With a week remaining before Christmas, we wanted to wish everyone on the NWP Forum a very Happy Holiday Season. This year's card features our big boy, Sundance, doing his best Bob Marley imitation . Sundance is Annihaus Cassidy's Sundance Kid CGC, HIC and he'll be 6 years old on January 4.

We would like to echo SunnyD's sentiments this year: we wish everyone peace and joy and no hassles.



Wishing everyone a very happy and successful 2013.

Jim & the entire Garvie Pack

Way funny and you guys have been affected by the heat

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Awesome, Jim!! This is really fun.

James

I like it. We are in a blizzard right now , so this was quite refreshing.

Just an update for your information: Sundance was rushed to the vet on Thursday morning and underwent an emergency splenectomy. They found 3 masses on the spleen when they removed it and have sent them off for pathology. Two of them had ruptured and his abdomen was filled with blood.

However, when the surgeon was in the abdomen, she found no additional signs of tumors on any other organs, particularly the liver. And Xrays showed clear lungs and a strong heart. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the latter . Sundance spent the night at an Emergency Clinic and we took him back to our vet for a day of monitoring and tests yesterday and, last evening, he was released to go home. He virtually ran to the van (and he's not supposed to be able to walk) and with just a bit of help climbed in.

Last night, he slept in bed with Linda and went out with me a few times to pee -- a good sign actually. This morning he had another blood test and his blood levels are increasing in a positive way. He was very sweet during the visit, let the lab techs take his blood without breaking his sit/stay and even gave his vet a kiss (he has excellent taste). He's now eaten two full meals and had two normal bowel movements -- details you probably don't need to know but it is a very positive sign of his recovery. The vet is very impressed. He is a very strong boy.

When we brought Sundance in a couple of months ago, he weighed 137 lbs. This morning, he weighed 120 lbs. Most of that weight loss was due to the removal of the spleen but he's a much more svelte boy right now. So, we gave him a few bites of our shortbread cookies this morning just to help him regain his strength .

The prognosis is complicated: if the tumors are benign, he should recover from the surgery and live a long, happy life. If the results come in as hemangiosarcoma, we will have to explore treatment options. But one thing we do know: Sundance is a very strong young dog and he can handle anything we need to ask him to do.

We would appreciate you keeping SunnyD in you thoughts this Holiday Season.

Jim

Thanks for the update. I'll say prayers for him, you take good care of him.

Thank you, Preston. I know you have an acute appreciation for what we're going through right now. Having said that, SunnyD is doing very well physically. His blood numbers are almost back to normal and he's eating like a horse. He's now an almost svelte 120 lbs. but the surgeon said that most of that weight-loss was due to the spleen and tumors. She's cautiously optimistic given how well he's recovering from the surgery itself. Obviously, we have to get the pathology report and then we'll go from there. But we're very happy that Sundance is happy right now.

Here's a photo I took of him yesterday donning his antlers to help Santa out on his rounds tonight. He was just his typical self for the shoot. My best model in the household.



And every Christmas, I vow to get out and take some really cool Christmas lighting shots and this year I had planned to shoot the fountain at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. Well, the Sundance situation has pretty much tied me to the house for the past week and will be keeping me here for at least another so last night, I went out and took some lighting shots just within the neighborhood. Here's an effect I've always wanted to create. So much easier with digital than film . Enjoy. And Merry Christmas to everyone.



Jim

Hi Jim,

Thank you for the holiday wishes. I hope everything is ultimately OK with your guy. We just got in from visiting our family in Rhode Island. Over-all, it was a satisfying week. Lol, now I need to get off my arse and update the site articles. I am trying to re-post Preston's, but I am having some technical difficulties converting the code.

James

For my friends on the Forum I wanted to give you an update on Sundance. Yesterday, we said goodbye to our dear boy. He fought hard to come back from the surgery and appeared to be doing well enough a week ago for us to start chemo. However, early this week, he went downhill and required a blood transfusion and treatment for a possible ulcer. Yesterday, his bloodwork confirmed that he was not improving and was close to crashing. And so we reluctantly decided to do the humane thing and held him as he passed into eternity. He was only 6 years old.

Here is an image of him as a 4-week old puppy and the last one I took of him just before Christmas. Sundance: January 4, 2007 - January 11, 2013. He was a very good dog.



Jim

Hey Jim,

We are so sorry for your loss. Sundance was very special.

James

Jim:

Very sorry to learn of your loss. He was a special guy who brought much joy into your lives, as well as countless others. Gone much too soon.

Jim

Thank you James and Jim. Yes, he was a pretty cool guy and we are going to miss him. It's hard to explain what it's like to lose a dog you've delivered with your own two hands. He took a bit of our hearts with him when he left. But we have the other 4 to get us back to today. They still require our time, our attention and our love. And that's the best way for us to move on. Now to find the next great photo model . Tryouts will start next weekend. I'll share the results.

Jim

Belated condolences on the loss of your beloved Sundance Jim.

I am working full time at a vet clinic, about 1.5 years now (one of the reasons have been scarce here) and of course the puppies and kittens are so much fun be we see too much sadness also. Makes us appreciate the "good stuff" all the more.

Thank you Diana. Yes, I understand the range of emotions when you work at a vet clinic. We went over yesterday to pick up his ashes and got a chance to pet some puppies while we received the condolences of the staff there. They also sent us a paw imprint which we received yesterday as well. Made me realize just how big SunnyD was -- his paw was as big as my hand. But, of course, it all brought back our sadness that he was no longer with us.

He was a very good dog. And the best canine model I've ever had. The other 4 are doing their best to fill those huge paw prints. And they will. It will just take a little while.

Thanks again for your sympathy. It's very much appreciated.

Jim