Driving Miss Daisy

I had hoped to blog Friday but I was driving Daisy around and by the time we got to evening, I was exhausted. We first went to go see our friend Joe S. Sausage, who now has a sausage shop, but used to dog sit for the crew. We would drop them off at Joe's place in ABQ and the dogs had a great time. Once, we were gone for Daisy's birthday and Joe sang happy birthday to her although he said she gave him a funny look as he was doing it. Another time, Hattie would jump out of the dog area he had and then Daisy would bark because Hattie had jumped out. Joe would walk out to see Hattie sitting by the gate, wanting to be let back into the dog area. He eventually kept her in the house because he got tired of letting her back in but he said that all the dogs would have a big reunion after being separated for only a little while. After spending some time with Joe, Daisy had an appointment with a holistic veterinarian in town. She liked Dr. Wilson, preferring to nap by her instead of me, but isn't a fan of the Chinese herbs. What she doesn't know now is that I am mixing them into the homemade meal she is getting now. I know, I'm so sneaky! Finally, we stopped at our clinic, TLC Pet Hospital, to have Daisy's staples removed. I can't remember the last time I had three appointments in one day....

Watching the world go by

Sleeping with Daisy

The idea of losing someone or something we care about does strange things to us. While we often think we know how we will act, we usually find that we act in ways that surprise us. I have been sleeping in the guestroom of my house the last few nights, simply because Daisy can't always make it up to the stairs to the master bedroom. Sometimes in the morning she will hang out with me while I shower and get ready for the day, but more often, she stays downstairs because of the mass that is growing on her hip. Before the mass popped out, every night by 8 pm, she would go upstairs by herself and sleep in the dog bed. She'd stay until some time after I went to bed. By morning, she would wake me up between 4 am and 5 am to let me know she needed to go out and that it was getting to be time to get up. Not knowing how many days she has left, I keep thinking it's best to be close to her. Last night she got in the bed with me and stayed a few hours. When I woke up at 3 am, she came back and stayed for a while longer. The master bedroom always will be there. I don't know how long Daisy will be with me though.

How I miss being dragged across the park

Yesterday, when I was finishing up walking Nestle and Hattie, a woman ran by me and said, "One day, those dogs won't drag you through the park anymore." I called back, "And I'll miss that!" What she didn't know is that Daisy was at home, unable to drag me through the park anymore. It wasn't like that I particularly liked when Daisy hightailed it across the greenery with me pulling behind, what I appreciated was that Daisy was the only being (canine or human) who could push me that hard. When I needed a good run, I could count on Daisy to be the one to make sure I got it in the morning, especially when we ran by Omar's house (Omar is a Chow) because Daisy had a love-hate relationship with the birds who feed off the seed there. This morning, Daisy was waiting in the window as I took out her siblings for their run-walks. It was one of the first mornings I had seen her waiting for us in a while. I felt bad and walked her to the park, a short distance around it, and then home again. That's about all her left leg can handle with the mass on her hip. By the walk home, she was trying not to walk on it. But when we reached home, she began to chase Hattie and they played hard for awhile, something they haven't been able to do for a while either. There are no limits to what Daisy can do now. We're not holding her back, instead allowing her to live each day as fully as possible. And one day maybe I'll get over not being dragged through the park by her.

A Day That Has Come Too Soon

I knew the day would come but I didn't expect it to so soon. Three weeks ago, Daisy, out of nowhere, developed a large mass on her left hip. After three weeks including a suspicious lab report, then several tests, then another biopsy, today it was confirmed that she has hemangiosarcoma (I can barely say that, much less spell it). It's an aggressive cancer that especially seems to like German Shepherds. What has made this especially difficult is that she only is five. On Saturday, she took a bad turn and ended up with a blood transfusion. I flew home from Chicago on Sunday and she was doing better. She is doing well now and we're letting her enjoy the heck out of the time she has with us. They say she possibly has three months left but we don't know that for sure. We'll try to beef up her red blood cells and roll and frolick with Hattie all she wants. I know one day I'll understand why her time with us was so short. I do know that Jolene, the woman who was going to take Daisy if it didn't work out at my house when she was a puppy, said she is a really special dog and she truly has affected a lot of lives. Life is so short, enjoy each moment we have with each other.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day

A simple thing you can do today in remembrance of World Suicide Prevention Day is to light a candle at 8:00 pm your time. Do this in memory of someone who died by suicide, for the hope of someone who has attempted suicide, for concern for a family that is grieving someone who either died by suicide or attempted suicide, or in support of suicide prevention.

National Suicide Prevention Week

Today marks the start of National Suicide Prevention Week. It's no different than CPR. Everyone should know the signs of depression and suicide. Please take the time to become aware of them on the American Association of Suicidology web site.