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Sadie, the Dalmointer of the group, has been diagnosed with cancer. She has had benign growths on her body (fatty deposits, basically) for a while now. This latest is tough. The cancer is around her colon, pressing on it in various angles. This makes it difficult for her to have a proper BM. We are administering stool softener and a laxative-like medicine, this is followed with Pepcid for the upset tummy that follows the laxative.

Surgery isn’t really an option – to remove the cancer a lot of the muscles around the colon and tail would be removed also. This would cause huge problems, like not being able to wag her tail. Or control her bowels.

We are told she has between three and six months without surgery; up to a year with it – but with a greatly reduced quality of life – and that is important. If she’s not comfortable, it isn’t worth trying to make her comfortable.

She will be missed. She will be going to join Sarah and Logan at the Rainbow Bridge, where they will be waiting for us.

Please keep her FurMom, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, in prayer. She is taking this really hard.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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She came into our lives in an abrupt manner. We were leaving PetSmart with Sadie, who had just “graduated” from her training class. There was a couple outside the door who were trying to place some puppies – their black lab had gotten mixed up with a Welsh Corgi and – well, the only way to put this is these little black puppies were too cute to pass up. I told TMBWitW to go wait in the car – we didn’t need another puppy! I joined her shortly after in the car, with Sara in my arms.

She was a cutie – and Sadie got along with her very well. The two of them romped and played together, and as the puppy family grew, Sadie and Sara split the role of alpha dog – Sadie was alpha in name, Sara was the muscle.

Time passed, and Sara grew. She was a gangly little girl, all legs and a tank of a body, the result of the Welsh Corgi mixing.

Once she got past the initial growth stage, she filled out and even though her coat was not the sleek water dog coat, it was all black and very fuzzy. She delighted in being cuddled and hugged.

Sara was Logan’s bestest bud. She took him under her wing, and taught him the ropes of living in a house full of females. He learned quickly, and when we had to let him go, Sara was really lost.

Sara had a regal way of sitting. She would be in the “down” position, and her head would be up, her Corgi ears perked, and she would cross her right paw over her left. Of course, every time we tried to get a picture of it she thought we were going to give out treats, so we never were able to get a shot of her pose.

Until last Friday.

Last night, Sara stumbled a bit as she came down the hall to her blanket. She shook it off, gave me a big slobbery kiss, and laid down. This morning she scratched to be let out as usual; it was still a bit dark outside, and I stumbled my way to the door, let her out, and since it was cool I left the door open so she could let herself back in. When the alarm clock went off at six, I got up and Sara was still lying out on the patio. She looked at me and kind of half-rolled for a belly rub, which I gave with gusto.

TMBWitW got up and handed out the customary doggy treats for first thing in the morning. Sara didn’t want hers. TMBWitW was immediately concerned, since Sara has never turned down a dog treat. She called Acoma Animal Clinic and arranged for an exam at ten; I headed for work and TMBWitW started doing some work from home.

TMBWitW called me a little after ten, Sara had a blood test and xrays. The blood test showed decreased platelet counts, the general exam revealed an elevated heart rate and shallow breathing, the xray showed strange wispy growths around her lungs and a spot near her heart. All of her organs were OK otherwise. Dr. Burnham said it could be either pneumonia (but Sara wasn’t coughing, so that kind of got ruled out right away), valley fever, or cancer. He wanted to keep her for observation, so TMBWitW and MEG headed home.

I left work early (thanks, boss. i owe you one.) and headed home, after a bit we headed up to Acoma to pick up Sara and get an update from the doc. The results from the valley fever test wouldn’t be in for a few days. He went over the diagnosis with me, since I missed the first go-around, and showed the areas of concern on her xrays. We then headed back out front to get Sara and head home.

Sara came out on her leash, ready to go. TMBWitW knelt down to give her a hug, and I came around behind TMBWitW to kneel down next to Sara also. As I came down to one knee, Sara stumbled and went down, in another seizure. Dr. Burnham and Jessica were right there – they picked her up and got her onto an exam table faster than it took me to type this. Dr. Burnham inserted a trach tube.

We stood there, flabbergasted. A few minutes later, Jess showed us into a front exam room. Dr. Burnham came in and told us what had happened – Sara had suffered a seizure leading to cardiac arrest, and that he was basically performing first stage CPR for her. He asked the toughest question I’ve ever had to answer – “How far do you want me to go?”

Naturally, thoughts of Logan’s trials flashed through my mind, and TMBWitW was just devastated – I couldn’t make Sara go through a long period of pain and suffering. Dr. Burnham said that any time an event of this magnitude occurred, the chances of a full recovery were very slim.

I told him to let her go.

And, as unexpectedly as she entered our lives, she had left.

We gathered ourselves as best we could, and went in to say our goodbyes.

