Well, no news is good news...in a sense.

I had to go to O.K. City for work Wed. and Thu., and was worried quite a bit that something would happen with Kazak while I was gone. Thankfully, nothing did. I even had my brother "on alert," ready to come and get him and Gina (since Gina obviously can't carry Kazak's 67-pound ass even when not pregnant) and get them to the vet, I was that worried. But Kazak's actually been "normal," as in normal of late, anyway. Really though, he's still his playful, loving self, just with those new oddities. So I take that as a good sign (not that he's getting "better," just that whatever's going on inside is not a big problem, yet, so I have a bit of time).

I did get an estimate from the doctor for the new blood test and ultrasound, and it's going to run me nearly $500 to get that work done. That is quite a lot of money. So I need to sit down and think this through...and talk to the doctor a bit more about it. What is the likely outcome of a negative result? What about a positive? I know she'll probably be non-committal, saying we won't really know until we find out what's going on, but I will tell her I just want an idea that spending $500 isn't going to turn into $3,000 and/or my dog's chances of survival or a normal life are slim to none. So I hope that she can give me at least a glimpse of what I might see. Who knows?

Pet ownership...gotta love it. More next week, unless something interesting happens sooner.

Well, I'm nervous...but not about parenting, for those of you asking.

No, I'm nervous about my current "responsibility"...

Kazak has been acting strange lately -- as though he's ALWAYS hungry, and that more than usual. I didn't think too much of it, until he ate one of those flour/salt/water "fossils" that kids make in school, that Gina had laying around here yesterday. She came home and it was chewed apart, and he had then thrown up all over the place. He also drank all the water in his bowl. Gina filled the water bowl, and he immediately drank ALL of it. So much so, that his stomach was disdended (sp?) when I got home.

So, I took him to the vet immediately. They didn't find anything obviously wrong with him (and he's acted normal, aside from "eats own feces", which he had NEVER done before). But, he's lost 5 or 6 pounds since last he was at the vet (about a year ago), among those other things. So they wanted to do a comprehensive blood test.

Today, the doc calls and says two enzymes in his bloodstream are mildly decreased, a possible sign of a liver problem. Also, his urine (from the test) was unusually diluted, even more so than expected from all the water consumption. So, I'm waiting to get an estimate on how much a more specific blood test and an ultrasound on his liver might run.

He's an old dog (going on 10 next month), but I don't know if I'm quite prepared for the worst. Then again, I don't know if I'll ever be. He's not just a "family dog." He's MY dog. Let's hope for the best.