a vacation and a Dog Beach

Took Jordan with us to Florida for a family reunion. It was great to get away from cold upstate NY and Florida is one of the few states Jordan has never been to. For the most part is was hot and muggy but we did get away from the family on Saturday morning and managed to find the hip dog beach thanks in large to the internet.

It was amazing. It looked like nothing from the road, a dirt pull off on the side of the road with a small brown sign that said Dog Beach on it (right next to the No Parking at Any Time sign). No one was paying attention to the No Parking sign but we hoped they were paying attention to the other one.

We got suited up and took Jordan out to see the beach. She used to love to swim, but since losing most of her eyesight she hasn't had many opportunities that were safe and controlled enough to make it happen. Anyways, there were tons of dogs coming and going from the entrance so we carried Jordan - which ended up being necessary since the tide was high and the "path" to the beach was completely under water.

So there we were wading our way out to a beach, being greeted by several enthusiastic pups along the way.

Once we turned the corner we were shocked by the sight. White sand, clear blue water, dogs of all sizes and shapes - it was heaven! There were dogs and people and boats everywhere. Apparently driving to this beach really isn't the norm, there must have been 30+ boats anchored right in the shallow water with dogs jumping on and off them.

Much like the path to the beach the beach it self was mostly under water, just a small sandbar that popped out in the middle making the population of humans all gather close.

For Jordan's sake we took the path less traveled and opted for a grassy non-beach spot on the far side of the little bay we were in. A few dogs came over to see us, but none bothered Jordan and Jordan didn't bother them so it worked great. TT and I took turns wading over ot the sandbar to see all the action. There were so many different dogs, it was awesome.
Dogs playing fetch, dogs playing with dogs, dogs swimming with their people. I wish there was someplace like that closer to us.

Jordan seemed completely content being held at the beach. She did do a little bit of swimming, but wasn't really into it. We stayed just long enough to give TT a sunburn and then headed back to the hotel.

Back home in NY!

Jordan and Colten arrived back home in upstate NY last Sunday night!

It was a long 2.5 weeks waiting for them, and an even longer total 6 weeks that they have been gone -- but finally the house is full again. Jordan is understandably disappointed that she is not the only dog again and that she had to abandon 80 degree weather for high 20's with some snow still on the ground... but she otherwise seems to be adjusting just fine.

Both Reggie and Harley went crazy when she got home, we had to mae sure she had a lot of extra space the first few days, but we are slowly getting bac into the normal routine.

Here is a pic of her older sister Reggie Love and her younger brother Harley in the yard:

Reggie Love & Harley Hamburger

1 week check-up, done!

We went back to the Vet Cancer Center today for the first time in a week. It was our one week check-up as well as our final appointment. Future check-ups will be done with a neurologist back home. Everyone stopped by our room to say goodbye, and Jordan insisted on being aloof about the whole process. Here she is with her radiation doctor:


Dr. Lyons & Jordan

We also were very fortunate to cross paths with Honey & her peeps again. Today Honey graduated!
Honey has had an uphill battle against her side-effects, and they will probably be getting worse before they get better, but we are pulling for her!
We hope that eating becomes something fun again and breathing becomes something easy soon...


Honey, Lindsay, Jordan, & Colten

9 nights left in California before Jordan and I get to fly home...

Brains at Rest

Jordan and I have spent the last week at Grandma's.
She is doing really well with her stroke recovery, but she needs 24 hour care so Jordan and I are on duty.
For me that means cooking, cleaning, engaging, and physical help moving around & doing therapy. For Jordan that means keeping Grandma's lap warm and bonding about brain problems. It seems that Jordan got the easier job:

Brains at rest.

While at Grandma's I dug up a pic of Grandma and one of her first dogs. Her twin brothers found Rex abandoned as a puppy and stuck under a nearby wheat elevator. They brought him home and were allowed to keep him:


Going to back to my mother's house in Pasadena for two nights before coming back for a full week of grandparent duty.

