Today Juno and I went to the Animal Cancer and Imaging Center (www.veterinarycancer.com) for her consult.  After reviewing her files, the chest x-rays we had done this morning (no metastasis and her heart looks great!), and a physical exam, the specialists recommended surgical oncology instead of radiation.  The surgeon – an expert in his field who was apparently my awesome vet’s professor at one point – can go into the site and remove a wide margin, including the nerves that this nasty little tumor had wrapped itself around and will do reconstructive surgery if necessary to make sure that Juno heals well and doesn’t lose any mobility in her elbow.  They felt that the surgery has at least as good a prognosis as radiation, but with fewer risks and side effects especially since it’s only one procedure and not a month of daily treatments.  Apparently there are a lot of recent studies backing up the argument to use surgical oncology to cure this type of cancer.  My regular vet spoke to the oncologist, too.  She’s convinced and that’s good enough for me.

We know from experience that Two-Toes heals well from surgery, so I’m optimistic about this treatment.

The surgery runs around $3,000 (not counting the $1,000 or so for the initial tumor removal and biopsy, plus these follow-ups and consultations).  It’s $1,000-2,000 less than the updated estimate they gave me for radiation, so that’s a good thing…but it’s still more than I can afford on my own.  As soon as I raise the money, I can schedule the surgery.  Thanks for any way that you can help!

***POST-SURGERY UPDATE***

Thanks to the generosity of family, friends, and friends of friends (and various credit card companies), Juno had her surgery in early April. The margins came back clean and she’s already back to ruling the world like nothing was ever wrong!

I’ve set up a site where people can contribute to Juno’s radiation treatment.

The story is on that page, but long story short, Juno had a tumor removed from her leg.  It was malignant, but it was low-grade and is treatable. With radiation treatment, the prognosis is an 85-90% chance of eliminating the cancer. 

How often do you get to cure cancer?  Not very…which, as many of you know, I can say from experience after losing Wild Bill and Olive in the past year.  The treatment is expensive, but there’s no way I can pass up this opportunity to cure Juno.  She was the first – the one who taught me everything.  She may not be a young dog, but she’s healthy enough that there’s no reason why we shouldn’t get at least a few more good years together. 

So, I’m going to find a way to get her this treatment.  I’m trying a lot of different avenues to come up with the money, and here’s a way for the people that love Juno to help.  If you’re interested, here’s where you can donate. 

I know it’s tough out there for everyone, so don’t feel bad if you don’t contribute.  We know you still love us and your support means a lot! 

It’s QueryFail Day on Twitter!

Agents and editors have joined together to post their query turn-offs (posts are tagged with #queryfail).  According to agent Colleen Lindsay, this may become a regular event.  Aspiring authors can only hope!

 This is Twitter at its best – providing personal, bite-size insights into one of the most fundamental steps to breaking into the publishing industry.  So far it’s as entertaining as it is informative (if not more!  And if anything needs an injection of humor, it’s the querying process…).

 Enjoy the holiday, writers!

AbeBooks.com interviews Dr. Bryan Cummins, professor, collector, author and Ontario-based expert on dog books in The Dog and the Novel: Loyal Companions.

When asked why so many authors have chosen to write novels about dogs, Dr. Cummins answers: “I think there are a few reasons.  One is that the dog is found in almost every society in the world.  It was the first domestic species, the most widely dispersed and, as I mentioned above, the most diverse in it the number of breeds.  Almost everybody can relate to a dog, especially since so many of us have them as companion animals (I am not fond of the term “pet”) during childhood.  In that sense, as well, they bring us back to our youth:  a gentler, kinder, nurturing time of our lives before mortgages, death, and the worries and anxieties of adulthood.

“Also, the dog allows a human character in a book to show another side.  Somebody can be a bastard but show his/her tender side towards her/his dog (even Hitler was said to love his German Shepherd while he was trying to eradicate half the human population).  Dogs are also perceived – and utilized – to show those traits that we wish that we could manifest more frequently: kindness, wisdom, compassion, fidelity, strength of character, tenderness, valour.  With few exceptions – Cujo probably being the best known – dogs are usually noble characters.”

As Dr. Cummins says, people tend to relate differently to their animals than they do to other humans, but I think it goes further than that.  Dogs play a larger and closer role in our society than they did in the days when they were primarily farm animals or guardians, and our relationships to them have become more complex. (Check out Jon Katz’s The New Work of Dogs for more on this subject.)  Dogs, as a species, have spent their existence mastering how to read human behavior, body language, and emotion.  We bring them deeper into our homes and our emotional lives, and they continue to adapt to their more central role.  As a result, the way that people relate to their animals, and what they go through with their animals, can end up affecting the way that they relate to other people, and even to society as a whole.  That’s the piece that I like to explore in my fiction.

At the end of the interview, there’s a nice list of dog books ranging from rare books to contemporary fiction and the classic dogs of children’s literature.