No, not Redeemer of the Realm.  The only saga I'm writing these days, it seems, is transferring The Ordeal of Finnegan here.  (That's not completely true--I have been working on Redeemer, but mostly polishing and editing the first third.)

Finnegan's old vet called this morning.  The Distemper Titer (the test they drew blood to perform when we were in on Monday) came back.  At first I couldn't tell whether the news was good or bad; first he said negative, then positive, until I was thoroughly confused.  "So...." I said "...is it positive or negative?" 

"Negative," he said.  "He doesn't have distemper." 

That's the good news.  The bad news, he tells me, is that he still thinks there is something serious going on and we should bring the dog back in for a radiograph and bacteria culture, and he'll transfer me to the receptionist to schedule.

At this point, I confess, I became suddenly gutless.  While stomping out of the clinic and hauling Finnegan immediately somewhere else came easy, I suddenly lacked the intestinal fortitude to actually tell this vet we would not be bringing him back.  I hem and haw and mutter something about Larry's schedule being the determining one, and we'll have to call back. 

I did call Larry and discuss the whole situation with him (again).  We are both pleased that Finnegan does not have distemper, but neither of us seem particularly eager to take him back to the old vet.  We're sticking with the new one, and going the distance with this new two-week-minimum prescription of Cephalexin.  Larry tells me he doesn't think Finnegan's sinus trouble seemed as bad this morning (although I of course wonder if there couldn't be some wishful thinking there, which is why I don't trust my own perceptions of how well or not he might be doing)

So I feel maybe a little vindicated.  I could just as easily have ended up feeling humbled, if after all this the tests started showing it was indeed distemper after all.  But after two pretty reliable tests have come back negative, a week apart, everybody including the ordering doctor seems to accept what we have here is not distemper.  Of course we'll mention this latest result to the new vet, after all, we told him they had drawn blood for the titer, but I doubt he'll be hugely impressed either way--he had been concerned from the start not so much with pinning a diagnosis on Finnegan's condition as with helping him feel better, after all.

But as far as Canine Distemper is concerned, I just heaved what I hope is my final huge sigh of relief on the subject.