The 10 year period from 1998 to 2008 had a number of significant events for Lilli and Tika.  Work for me became very intense and I spent many long and often late hours before being able to come home for the first few years.  Starting in 2003 I was able to be at home with them more and more.  Both girls enjoyed going to the dog friendly park area along Lake Pontchartrain about 10 minutes from where we lived.  While both enjoyed playing with tennis balls, Tika was totally into chasing or swimming after a tennis ball.
 

Lilli and Tika - January 2005

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     Lilli had only minor medical issues during this time.

   Tika's Health Issues

     But poor Tika was prone to Soft Tissue Fatty Tumors (Lipomas).  She was also prone to Sebaceous Cysts.   Both types would grow and some had to be removed.  In November 2003 during a routine annual checkup I was advised that a large mass near her spleen was growing and of concern.  It was recommended to have surgery and investigate the mass.  The surgery was done just before Thanksgivng.  It went ok, but the healing was a disaster.  They found nothing of concern in the mass, so the surgery turned out to be unnecessary.  When it came time to take her in to have the stitches removed I asked the vet when Tika could go back into the lake to swim.  He said she could right then.  We went out, but Tika didn't act quite right, so we stopped going.  The incision did not seem to be healing properly.  The vet took a sample from the infected area and sent it off to the lab for analysis.  However, he refused to resume antibiotics or other medication until the results came back of the sample.  This would be in a week to 10 days.  Tika got worse and worse.  It was Christmas time.  Finally on the day after Christmas she could not get up to eat or go outside.  I had to lift her to a standing position.  The vet still refused to give her anything until the results came in.  I asked a neighbor with a dog if she could recommend another vet.  She did.  I rushed Tika there.  This vet examined her and was happy to give her a shot and an antibiotic.  Tika responded and was back on her feet with 2 hours.  But the healing was still not going well.  Infection was spreading quite rapidly.  Back to the clinic where the surgery was done.  The results from the lab were not conclusive.  After consultations with the head vet and the surgeon it was decided to do a special surgery to remove the infection at no charge.  It did not work either and the infection soon returned.  A third surgery was done and special drain tubes were attached to her stomach, and her front and back legs.  This worked in combination with very powerful antibiotices.  But it was not until April that her body finally got rid of all the infection.  5 months.  A super nightmare ordeal that she never deserved.

   A Promise To Tika - The Fun Times

     There was a positive that came from Tika's long ordeal.  A strong bond developed with her.  To hopefully make it up to her as much as possible I vowed to find a way to take her out to the park at the lake every day unless it was storming once she was cleared to play and swim again.  We started these wonderful fun days starting in April 2004 when she was given the okay.  I was able to keep my promise until August 28, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina changed our lives forever.  Tika had so much fun swimming for her tennis ball.  We met quite a few great people with dogs out there.  Sometimes we would be out there for as much as 4 or 5 hours.  One day we were there for 6 hours.  Tika made a lot of friends who would throw the ball out for her.
 

Lilli and Tika - January 2005

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     When the waves were 3 to 5 feet high Tika loved to swim over each wave in search of her ball.  At the wave crest she could see the where the ball was which made her swim harder toward it as she went down into the wave trough and then back up to the next crest.

   Lilli Had Fun Too

     Lilli was not much for going into the water except to go stand in it to drink some water.  Often she just loved to wander around and sniff things out.  And she loved to see if anyone had an extra treat for her.  But when the weather turned hot in 2004 I managed to get her in the water and teach her to swim.  I accomplished this by getting in the water with her where she could easily stand.  Then, I very slowly backed up into deeper water and had her come with me.  She did.  So, I kept going until she could no longer stand.  I coaxed her to come further.  She trusted me and started swimming.  She did fine.  Although she never became a true swimming lover the way Tika loved to swim, Lilli would go in a couple of times a day and swim for a tennis ball up to about 20 to 25 feet out into the water.  Tika would swim for hours without getting tired or bored.  Lilli would go in just a few times each day.

     On Christmas Day 2004 it sleeted and snowed almost all day.  We went out to the park and enjoyed the wintry weather event that is so rare in New Orleans.  Then, during January of 2005, a great friend with a Boxer named Rudy, came out with her digital camera and took some terrific pictures of Lilli and Tika.  Thank you Elizabeth S.  She took all of the pictures on this page.
 

