feast upon local cats and dogs SHORTLY AFTER he let his 16-year-old Labrador retriever out into the front yard at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. July 2. North Vancouver resident John Van Duzen heard her yelp in pain. By Bruce Methven Contributing Writer From the doorway of his Sonora Drive home in the Capilano Heights area, Van Duzen saw two coyotes attacking his dog, Libra. The shocked owner yelled at the two animals, but they showed little fear and aerely walked to the other side of the street where they stopped and watched him. “These animals are getting real- ly brazen,” said Van Duzen. He said the threat to pets is a injuries. See page § for details. See Coyate page & 'Y teen shines in battle with leukes Party planned to celebrate end of 100 days of isolation AUGUST 7 will be the last of Meghan Black’s 100 days. By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter Finally, the 1€-year-old student at West Vancouver Secondary will be free to mill about in crowds. She will throw off the mask she has to wear when friends come to visit. She will be the star at a bash her parents will throw to celebrate.the end of her 100 days of virtual iso- lation, Relatives from afar will converge upon the Black home for the festivities. The same relatives came from England and Toronto when Meghan — who had Acute Myclogenous Leukemia (AML) — went into the oncology unit of Vancouver’s Children’s Hospital April 29 for a bone marrow transplant. She was assessed a one in three chance of surviving the procedure. Back then, Black was in no shape to chat with those near and dear to her. She lived in a morphine haze necessitated by internal bleeding in her arm and Ieg. The bleeding was caused by 10 days of chemotherapy and radiation treatment to destroy her own bone mar- row. “Basically, (the ductors) kill you.” she said. “By Day Zero, the day of the transplant, you have no (blood cell) counts.” Black had a toe infection which her doctor said didn’t look normal. She was diagnosed with AML after bone marrow tests were conducted. “AML can't be uncovered a possible match in the U.S. Meghan knows nothing about the donor except that she is a 24-year-old female. In a year, if all goes weil, the women will be allowed to know more about each other and, if they wish, to meet. In the interim, Meghan has been allowed to write a letter saying: “Thank-you for saving my life.” . The actual transplant took just an hour. “The marrow goes through a central line which goes through your heart,” she explained. Two days after the transplant, the side effects — par- ticularly a completely ulcerated mouth — kicked in. “The inside of my mouth was like hamburger,” said Meghan. To avoid infection, she had to scrape it every two hours, 24 hours a day. Meghan was absolutely diligent about this painful and distasteful routine. “She was so determined that she would keep control of this.” said her mother, Frankie. “It was a very difficult time.” After 10 days, Meghan forced hersell’ to eat and by Day 13. she was allowed to leave the isolation room at the hospital, wearing a mask. She broke the hospita! record for patients who have received bone marrow from a donor who is nota relative. “Usually in unrelat- ed transplants it takes Kids two to three months to start vating again.” Then her isolation began. “Infections can kill you in the first 100 days.” Meghan explained, Unable to attend school, she’s been taking a Grade 12 correspondence course and develop- ing a serious addiction to the TV soap opera Days of Our Lives, THE 19-YEAR-OLD cyclist involved in this Lynn Valiey accident on Tuesday was taken to L NEWS photo Paul McGrath ons Gate Hospital with multiple NEWS photo Neit Lucente treated with chemotherapy,” said Black, “So 1 had to have a bone marrow transplant.” She was lucky the bone marrow transplant “took.” A worldwide search of the 1.5 million potential bone marrow donors on the Red Cross registry eventually POSES Your CALL US: 983-2208 See Challenges page & Is the $800-million ferry project justified, given B.C.’s debt? Frank Jamieson West Vancouver Absolutely not. Glen Clark is spending moncy like a drunken sailor, Marion Smith West Vancouver No. 1 think the whole thing is absolutely stupid. MEGHAN BLACK talks about how a positive outlook is essen- tial in her fight against cancer. The West Vancouver teen finds strength in helping others. THE NDP government recently announced a number of major, and costly, transportation projects. Local shipbuilders are slated to benefit trom a $800 million ferry project that includes construction of three $70 million catamarans. The NDP government maintains the budget will be balanced. Gordon Wallace Reg Jens North Vancouver North Vancouver District Yes. I'm opposed. We have had better, and more cost-effective, deals and the government his turned them down. THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: What have you done to prepare for a major natural disaster?