FitzpatrickLand!

For at least the last seven years, I have worked with the folks at Oregon State University’s vet school in a variety of ways. While working at Heartland, I helped coordinate animals in need of surgery to fill the need for students who needed surgical experience. Every fall we rounded up 150 shelter animals who needed to be spayed/neutered. I also got to work with the vets, students and staff at OSU to help shelter animals get specialized surgery they wouldn’t otherwise be able to have.

I have always been impressed with the folks I have gotten to know through this work. Last week I got to see the vet school from another perspective, this time as a client in their Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Our Great Dane, Romeo, had a very suspicious swelling on his leg and we were referred for a consult with an oncologist. While the news about Romeo wasn’t great – he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, more on this later – the experience we had while at OSU was.

The cause for concern

Every single person we worked with was compassionate and helpful. From Mandy who took my first phone call and got us appointment right away to Josie who checked Romeo out in the evening, everyone was wonderful.

Mandy was cheerful, pleasant, and knew what we needed and how to get it. She got us set up for an appointment immediately, so I changed out of my slippers and headed to Corvallis with Romeo.

Our fourth year vet student who took the history and did Romeo’s initial exam was wonderful. She is going to be a great vet soon. She was easy to talk to, showed compassion, and was calm with Romeo who can be a bit nervous in new situations. She walked us through the process and made sure she knew what I was hoping to get out of the consult.

The intern then joined us a bit later to discuss the diagnostics they were recommending. He did a very nice job outlining possible treatment options if things did turn out to be cancer (which we all thought was going to be the case).

So then Romeo went (reluctantly) with the OSU folks for an afternoon of xrays and tests.

When it was time to go back to pick him up, our fourth year vet student, intern and oncologist met with me and went over everything from test results to treatment options in great detail. They made it very clear that they were presenting every option they have and leaving us the decision of what will work best for us without pressure to try the newest, most expensive treatment just because it exists.

I absolutely loved the written information they sent home with us. We got a summary of Romeo’s test results and thorough descriptions of all the treatment options we discussed along with cost estimates, making it very easy for Trent and me to go over the information together that evening.

We got Romeo’s additional pain meds and went over dosing options before wrapping up with our medical crew.

Back in the lobby we met Josie. Turns out Josie, who did our final paperwork and payment (gulp), recognized me from Heartland. She adopted a cat from there in 2004 and said I helped with her adoption. Just because it’s habit, I asked who the cat was, not expecting to remember any cats from that long ago. But when she said it was Muzby, I immediately recalled the round faced flame point. Muzby was a special guy who had reminded me so much of my Mugsy, the first cat I adopted from Heartland.

At close to 6pm we were finished with Romeo’s big day at the vet school. The news we got wasn’t good, but the information and support we got to help Romeo was amazing. Thanks to everyone at OSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. (Oh, and Romeo says thanks for the pain meds.)

Find more videos like this on The Handbell Community

This isn’t our bell choir, but we are learning this song. You’ll notice that these folks are playing this song without music. We’ll be memorizing this piece as well. Wish us luck!

Need a smile? Here’s one…

Got time for one more? Don’t worry, it’s quick :)

October 23rd turned out to be a very popular date, with too many activities to choose from and not enough hours in the day.

The first event I made it to was a retirement party for a coworker who had been with my shelter for 21 years. She saw our organization go through many changes and has been a fixture in our adoption center for so long that it is strange to think of adoptions without her. We had a nice gathering of friends, family and coworkers at work this morning.

At the exact same time, Heartland was having Dogtoberfest in Corvallis. This new event brought PetWalk to the fall instead of early summer and incorporated music and beer. It sounded like fun and the weather was even pretty cooperative. Can’t wait to see pictures and hope I can go next year.

This evening was SafeHaven Humane Society’s kick off for their capital campaign with Casino Night in their new building. The new building is still a warehouse but one that has an exciting transformation ahead of it to become their new shelter. The event took place primarily in the area that will become their adoption dog kennels, boarding kennels and doggy daycare.

SafeHaven's future dog kennels decked out for Casino Night

Second connected warehouse which will house the cattery and medical center

Future adoption and retail center

The building does have administrative offices and those are already being used a bit. Kids in SafeHaven’s Pets & Pals Club meet here to learn about responsible pet ownership, careers with pets, etc.

Posters made by kids in the Pets & Pals Club

I didn’t manage any gambling tonight, but ended up with some fun things from the silent auction and loved the preview of the new facility.

Hopefully next weekend there won’t be three shelter events I want to attend.

I was tagged by Kerry (who is the reason I got to go to Ethiopia) to share responses to these questions. Since I love surveys and procrastination, I couldn’t resist.

