Oliver Sails South: Oliver update

Oliver, as usual, is being a trooper. We are still in Ft. Lauderdale and he is still seeing Dr. Cannon at Lauderdale Veterinary Specialist. Since the last post, his appetite is starting to pick up and he is eating more of his kidney food. His blood work taken Monday showed that his kidneys are not getting any worse and one number, called BUN actually improved. They also did a ultrasound on his heart to see if fluid was rebuilding. There was some, but not enough to have to drain. We go back on Thursday for another ultrasound. Luckily he loves going to the vet.

Meanwhile, thanks to fellow boaters, we found a quiet live aboard marina in the canal section of Ft. Lauderdale. The boating community has been wonderful. We have had offers of rides, emotional support and rule bending to keep our dog here. The marina we are at is Bruno's Zoo. It turns out he is from Holland and even attended Hope and WMU. We have been talking a lot about Michigan with him. It turns out he was at Hope when 2 of my sisters were there. There is a no pets policy here, but we are so grateful he is letting us stay here. He is getting more rest, as are we. The breeze here is lovely and a residential street is a nice change. The vets keep checking up on us and one even offered her dock if we could get up a river that far. There is truly kindness yet in this world.

We had an adventure yesterday to get the rental car from the other marina. Oliver had a dinghy ride then transferred to the car which I drove back here. Dale brought the dinghy back. He did well, but then slept for a while.. You would never know he was so sick a few days ago. Nothing like a dinghy ride to perk up!

We will keep you all posted. Hopefully the worst is over. We will stay here until we are sure. Thanks for all the emails, prayers and support.