Update on Ed Matlack & Rufuz (Woofie):

Ed is doing quite a lot better. He used a walker to go into see his doctor today. Ed say's he's eating like a bird, but his doctor said his appetite should improve shortly. Ed has lost nearly 100 pounds, down from nearly 300 to 200, which is a good weight for Ed's height. He's speaking much more clearly, and his attitude has improved dramatically...thank you for your prayers. He's even talking about coming out to Kentucky with his friend, Gene, sometime down the line to visit Rufuz.

Rufuz (I call him Woofie) is doing great, and he's fabulous company out here on the ranch. When he and I initially returned from New Jersey on August 10th, it was an ordeal for him to run up the steep 900-foot section of my driveway from my shop to the house. He's come a long ways in his physical prowess since then...yesterday, Woofie chased me around for nearly three hours while I was finish mowing the three or four miles of hilly walking trails that meander all over the ranch, and he's learned all of the shortcuts. Every time I thought I had lost him, he would pop over a ridge or out of the woods. I pointed out a deer to Woofie yesterday morning, and he must have done a hundred-yard dash in well under seven seconds chasing after that deer. Now I'm going to have to teach him not to chase the deer, because I like to feed them and watch them. When I am working at my desk at night, Woofie and Zach (my longhaired tabby cat) curl up together under my feet. When I went into town on Monday, I left Woofie at home for the first time, and the cab of my pickup truck sure seemed empty. Woofie picked up a horde of fleas while running all over the ranch, so I took him to the vet this morning for some more flea stuff, and all the gals at the vet's office were totally enamored with him. It didn't bother me much at all when my wife moved out while I was in New Jersey last month, but I can see already that it will be another story when Ed comes to pick up Woofie some day.