Jordan has been dong well, a bit less energy than usual, and she did end up getting on radiation burn in her mouth, but it has not caused any major problems so we are lucky.

Hard to Resist, a note from Colten

With Tristan now out of town I am a single parent to the Flying J and she is milking it for all she can. Last night she gave me the eye from the bed. You know the look... it's her "don't you think I should sleep in the bed tonight look." She was kind enough to let me snap a pic before I agreed to her demands and diaper'd up the pup for the night in the person bed:



She only got me up twice in the night to bring her a bowl of water at 3am and a trip outside at 5am.

And she has been on me all day today with special requests too.
Pet me, hold me, take me to Trader Joes... I thought it would never end - and then, out of the blue I found myself alone on the couch for the first time all day. I called her a couple times, and I could hear her in the kitchen but I had no idea what she was doing nor why she wouldn't come. I finally got up to check on her and found this:



That would be her "I'll wait here until you feed me (and you really should feed me) pose..."
It wasn't a meal time, but how could I resist? One bowl of sloppy prescription wet food coming right up.

I've got 16 more days before I head home, let's hope I eventually get to have the upper hand in this relationship.

Graduation Day!

Jordan completed her 16th and final radiation session today.
She almost caused a postponement when she violated the no-food-before anesthesia rule and cracked open her post-treatment food stash in the car on the way there, but thankfully she was able to still complete her appointment.

Jordan now has a picture on the official Radiation Graduation board:



We are so happy that this chapter in her already rocky medical career is behind us. We still have 1 week for possible side-effects to surface, and 2 weeks before she can fly home, but we'll take it.

Thanks for all the love and support via the web.

xo,
the Jordan Love Team

15 of 16 down

Today marked the second to last treatment. Jordan was fortunate in that she only needed 16 sessions, and we are thankful that they are just about done. It worked out great for TT and I to have her radiation done in CA and we know Jordan appreciated the much warmer climate during her treatment.

Tomorrow Tristan flies back to NY to finally be at home with the other two dogs, and dig fully into the mountain of work that has been accumulating. Jordan and I are bummed that we can't go back yet, but we need to give her a good couple weeks to let the extra brain swelling from the radiation go down before she has to get on an airplane and fly at 30,000 feet.

To commemorate her second to last day we took a couple pics on Tristan's cell...


Jordan flying by the VCG sign

And this is Honey. Honey is another regular who is on the same schedule as us so we have seen her almost every day. She is such a sweet, sweet dog. Tristan is totally smitten with her - how could you not be? Between her tumor and the radiation side effects, Honey has had a tough time of late, which was hard to hear. We hope that her side effects ease up and the rest of her radiation goes by quickly! And most of all we hope that things get a whole lot better with her tumor for both her and her people. Jordan didn't get to meet Honey directly, but she assures us that she is rooting for her as well.

We hope you feel better soon Honey!

On our way home we ran some errands around Pasadena. It was dark and looked like raining, but we some how missed it. We did, however, get a really big rainbow. This is what we could capture on the cell:


So tomorrow Tristan will be gone, and Jordan and I will have 2 more weeks in CA. Our time will be spent doing a lot of computer work, and spending a lot of time at Grandma's, enjoying the weather while we can, and of course, missing the rest of the pack back home...

weekend recap, a note from colten

Well we had a great weekend. Leaving town for the day on Saturday was great. I had not been to Dana Point since I spent the night on the Pilgrim Brig in 4th grade (see photo of TT & the boat in last post). This was our 7th anniversary and we think it is only the second one that we have actually celebrated. To mark the occasion we got a room at the St. Regis which was a really ritzy place. I managed to call ahead and had the room decorated with rose petals. Tristan was really surprised, which made me happy of course. She is very, very hard to surprise and they almost gave it away at the front desk but they didn't. It was amusing watching the bellman walk the dog crate into the room while not stepping on a single rose petal.
Jordan was agreeable enough to model the petals on Sunday morning so they could be documented:


The hotel was amazing. Our room even had a balcony:

TT & Jordan on our balcony

The balcony over looked the garden of course:

TT & Jordan take a stroll through the upper garden

There was also a botanical garden and some places to walk around... oh and several pools which were all open 24 hours:

Jordan & I near a pool

So we had a great weekend, TT got me a great anniversary gift, and we have had the chance to be reminded that taking a whole day off (really, no work - not even a little) can be a really healthy thing... especially when you spend it in good company.

