Who We Are and Why We are Writing this Blog

Lakota Sunrise and Kinsey Barnard Flathead Lake Montana

My name is Kinsey Barnard. I am a fine art photographer. What that means is I try to create works of art not just pretty pictures. I made that definition up. You will not find it in any text book. I do very little by some else’s book. I prefer to write my own. I am a lover of Nature and all creatures great and small. I live on a ranch in northwest Montana with my dog Lakota Sunrise whom I have given the nickname “Koty”.

Koty is the main character in this unfolding story. He is a purebred Siberian Husky and as any mother is prone to say, one of the most beautiful huskies to ever live. It’s not all motherly love, you can see for yourself at Koty’s Online Gallery.   As beautiful as he is on the outside it is nothing compared to how beautiful he is on the inside. I have never known a sweeter, kinder, gentler soul in all my life. He has taught me many things, most importantly to live in the moment and live each an every day to the fullest.

Koty came to me at just eight weeks old. I will never forget the frightened little ball of fur huddled in the back of a crate at the Burbank Airport. He had spent most all day getting there from Oregon. I will never believe that poor little puppy was not severely traumatized by the experience.

From that day on I think Koty has had a very good life. We are as close as any two can be. In the twelve years we have been together we have been separated only twice and for only very brief periods of time. We have much in common. We think the greatest way to spend the day is hiking and exploring the great outdoors. I look for things in nature that might make interesting and beautiful images whilst Koty just looks for anything because everything is interesting and beautiful to him. A while back I wrote these thoughts about “My Best Friend”.

We have traveled and explored the American West in our little 24ft. Winnebago View. On two occasions we were out for six months exploring and photographing every road and trail we could find. No one could ask for a better traveling companion.

This past Thursday Koty was diagnosed with Cushing’s, an incurable disease. It took over a year to get that diagnosis which, in my opinion, is ridiculous. What I am going to attempt to do with this blog is document where we have been, what we have learned and how we are handling the disease going forward in the hopes that we might help others with dogs who have Cushing’s as well as those who may have a dog with the disease and not even know it.

We will never know if an earlier diagnosis of the disease would have made any difference in how long Koty will be able to maintain quality of life with this disease but logic dictates that it would have made a positive difference. I think it very important for all dog owners be aware of the symptoms and be proactive in their pet’s care. All vets are not created equal and sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.

Thanks to the internet there is an abundance of information available about the disease. Just Google “Cushing’s in dogs”.  In-a-nutshell Cushing’s disease (hyperadrenocorticism) in dogs is a condition that results from chronic overproduction of glucocorticoid in the body. In the normal dog, the pituitary gland produces a hormone (ACTH) which stimulates the adrenal gland to produce the glucocorticoid hormones necessary for the function of many systems in the body. If something goes wrong in the pituitary or adrenal gland and too much glucocorticoid is produced, Cushing’s disease develops.

What I want to do here is share our experience and create a forum for others to share information and experiences by way of comments for the benefit of others. I would encourage people to ask questions and get a dialog going. If it’s a subject you are interested in subscribe and participate. If no one is interested that's OK too because doing this is going to go along way toward helping me cope with the tough journey ahead.

I truly believe we can make a more positive difference in our best friends lives if we take greater responsibility for their care. I know if I had not listened to certain “professional” advice Koty and I would be a lot further along with dealing and treating this disease. In my next article “How We Got to Where We Are” I’ll describe how it all began, what were the sign posts, the circuitous road we had to take to find out what was really going on and the treatment option we have chosen.

©Kinsey Barnard