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Hmm. Probably people who are in my way when I’m in a “let’s just get there already” mood. Like the ones who amble through the store in such a way that I can’t get around them to get where I’m trying to go. Or drivers who are slow in parking lots or slow down to incredibly low speeds to turn off the road.

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

As my husband, friends and coworkers will attest, I will frequently answer with “it depends” which is my answer here too. It’s not because I’m trying not to answer, I’m just trying to figure out which way to answer based on many factors.

Like, am I looking for weather I love most? Or am I looking for the scenery I enjoy? Or am I trying to find the things I like to see and do? Or am I trying to be near (or far) from specific people.

I think I’d rather live all over and move every two years. Maybe Colorado first – fell in love with it 13 years ago and have only been back once since then. Then a tropical island. Then Ireland. Then Alaska (but only when the sun is out for at least 10 hours per day). Then somewhere in Italy – hmm, should probably ask my husband’s opinion at some point in this process since it wouldn’t be much fun without him – first in a big city and then out in the country. Oh, I’d probably want to get Boston back in the list again too.

But right now a sunny October day in the Willamette Valley doesn’t seem bad at all. Especially when I have the house to myself and dogs sprawled on the couch with me.

3. Have you ever been searched by the cops?

Nope. I’m too boring for that.

4. What is the one thing on your mind right now?

Do I have time to finish this post before the laundry is ready to be switched? Oh, and a little guilt for the work I should be doing right now instead of this. Yep, it’s my weekend but it’s house cleaning day and I’ve got some things I should wrap up for work. And yet I’m still doing this survey. At least I can say I’m spending time with my dogs. As long as they’re snoring in the same room it counts as quality time, right?

5. Favorite song right now?

Since I’m about to commence house cleaning – Lady Gaga radio on Pandora, which will be on as soon as I finish here.

6. What talent do you wish you had?

The ability to speak foreign languages without feeling like a dork.

Or

The ability to avoid the temptation of procrastination.

7. Favorite drink?

For anytime – lukecold tap water.

For fun – Black Cherry Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Yummmm. I was extra happy since the store had been sold out for a while but had more when I went this morning :)

On the no-no list – Pepsi. For the safety and comfort of those around me, caffeine is to be avoided at all costs. But I still crave Pepsi every now and then.

8. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

At the moment: Mellow

Often: Spunky

At times: Obnoxious

Overall: Happy

Well, now that it’s 2:00 and I have accomplished virtually nothing today, it’s time to get a move on. Thanks Kerry, for the motivation to visit my blog again. Who knows, maybe this will finally inspire me to finish my Ethiopian adventures. I guess it depends on my ability to avoid procrastination. Oh, right, I’m doomed.

Here is where I’m supposed to tag others to play the game. I can’t think of anyone. Guess I won’t get a prize.

Thursday April 29, 2010

We arrived at the airport in Ethiopia after midnight so it was technically Thursday by then. Gotta love leaving Chicago on Tuesday and not getting to Addis Ababa until Thursday. At least with the time of our flight we were able to get to our hotel and go to sleep to get us on a pretty good start to acclimating to the time change.

The drive to the hotel was an interesting experience itself. Once we made it through immigration, the taxi lady asked if we wanted a driver. We said yes and followed her outside. I expected we’d meet the taxi in front of the terminal like you would at every other airport I’ve been to. But instead, we walked down the path to the parking lot where the taxis were.

The first thing I noticed as we walked out of the terminal was how quiet it was. There wasn’t the city hum that I expected for a city of over 3.3 million people. We could even hear crickets! It probably had something to do with the fact that it was after one in the morning, but it was still a surprise.

The taxis are all small white and blue cars, but ours was a station wagon that night. But it was still tiny and all our luggage got tied to the roof rack. We told the drivers our hotel’s name, but they didn’t seem to know where it was, which is what people said would happen. There is a very different sense of street names and directions there. Our hotel was near the Fistula Hospital which is apparently well known. So that information was enough for the driver to get us there, since street names weren’t an option. No Garmins in these taxis.

For most of the drive we were the only car on the road. But there were many dogs out. Dogs aren’t generally pets in Ethiopia and there are lots of street dogs. We saw a fair number scavenging around the streets. They were a variety of sizes (probably from 15 to 55 pounds), all different colors, but all of them had curled tails and definitely had the look of street dogs.

The whole trip I only saw two cats. I’m guessing that the feral dogs make it difficult for the cat population. One of the cats was a very, very scraggly white and orange. The other was a tabby. Not quite as pathetic looking, but not a thing like my overfed house cats.

