Shasta Watch – August 3rd

We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment. ~George Eliot

I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and prayers for my aging Springer Spaniel, Shasta. For those of you new to the story,  she is almost 14 years old and is battling a failing liver and an inoperable nerve sheath tumor on her left front leg.

We know she's not going to get better, so my wife and I have been spoiling her and spending as much time with her as we can. Even the management here at Wow 104.3 is letting me bring her to work with me. She sleeps on the studio floor when I am on the air, and sleeps in my office when I am taking care of my other duties at Wow 104.3.

A week ago (last Tuesday) the tumor split open (right before I had to go on the air at 6am) and started to bleed badly. I grabbed a station T-Shirt and ripped it into make-shift field bandages to stop the bleeding. It's amazing how fast my old first-aid training popped back into my head. I got the bleeding stopped and tried to stay composed and focused on the air that morning; the whole time fearing the worst and dealing with the wave of emotions that were washing over me. The whole time, she acted like nothing was wrong and just slept on the studio floor.

We took her to the vet that afternoon, figuring it may well have been her last trip. They dressed the wound on the tumor and gave us some antibiotics to keep infection from setting in. We were to revisit her condition last Thursday. My wife and I discussed the options, and thought that maybe last Friday would be it. Then something remarkable happened.

Last Thursday morning I was going to leave her at home with my wife. I did my best to be quiet and leave Shasta sleeping at the foot of our bed. Just about the time I was ready to leave for the station (4:15am) she came wandering out of the bedroom with that "let's go" look. She followed me back into the bedroom where I laid back down, hoping she would lay down as well and fall back asleep. I gave it ten minutes and quietly tried to sneak by her. No good. She wasn't having it. I gathered up my things, put her on the leash and loaded her into the car.

When we arrived at WOW 104.3 (about 4:55am) I pulled into the area where I usually park. It's not well lit and there are several shrubs and trees nearby. I turned off the car and started to gather my things from the center console. Shasta started to growl. It was that low, rumbling growl of danger and warning. I looked up to find a guy standing about 8 feet in front of my car, acting very suspicious with his hands under his sweatshirt. My spider sense went off and every nerve in my body went on alert.

I froze and and tried to get a read on the guy. He had something under his sweatshirt and wasn't taking his hands out where I could see them. He was waiting for me to get out of the car. When I didn't, he started to come towards the car and approach the driver's side. I immediately restarted the car and backed away rather rapidly, shining my brights on him. He stopped momentarily, but didn't take his hands from under his sweatshirt. He stepped toward the car again. I pulled away and stopped under a street light facing him, keeping him in the headlights while I called the police. He finally turned and walked away.

I thought what may have happened if I hadn't taken her with me that day. I don't know if I would have seen him in time or at all. I may have opened the door to find him right there. I honestly think Shasta may have saved me from what possibly could have been an ugly situation.

That afternoon, our vet said to wait, and not make Friday "the day." She wanted to see how Shasta did through the weekend.

Today, (Monday 8/3) they checked her over again. The tumor didn't look nearly as bad as any of us thought it might. They redressed the bandage, gave her some "good girl" treats and sent us home. The photo you see was taken this afternoon.

We don't know how much time Shasta has, but I do know THIS. I am certain it is all the prayers and thoughts from all of the great listeners at WOW 104.3 that have helped give her a few more days, weeks or even a month or so.

My wife and family thank you for thinking of Shasta and the Summers family!

~Rich