Thoughts about…

Life Happens

I apologize for my somber tone this month, so I’ll keep things brief.

Theresa and I put down our cat this week.

Dotty was nearly 18 years old, and we’d been treating her for renal failure for the past couple of years. She also had a handful of other health issues related and unrelated to her kidney problems. Until Saturday, though, things were manageable.

Soon after returning home from work Saturday afternoon, Dotty had a significant medical event. In the moment, I believed I was witnessing her passing. To my surprise and relief, though, Dotty appeared to bounce back once the event resolved. She was also fine on Sunday, but then on Monday morning Dotty collapsed. Theresa (friend/housemate) had already scheduled an appointment for her that day, so she just packed up early and rushed Dotty over to the vet. I was at work at the time, but was fortunate for the support of my supervisor and co-worker that I could make it to the vet’s office soon after the call.

Theresa and I spent the next couple of hours coming to terms with the few options that we had, none of which were good. The immediate issue was that there was fluid around Dotty’s lungs, which was caused either by heart disease or some type of cancer. Any treatment, whether it was just the short-term relief of the fluid around her lungs or the long-term solution of dealing with the actual root cause, was going to be highly invasive. It would’ve only extended her life by a couple of months and, most likely, she would’ve suffered during the process. And, even then, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t just been dealing with this same situation the following week.

So we chose to say goodbye to our sweet little kitty.

Prior to living with Theresa I never had any pets of my own, so saying goodbye to Dotty has been difficult. Even as I write this, I keep waiting for her to walk into my room seeking scratches and cuddles.

Alas, she is gone.

We received snow during the first week of the year, and then there was no precipitation until the last day or two of January. So we only had part of our trail system at Kirkwood XC groomed during that time. However, the trails that were groomed were quite good. They, along with the weather, was very consistent. So I took the opportunity to publish about two cross-country skiing videos a week during January. I was on a roll, working on a maxi-series of mini-tutorials related to downhill technique for cross-country skiing. Since then we had a bunch of rain followed by snow. So I’ve throttled back on making videos as the conditions for filming have been a bit challenging. But more snow is always a great thing!

Below are all the videos I published in January (and into the first week of February).

Thanks for being a part of my life. Until next time…

-Jared Manninen

Tahoe Trail Guide is an online resource for hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing in the Lake Tahoe region. In addition to trail data, I offer backcountry “how-to” articles and information about the local and natural history of Tahoe. Tahoe Swag is a collection of art and design products I create based on my love of the outdoors and appreciation for Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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