One thing I noticed on the drive was the size of some of the intersections we went through. I wondered what they’d be like with the bustle of the day. One of these intersections had a traffic light. It was the only one I saw on the whole drive to the hotel. It was red for us and the driver slowed a bit but pretty much just went through the intersection anyway. Of course there weren’t any other cars on the road at the time.

Our hotel turned out to be very nice and the staff was great. We pretty much just headed to our room and went to bed. I did try to take a shower and failed. I was warned that you had to plug in the hot water heater in the bathroom before showering. So that part went fine. But I couldn’t figure out how to turn the water on.

Our bathroom. Notice the hot water heater in the upper right. There is also a sign above the toilet that says "Tissue couldn't pass through this bowl." Apparently you aren't supposed to flush toilet paper and every bathroom has a basket next to the toilet instead. The water bottle next to the sink was for brushing our teeth. We weren't taking any chances with the water since we were warned in many ways not to drink any non-bottled water.

The shower was very fancy and had lots of buttons that probably did lots of interesting things, but I never got any of them to work.

Kerry informed me in the morning that you had to pull the knob instead of turn it. I felt better when she said she had to ask to find out.

We had a suite which was huge and very comfortable.

One corner of our huge room. Kerry had a king size bed in here. Later we found out that it was probably the most comfortable bed in the whole hotel.

My room. You can see the start of my water bottle collection.

In the morning we could appreciate our surroundings a bit more. Each of our rooms had a balcony and enormous sliding glass doors. Here was my view which was off the back of the hotel.

One morning Kerry saw the lady at this house let her chickens out of a box on the porch. Another morning a guy was outside bathing.

Our hotel's driveway and guard.

Across the street from our hotel. The scaffolding on the building across the street was pretty scary but it was what they used everywhere. We saw many, many buildings under construction and they all had this scaffolding.

Across the street.

When we were downstairs having breakfast, I had to get a picture of the lights. They were pretty special.

The entrance to the hotel was one big room where the reception desk was as well as the dining room, kitchen and bar.

Hotel lobby. The guy at the bar was my favorite. He was so nice and helpful and attempted not to laugh when Kerry tried to tell him "thank you" in Amharic.

The breakfast menu seemed pretty standard if not extensive. I wasn’t adventurous and had eggs and toast.

Little did I know that I saved up my adventure for later that morning when we set off to see the sights. The itinerary with Holt, the adoption agency, didn’t start until Friday, so we had a whole day to explore.

To be continued…

In an attempt to get used to this time zone again, I struggled to stay up past 8:00pm last night. I succeeded, but woke up about 5:30 this morning ready to go. So I thought I’d use this opportunity to write about some of my trip.

Monday April 26, 2010

I left Portland airport around 11:00am to head to Chicago to meet up with Kerry so we could leave from there together. On the way to my gate, there was an exhibit of clothing made out of recycled things. I’m not sure about wearing any of them, but a few were pretty neat.

This dress was made out of gelato spoons and bowls.

This one was made out of cat litter bags.

In preparation for a long flight to Istanbul, once I arrived in Chicago, I spent my layover touring O’Hare airport. I took the tram to each and every terminal and walked each one. When taking the tram to the international terminal, you need to go pretty far, but it gives a view of the Chicago skyline. I have flown through O’Hare a few times, but had never actually been to Chicago, so it was nice to see the view.

Turns out, I ended up getting to actually see Chicago since there was an unforeseen travel delay so we had to wait until the next day to fly out. Kerry’s sister picked us up from the airport and we spent the night at her house.

This meant I got to hang out with Piper again.

Piper at her aunt's house.

Tuesday April 27, 2010

Kerry, Piper and I took the train downtown and toured Chicago. We walked through Millennium Park, which was in bloom and very pretty.

View from Millennium Park

We also visited The Bean, which I hadn’t heard of before but was very fun to see.

The Bean

You can walk into it and the underside is just as reflective as the outside. It was very disorienting to look up since you can’t really tell how tall it is.

Piper inside The Bean

It was a very sunny but semi-chilly day. Everything was in bloom though and there were tulips everywhere.

We visited the public library which had owl sculptures on the corners of the building.

Chicago Public Library

We took a taxi ride around to see more sights like the Magnificent Mile and all the museums. Piper’s favorite part was putting the window up and down. Around mid afternoon we took the train back.

Piper having a snack on the train

We spent the early evening at Kerry’s sister’s house and regrouped for our second attempt to leave the country.

We got to the airport over three hours before our flight, got checked in just fine and enjoyed some typical airport food before making our way through the very long lines at security.

As we walked to our gate, we passed this kitty bench, which I wasn’t sure the significance of but had to have a picture.