An anniversary and a day away

So we went to Dana Point, which is South of LA on the way to San Diego. Our first stop was Dana Point Harbor, which has a marine life refuge. No dogs are allowed on the beach, but Jordan walked around the harbor and smelled everything. There were lots of other dogs there, so there were lots of smells.



We arrived at low tide, and Colten and I went down to the beach. We saw sea anemones, mussels, hermit crabs and other creatures.



It was very cool. Then we headed over to the hotel. We got a great last minute deal at The St. Regis Monarch Beach, a five-star hotel and spa that's totally unbelievable. We set Jordan up in the room, bought some sandwiches, and headed to the beach for a picnic. We met a guy there who brought his cat on a leash.



The cat's name is Tiger, and we immediately regretted not bringing Jordan with us!



We went down to the water where we watched lots of surfers, then saw a beautiful sunset. ---Tristan

Jordan's Training Program (a note from Tristan)

When I picked up Jordan from the Vet Cancer Group the other day, Amanda, the vet tech who works in radiation and we see most often, said, “You know, Jordan doesn’t like to be in a cage.” I asked her what she meant, and she said, “Well, the first time we put her in a cage after her treatment, she barked her head off, informing us that her accommodations were unacceptable. So, we’ve made other arrangements for her. Sometimes, she has the run of the radiation area. Sometimes, we put her in an exam room. Usually, we hold her. Like, whichever vet tech isn’t doing anything, their job is to hold Jordan.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Jordan sleeps in a crate, that she’s been in a crate since she was a baby, and is totally used to it. Jordan has managed to train the entire staff there to cater to her. I kid you not.

On our way to the car I ran into her doctor, Dr. Lyon, in the parking lot and I quizzed him a little since she seems to be doing so well. He said that she can develop side effects even weeks after the radiation ends, so we still may be in for some tough times. But he admitted that she is “quite a character. She’s definitely a very special dog.” I mean of course we think she’s special, but coming from a guy who sees lots of dogs, that was something. Or maybe he says that to everyone? Well anyway, tomorrow is our anniversary, Colten and I have been together for 7 years! We are celebrating by taking a little trip…we are bringing the patient with us since she has the weekend off from radiation…details to come soon.


Jordan Love: trainer of people

Halfway Point. a note from colten

Jordan has officially finished 1/2 of her radiation treatments! Thus far she is doing great and we hope that continues through the second half.

This past weekend we spent the entire time with my grandparents. Jordan and Grandma got to bond over brains gone bad... Grandma also has an adorable black lab (the third "person" she asked about once she regained some speech Saturday after her stroke last Thursday) named Molly who was really, really interested in meeting Jordan - but per Jordan's requests they each held court in separate sections of the house during our time there.

One person Jordan doesn't mind co-habitating with is my mom's cat Azule, who Jordan likes a lot (although Azule is still not certain what she thinks of Jordan). They've known each other for 5+ years, but only spend a few weeks together any given year.

Anyways, this morning they shared a bit of sunshine on the couch together before Jordan went in for her treatment:

a black & white kitty for a black & white dog

What A Week! from Tristan

Well, it's been what I can only describe as a pretty hell-acious week. Filming kicked off last Friday, and went very smoothly. We shot at a studio where I have worked before, and all the performers showed up and gave me great scenes. Saturday was a super long day. It was a workshop day where we shoot with extras, a script, a teleprompter, demonstrations, etc. and no matter how I try to be uber-efficient, it ends up being a long day. We shot at an absolutely spectacular house in Bel Air. It's on the market for $4.7 million. Sunday was no shooting, but I was working frantically to finish the rest of my scripts.

