Farewell Golden Boy

on the field

A great heart was stilled on one of the kindest Borzoi I've had the privilege of knowing and sharing my life with. I cannot thank Nadine enough for sharing him with me and Victor for all these years. He was a wonderful boy, who even while working through the results of a grave injury several years ago (ran into the cross-fencing and temporarily paralyzed from a spinal shock) and dealing with decreased mobility, maintained such a happy attitude and acted like he had never had a bad day in his life.

on the runway for a Christmas modeling show

Kalipso was a remarkable dog in so many ways - beautiful and talented and such a love. I believe he is still the youngest Borzoi to complete an AKC Dual Championship. He finished his conformation championship by taking Winners Dog from the 12-18 Month Dog class at the Rocky Mountain Borzoi Club specialty show under breeder/judge Gwen Post. He had also won Best Opposite in Sweeps under Rebecca Peters-Campbell there. We were pleasantly surprised by his enthusiasm for running sports considering he was such a large boy, and from lines that generally did not come to mind when thinking of lure coursing. He was remarkably agile for such a big boy, with that agility at speed garnering him a Best in Field win. One of his final wins was an Award of Merit at the Borzoi Club of America's centennial national specialty show.

Sadly, it came to a point where the meds could no longer help him, and he lost that sparkle in his eye and it came time to say goodbye. My heart hurts with emptiness.

BIF DC Rising Star Kalipso, SC FCh

May 20, 2002 - October 10, 2012

Farewell my golden boy.

http://www.gryffynsaeyrieborzoi.com/borzoi/kalipso.html

Kalipso - Hard Knocks

Kal, in his prime on the field
A couple Sundays ago, while running and rough-housing in the backyard, Kalipso (BIF DC Rising Star Kalipso, FCh SC) apparently got run into the fence. I say "apparently" since it was not witnessed - but there were 2 scrapes in the middle of his face that
could have been caused from him hitting the woven wire horse fencing, and he was found lying about 10 feet from the mid-yard fence.

He could not stand up, and no response to pinching on his rear feet and his front legs were stiff. The only thing moving was his head and neck, as he looked around in wonderment.

At the ER they were able to get a deep pain response in all 4 feet and his front legs had lessened their stiffness. The vet also checked reflexes and he displayed a response in all 4 legs - and they were able to get him sitting up, and he tried to stand albeit standing lasted about half a second.

They started Kal on big doses of steroids and planned to keep him overnight. By that afternoon, he would stand without assistance but still needed some assistance getting about, and his feet would knuckle over on occasion.

Monday morning was a consult with a neurologist. He thought that there was no trauma to the vertebrae and that Kal had suffered a spinal shock due to some sort of trauma. The prognosis is optimistic, but he's not out of the woods.

Within a couple days Kal was walking without needing sling support either front or rear - although he was very wobbly. When done with his business in the yard he would head straight for the door and sometimes it could be hard to keep up with him! Thankfully he has maintained his sunny attitude the entire time - I've always loved his personality and temperament.

visiting after working the runway
Ages ago Gekko, a Chinese Crested, blew two disks while in her crate (invertebral disk disease). We came home from lure coursing, and when we took her out to potty, her rear end just fell over. That one required surgery to put her back together - she's still going strong too.

Kal seems to be continuing to progress in baby steps - although he still looks like a drunken Borzoi when stepping out to do his business in the yard (on lead, of course). He will lift his leg to pee and it seems as though he is able to keep it raised for longer periods each time. He also has begun doing the "tough man" routine after a pee or poop, scratching his feet on the ground while looking at the young boys in the middle yard. He has gone through all the steroids prescribed and will get a check-up next week so the vet can see his progress.

Fingers crossed that he manages to fully recover.