It was nice to see the words "on time"

As we settled in at our gate waiting for our flight, Kerry got ready with her sexy granny socks, the kind that are good for circulation and can help on long flights. Our flight certainly qualified since the first leg to Istanbul was almost 11 hours long.

Our flight took off on time and we had a great view of the full moon reflecting on Lake Michigan.

To celebrate being on our way, Kerry had a beer on the plane. Unfortunately she said it was about the worst she had ever had, so beware if you see this kind and steer clear.

Wednesday April 28, 2010

We made it to Istanbul and had a nice view of the city as we landed. It would have been fun to have a long layover and had at least a mini tour of the city. We found out that Turkish Airlines offers a free sightseeing tour, but only from 9am until 2pm. We didn’t land in Istanbul until 5pm and our layover was less than two hours. Pretty much just enough time to figure out which combination of lines we had to go through and figure out where our gate was.

We really were in Istanbul, even though it was brief.

Before long we were on our way to Ethiopia. That leg of the flight was about 5 1/2 hours and we arrived just after midnight. After the next series of lines – visa and immigration – we were on our way.

Addis Ababa Airport. I took the picture while the taxi driver was tying our luggage to the car.

We got our taxi and started our drive to our hotel so we could finally sleep.

To be continued…

Not that I have posted much recently, but here’s fair warning that I may not post much for the next two weeks since I will be traveling. I am lucky enough to get to accompany a friend to Ethiopia to pick up her adopted son and won’t be back home until May 7th.

Internet access may be possible occasionally and I will try to post updates when I can. So I guess this is notification that I am temporarily hijacking my own website for my travel journal.

I guess if you think about this trip being about adoption this can fit right into the theme. But I’m pretty sure that this process is quite a bit different than the adoptions we do in the animal shelter.

Well, my flight leaves in 12 hours, so it’s time for the final countdown. My bags are packed and I think everything is ready. I’ll continue this countdown in my sleep…

Who wouldn’t think this is adorable? Romeo and Julio have entered a photo contest and chose to show off their cutest trick in this picture. Mainly it’s a great trick since Julio is being quiet and not barking or chasing anything. For Romeo the trick is that he doesn’t completely cover his nose and forget to breathe – we don’t expect much from him.

Help support Willamette Humane Society and vote for my boys. Here is their contest entry. They are the cutest of course, but you can feel free to look at the other cute pets if you’d like.

On Friday I received the news that my car, the trusty mutt mover, was on its last legs (wheels?). A trip to the mechanic in Tigard revealed a medley of maladies that unfortunately weren’t worth addressing on a 26 year old car with over 300,000 miles on it.

Old Blue was my first car, a gift from my parents when I was almost 17. At the time it was 12 years old and had over 140,000 miles on it.

It survived a road trip to Texas when two friends and I set out after graduating from high school. It sat fairly idle during the years I was in college in Boston; it was too expensive to have a car in the city, so Old Blue stayed in Oregon.

After returning to Oregon, it again became our primary transportation. Eventually Old Blue was relegated to the role as our secondary vehicle (pronounced vuh-hickle, says Candice). Still Old Blue managed to outlive two of our other “new” car who succumbed to accidents over the years.

When I began working at Heartland Humane Society, I discovered that I could fit four large dog crates in the back, a skill that has been used many, many times since then. It has transported cats, dogs, and rabbits from shelters everywhere from Portland and Roseburg to Eugene and Newport to Albany and Salem.

After getting Romeo, our Great Dane, in 2006 I’m not sure the back seat has ever been up again. I even found a huge foam mat to make the back comfy for him when he sprawls out.

Currently Old Blue helps transport cats for a local rescue group when I take their kitties to work with me so they can get fixed at our spay/neuter clinic.

It is great having a beat up old car that I don’t worry about getting dirty or scuffed up when I haul all these critters around. I think my biggest stress to choosing a “new” car will be trying to figure how much of a “dog car” it will be and worrying about the first dents or scratches that happen.

Old Blue is still drivable (until it isn’t), so I have a little time to figure out what the car plan will be.

While at the mechanics on Friday I did get to visit with the dogs of M&W Automotive. These three get to hang out in the office and are very nice greeters.

The dogs enjoying the sun in the office

The black and white boy is a rat terrier, Jack Russell mix. They call him their Jack Rat :) The boy on the chair is the stockiest rat terrier I’ve met but has the cutest tan eyebrows. Rudy’s face and expression reminded me of Julio.

If I don’t get another Volvo, I’ll miss going to M&W. They have taken care of our family’s Volvos for many years and are great folks. And of course the furry office companions are adorable.