Monday we arrived at a new house in Encino where the owner left the door open and a note. I love those houses! We brought Jordan with us and our friend and production assistant Emily was going to take her to her radiation appointment. My camera guys arrived and we were headed upstairs to look at a couch I wanted moved. I bent down and picked up Jordan to bring her with us, and I felt my back go out. I have chronic lower back problems, so it wasn't a surprise. But as the hours went by, the pain got worse and worse. I literally could not stand up or walk. I could lay flat on my back or sit propped up in a chair. It made my day twice as hard because usually I am flying around the set, talking to my crew, moving pillows, showing my cast what I want, etc. I couldn't lift my binder or move. I took half a Vicoden and it did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Luckily, I had amazing performers that day (several of whom are friends, too) and they all rocked it out. After eight hours on set, we wrapped and I went straight to a clinic in the Valley where all the porn stars go. The nurse was extremely rude and was convinced that I was there to score pain pills. But the doctor was nice, gave me a shot of a heavy-duty anti-inflammatory and a prescription for a muscle relaxer. I went home, got in bed at 7:30 with the heating pad and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning and actually could walk. That's improvement. Although I did not want to be sleepy or loopy on set, I had to take another muscle relaxer because I was still in a lot of pain. We shot at the same house where we shot Chemistry #1, a house owned by cool swingers. The first scene was awesome. There was some drama after the second scene, but I made it through the day. Monday, I shot Derrick Pierce and he gave me the number of his acupuncturist, so I made an appointment for Wednesday. I was there for two hours, and afterwards felt a lot better.

Thursday was supposed to be a short day, like 4 hours, all we had to do was shoot me talking to the camera. As we drove to the location, a house in Eagle Rock, it became clear that we should have scouted this one before we booked it. We drove up several steep hills and a curvy dirt road and I knew immediately: my lighting guy is not going to be able to get his truck here. He had to park the truck down the hill, and my D.P. drove his (smaller truck) down, loaded it up, and drove up to the house. Then the choice was to schlep all the heavy equipment down 45 steep stairs or up 40 steep stairs on the other side of the house. What a nightmare! As soon as we got there, I heard lots of noise. A bunch of different dogs in the neighborhood barking their brains out. Chainsaws buzzing at multiple locations. Good times! Inside, the house was so tiny it was cramped. The owner left her brother in charge. He walked up to me and said, "Hey, the last time I was on a movie set, there was an amazing spread of food. When does the catering truck get here?" Um, right. We had a box of coffee and a bag of bagels. And not enough for him.

We set up the lights and attempted to begin filming. I could only get through like 90 seconds of script before the pack of dogs began barking, the chainsaws buzzed, or a helicopter -- yes, a helicopter -- hovered right over the house. Seriously. This is not a piece that can have lots of cuts, it is meant to be one long cut. So I have no idea how I/my editor is going to fix it. We managed to wrap by 3 pm, and I called my location guy and demanded a refund since I had paid for 10 hours (usually there is a minimum no matter how early you leave) and the location SUCKED. We then drove more than an hour to pick up Jordan at the vet. We scooped her up and got back in the car for another hour drive home to Pasadena. I reclined the front seat with the baby in my lap and promptly fell asleep. About ten minutes before we got home, Colten's phone rang and his voice sounded weird. I sat up as he was hanging up. His grandmother had a stroke. Yikes. We got home, he got into his mom's car and off they drove to Orange County. I crashed with Jordan.


Jordan enjoys some sun Saturday morning.

