Kicho’s been quite playful lately. I heard some noise from behind the couch and when I peeked over, I saw Kicho dorking out with a tiny plush elephant. She loves the little things that she can fling around. I couldn’t help but whip out my camera phone to start recording and this was what I captured:

Kicho is doing well. She no longer has fainting spells. We do our best to make sure she doesn’t overexert herself too much so we had to limit some of her favorite physical activities. Climbing the stairs is too much for her now especially when she loves to bolt up and down like Speedy Gonzales so these days, we carry her up and down/in and out of the apartment to go potty.

Despite her condition, she’s got quite the appetite! She LOVES food and is happy to gobble it all down within seconds. Lately, she’s been quite energetic and playful. I love how she picks out toys to bring to Sumo to play *taunt him* with. One of her favorite things to do is to steal the toys Sumo is currently playing with. She’ll sneak up to him while he’s not looking and then do the SNATCH & RUN! She’s got quite the personality and she’s way too adorable. Kicho is the cutest when she purposely plants Sumo’s favorite toys around the apartment. She guards them and then pounces him the moment he tries to go for it. We can’t express it enough… we love her so much.

Being the animal lovin’ humom that I am, it’s been really tough. My heart is still in pieces and there are many moments when I still cry about the one day when Kicho will no longer be with us. I am just not ready. I don’t think I ever will be.

I sat outside with Kicho on one of the days when she wasn’t feeling well and a stranger walked by and said, “What a pretty face! Is she ok?” I gave her the short version and simply said that little Kicho was dying because she has congenital heart failure. To my surprise, she said the most amazing thing to us… there was a brightness in her eyes, she had a great comforting smile and she said, “Ahhh, but what a great heart it is!!!” For some reason, those very words set my heart at ease and I remember it every time I start feeling the need to cry.

Kicho’s chest is starting to feel/look full again. It’s time to take her back to the vet to do another chest tap. It’s quite alarming since it hasn’t even been 2 1/2 weeks since her last tap and typically she shouldn’t have to go back for another few months. It makes me sad because it’s just a clear indication on how fast her heart is failing and it’s just a matter of time… However, we’ll continue to do our best to make sure she’s as comfortable as she can be, we’ll spoil her with yummy num nums, shower her with lots of kisses and tell her how much we love her. We’ll treasure every moment that she’s still with us. <3

Here are some videos of Kicho from this morning:

Kicho being playful and making her cute “scary” noises.

Kicho’s been on the attack lately and pounces Sumo to try to get him to play with her. Sumo rushes off and hides behind Dad’s legs while being brushed… Kicho watches on and thought about pouncing him again…