Tika - January 2005

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   And Then Came Hurricane Katrina

    The 2005 Hurricane Season was one New Orleans will never forget.  Katrina struck Monday, August 29.  The Friday afternoon before Katrina was the first time that the Category 5 storm was forecast to strike New Orleans.  The weekend was a nervous one for all.  We spent our last time at the lake on Saturday evening.  We all hoped we could come back in a few days.  Lilli, Tika and I pack just a few essentials into a 32 year old Volkswagen Beatle on Sunday and headed out.  The following morning Hurricane Katrina struck.  After the storm passed a number of levees failed which led to several portions of the city flooding to as much as 10 to 12 feet or more.  Our home had almost 6 feet of water.  The water was in there for nearly 2 weeks.  Living in a single story home resulted in a loss of virtually everything of ours.

   22 Months in Orlando

     We evacuated to Orlando to stay with my sister, Jan, and her husband, Ray.  We spent the next 22 months there.  Thank you Jan and Ray for letting us stay there.  We found one dog friendly park in Orlando where Tika could swim in a manmade lake.  We went to it a couple of times a week until early 2007 when they drained it to do construction of a partial retaining wall.During the summer of 2006 our home in New Orleans began being rebuilt.

     Prior to Katrina Tika had been developing a Sebaceous Cyst on one back leg on the lower thigh.  It had been growing slowly.  Once in Orlando we went to a vet who did a nice job taking it off.  Tika recovered from this surgery during the winter of 2006/2007.  However, a year later there was yet another cyst that developed on the other leg in the same area along with one on the base of her tail.  Both were growing.  So, surgery was done again on both.  A biopsy revealed that the one on her leg was cancerous.  She had healing troubles again.  She accidentally ripped on the stitches on the leg with the surgery which delayed her full recovery.  Finally she recovered just in time for us to return to New Orleans in early July.
 
 

Lilli and Tika Composite from January 2005

   Back to New Orleans July 5, 2007

     We arrived back in New Orleans on July 5 to our completely rebuilt home.  Both Lilli and Tika remembered everything as if it was yesterday in spite of the fact that everything inside the house was new.  They were both very happy to be back.  We couldn't wait to go back to the lake.  So many of our friends were gone and had not come back.

     Our first day back at the lake revealed a bad change in Tika's mobility.  This wasn't apparent until she went down the steps into the water.  The most recent surgery on her back leg had resulted in some permanent muscle damage that affected Tika being able to climb steps.  It also affected her swimming.  The back leg with the surgery was not able propel her normally.  Her back end listed to one side.  She could still swim fairly well though.  She could not climb the 8 to 10 steps to get back out of the water.  I had to carry her up the steps.  In spite of these problems she wanted to stay and swim for 2 to 3 hours.  This was great for her.  She was so happy to be back at her favorite place on Earth.

     But as the weather began to cool in the fall the lowering water temperature was affecting Tika's ability want to keep swimming.  A couple of times she had trouble even getting to the steps to get out.  By early November the water became too cold for her to go in any longer.

   Tika's Continuing and Final Decline

     Tika developed rectal incontinence during the fall.  Finally in November she shut down one day and could not even get up.  I rushed her to the vet.  They gave her a shot of Adequan which is a non-steroidal used to treat canine arthritis.  Within a few minutes she got up and responded well.  They did blood work on her and found that her Liver Function was horrible.  I took her to another vet who could do an Ultrasound on her.  He could find nothing else wrong.  What he did tell me that surprised me was that he felt Tika was more like 14 years old, not 11 or 12.  Tika was put on some medications to try to get her Liver count back down.  A later blood test did show her Liver Function had improved.  This was short lived.

     Finally on January 29, 2008, Tika walked out front to tinkle.  She turned to come back in but began walking slower and slower.  She just barely made it to the door.  I called the vet and took her there.  They could not find any new cause.  She could not move.  She just sat there.  She had just had an Adequan shot the day before so there was no reason to do another.  We waited about 3 hours to see if she would come out of it but she did not.  Both vets there told me it was Tika's time and that it would be cruel to try to keep her going.

     My insides felt like they were being ripped out as I had to say good-bye to her.  It was concluded that Tika may well have had a new cancer growing in her that had spread into her liver during the fall.  I only hope that we will be reunited some day and that I can once again throw the tennis ball for her.

     Lilli missed Tika very much too.  Although they did not play actively together, the companionship they shared created a very strong tie between them.  See the page on Lilli and Azura for the latest.
 

 Tika - A Look Back From 1998

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