spike got sick. i saw him peeing blood. this was about a week after leanne had gotten sick herself with the flu. we were scared; we both thought it was no good. we are relieved, after a week of peeing inappropriately, $600 in spike-testing including a tiny cat scan, and other poking and probing, they can find nothing wrong. even his heart disease is no longer the same — actually there is new heart disease, but the old disease is not there. so it is a bit confusing but not as heavily depressing anymore.