I woke up Friday morning and took Jordan in for her treatment. I was supposed to finish editing The Expert Guide to the G-spot a week ago, so I brought the disk with the rough cut on it so I could work on it while I waited. I slid the disk into my laptop and the DVD/CD drive started making this really, really loud horrible sound. Great. Just great! It couldn't read the disk. I worked on some other stuff until Jordan came out. Then I got lost trying to find the entrance to the 10 West. I finally got on the 405, which was its usual parking lot and headed for Universal City. I had to go to the Vivid office in order to record voiceovers for the G-spot movie. Since Colten was still in Orange County, I had Jordan with me and couldn't take her home first. I put her in her airplane bag and snuck her into the offices (the head honcho does not allow dogs in the office). I went upstairs to record my VOs and explain to the head editor why I had not finished my final cut. He set me up on a computer and I watched the rest and made some notes. My back was hurting since I had to carry the pup around all day, which I should not have been doing. Oh, and I didn't even tell you about the dog poop on my shirt!

It's Saturday and Jordan is officially wearing diapers since her butt has been leaking these past few days (see photo...of the diapers). Probably from daily anesthesia. Of course, she manages to make them look ultra cute.

We're headed to Orange County for the weekend. Grandma has bounced back quite a bit from her stroke and is coming home from the hospital!

5 of 16 down & Take Your Dog to Work Day

To date Jordan has had 5 of the 16 scheduled radiation zapping sessions... a mildly upset lower intestines but otherwise all is well in Jordan land! Today we brought along cupcakes from My Little Cupcake in Studio City to the radiation team at the Vet Cancer Center. They seemed happy and they all know her by name now which is nice...

Earlier this week Jordan came along with us to the first part of our work day which is how she got to meet the lovely Penny Flame:

Penny gives us the one-eyed Jordan wink

Penny Flame is a huge dog person and had heard a lot about Jordan (she is co-directing one of the current projects so she has been on set everyday). They instantly got along great.
Penny had a puppy named Lunch Box who was unfortunately one of the many victims who did not make it during the pet food/rat poison fiasco in Spring of 2007. :(
She is planning on adopting a new dog soon though!

One more day of tough work and then we'll have a lot more time to spend with the baby.

2 out of 16 down, a note from Colten.

So we picked up Jordan on Friday and she was super sleepy but we think glad to see us. Her head has a spot right on top shaved, but not all the way to the skin and since the pigment in her skin is tinted to match her hair it is hardly noticable. She did have a few thin blue mapping lines, but nothing spectacular to report.

On Saturday she spent the whole day at home with my cousin, who is living at my mom's house in Pasadena during law school. They had a good day together, although Jordan's tummy was acting up a bit. We got home on Sat in time to play some soccer ball fetch.
We went to bed and got to sleep in late on Sunday, which means about 8:15am! Jordan and I got up and let TT sleep much later. Jordan and I had a superbowl party to plan (a party for 2, Jordan and I of course) and she seemed to perk up for the first time since we got to CA. This is mostly due to the medications she is on... but it was good to see her have some energy and want to really play.

We lounged all day and TT and Mom joined us in time to see the Giants pull out a 4th quarter win. Jordan liked the gatorade commercial with the thirty lab best - Harley is a loud drinker and she cocked her head a few times trying to figure out what she was hearing... otherwise she was mostly disappointed in the ads this year.

Tomorrow is treatment #3 and the first of five days in a row. We are shooting so she will come to the set with us, and will then be whisked off to the Vet Cancer Group by Emily (the PA) and Julie (the guest guardian angel) where she will spend the day and night.
We pick her up on Tuesday after our shoot and that should be it as far as overnights - a relief to us all...

No new pic this time, so here is a pic from a past trip to a California beach:

Jordan is, of course, demanding loudly that someone throws her ball again.


Thank you ALL SO MUCH for all of your comments. TT, Jordan and I really appreciate it.

