoping to perk up her appetite.
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That worked for a couple of days, then she stopped eating entirely.