Best,
c

Day 1 of 16, a note from Colten

We dropped Jordan off at the doctors today for her first treatment. Today is the longest appointment as they line up their instruments and draw maps on her head. She was sort of nonchalant about the whole thing - casually saying hello to the vet techs and giving a strong one eyed stare to the three-legged german shephard that walked past us.
Because of the timing of her appointment and the timing of our work she is spending the night at the center and we pick her up tomorrow after her second treatment.

Since today was the last day for her to have a regular hair-do (shaving tomorrow, and then loss of the hair with radiation) we of course took some pics...

First up, Jordan snuggles with her new blanky that we got & decorated for her to take the hospital each day:


This is a pic of Jordan and I just before going into the Vet Cancer Center:


More news when we pick the baby up tomorrow!

a note from Tristan

Monday, we had our first appointment with Dr. Lyons at the City of Angels Veterinary Cancer Group. He looked at the MRI she got at Animal Medical Center in New York City and did an exam. He essentially agreed with the neurologist Jordan saw at AMC. We talked about the benefits and risks. Basically, because of where the tumor is in her brain, surgery is not an option. Radiation can shrink the tumor and increase her longevity. He told us she needed a CT Scan in order to map the radiation. Apparently, it's all computerized, and the computer needs a CT Scan in order to do it. So, we left her there and picked her up several hours later. It's hard being out here and trying to balance an intense work experience (shooting three movies) with a very intense medical experience (daily radiation). Tomorrow is the first radiation appointment and it will be the longest, since they will do the radiation mapping as well. After that, she will have an appointment Monday through Friday for about 45 minutes. We plan to drop her off and wait most days except the days when we are shooting. Some of the shoot days, she will stay overnight at the hospital and others we are sending our friend (and Production Assistant) Emily to drop her off and pick her up. She will have 16 days of radiation. After that, we need to wait about a week and a half before she can fly. She'll have a follow up appointment in order to get the "all clear" from Dr. Lyons. I will fly home before her treatment ends in order to take care of the other dogs and Colten will stay here with Jordan.

Of course, Jordan does not understand anything that's going on. She continues to be herself, although she's definitely sleepier and a lot less coordinated, both side effects of the anti-seizure medication she's on. When the radiation begins, she will be put on steroids as well. Another side effect is "excessive hunger" and she has become food crazy. She has not been sleeping very well since we got here, she wakes up a lot and gets really fussy. She has slept on or near my head the last two nights which hasn't made my sleep very good either. All three of us seem to still be on East Coast time, so Colten and Jordan have been waking up at about 6 am. I fall asleep at 9 pm. I took a nap today so I could stay up until 11 pm to watch the premiere of Lost. Jordan is sitting by my side in "my chair," a cool recliner in the den where I sit because it's cat-free. She had a good game of fetch with the soccer ball, her favorite toy, today (see photo). Like I said, her energy is good and she's acting like herself.

I feel confident about the treatment because Jordan is so strong. She's really fierce and she has weathered so many medical things in her life with ease and grace. She is just so tough! That gives me hope that she'll get through this. Tomorrow they shave her head, and her hair may not grow back. We'll take some photos for sure.

We started the blog in order to be able to update our friends, Jordan's friends and fans, and anyone else who may be curious about this special little creature. We welcome your comments, especially any stories or thoughts you have about Jordan. We will read them to her every day!

Welcome!

Welcome to Jordan Love's blog!
While it is unclear exactly who is always going to be the one writting this blog, it is definitely clear who it is all about - and that would be Ms. Jordan Love, the one-eyed wunder dog of flying boston terrier fame.
As some of you know by now Jordan had two seizures in mid-January and was taken to New York City for further neurological testing. On Jan 18th, 2008 Jordan was diagnosed with a non-operable brain tumor. Now out in California we have planned to start Jordan on the only course of treatment available for her tumor in its location, radiation.
This blog will keep you up to date on her day to day happenings as she dives head first into radiation treatment at the posh Veterinary Cancer Group facility in Los Angeles.