You are a good girl, Sara Bear. We love you and will always miss you.

SARA

July 2001 – May 2010

Gentle Giant, rest easy now.

You are sorely missed.

It’s been a year since we had to let Logan go. Actually, it was a year ago Sunday. I try not to dwell on it. I still wonder if I could have done anything else, to help him live a more productive life, if there was something we didn’t try to help him. Then I will look at TMBWitW and we will assure each other, once again, that we did everything we could and that he had a good life with us while he was here. Then I go back to “not” dwelling on it.

Tomorrow would have been my parent’s 59th wedding anniversary. Along with that memory, we will also mark tomorrow as the 17th anniversary of Dad’s passing. It doesn’t get any easier, knowing I won’t hear his laugh, see his big ol’ smile, or hear his voice ever again, at least not this side of Resurrection Day. I will always treasure the last time we got together. I was living on the Central Coast at the time, and he and Mom had come out to visit. The morning they were going to head back to Tucson, we had breakfast with them. That was the last time I saw Dad. I’ll go back to “not” dwelling on that, too.

On the up side, today is the birthday of my buddy, Robert. We were in high school together, along with Kenny we all joined the USMC at the same time, but Robert is the only one who stuck it out and retired from the service. He lives in Ohio with his beautiful bride, Sheila, and I don’t get to see them nearly often enough, but we do stay in touch. I’m going to go over and poke him on Facebook. And then I may even call him.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

The meeting of the Cats will now come to order. Sit down, Captain.

The meeting of the Cats will now come to ord – no, Captain, we will NOT hold the meeting outside. Yes, I know it’s very nice out this morning. You would just jump the fence and be gone…

The meeting of the Cats will now – Captain, you are about this close to finding a new home.

Fine – Roll call, in order of seniority – Vashka – Sarabi – Captain – Jewel – and Phantom. Good. Now, first item is the use of the litter box. First, I would like to say that I do appreciate everyone now using the litter boxes, instead of random spots on the floor. Not mentioning any names, Captain, but I think you all know who the culprit was on that subject.

However, in spite of the use of the litter box, I think the next area to be addressed would have to be covering up what is done in the litter box, for the olfactory consideration of the others in the household. The natural scent of the litter will only go so far.

The next item is the treatment of the older cats by the younger cats. Again, I will not mention any names, Phantom, but there have been inquiries as to the necessity of having more than two cats in the house in the first place, and a certain senior cat has specifically requested the removal of the most junior cat. At this time, we are not looking at a reduction in Cat Force, however, economic and personnel considerations may necessitate a future revision of this position. Particularly if any further complaints are received. Again, not pointing any fingers, Phantom, but if the shoe fits …

With that, do I have a motion to adjourn? Thank you Vashka – second? Thank you, Jewel. Adjourned.

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The meeting of the Dogs will now come to order. Sit! Stay!

Roll call by seniority: Sadie – Sara – Cinnamon – Mackenzie. Good. A moment of silence to remember Logan.

Thank you.

First item – the management wishes to assure all personnel holding the position of Dog in the household that not all car trips are one way. If you will all recall, there has only been one trip that was not there and back, and it was due to medical reasons. Until and unless medical issues arise, all car trips are for fun!

Second item – please remember the big bed is primarily for the humans. Any dogs on the big bed are there at the discretion of one or both of the humans, and that privilege can and will be revoked for either hogging space or passing gas.

Third item – random barking in the middle of the night is not nearly as amusing as you might think. Please keep any middle-of-the-night barking to truly emergency reasons. This means if there is a fire or break in, you may bark; but if there is a car driving down the street you may not.

Do I have a motion to adjourn? Thank you, Sara – second? Thank you, Sadie. Adjourned.

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Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Yes, a whole week (plus!) without putting thought to keyboard (because pen to paper doesn’t work in this setup) and my mind is whirling with thousands of things to write about.

Unfortunately, they are all dated and of no consequence, so they won’t see the light of day.

I will say this: We (the United States) have enough untapped oil deposits to be free from foreign energy, when combined with alternative forms of energy. Like, walking and riding bikes and sharing the rides you do have to make. Selfish buggers. I’m talking to you, Phoenix. Hundreds of miles of freeways and surface streets, and still we have more people driving solo than sharing rides. Oh, and whining about fuel costs. Here, in one of the few areas of the country that was not affected by Ike’s price increases. Selfish buggers.

I will also say that Obama has finally seen the light, and is trying to slam Palin’s door shut. Tough noogies, Barry. There are still a few things you haven’t shared with the US as a whole that need to be cleared up. Like, a paper copy of your birth certificate. Records from your college time. Lists of clients, cases, and whatnot from your time as a lawyer. What, exactly, a community organizer in Chicago does. Why ACORN plays such a big part in your life. Why Bill Ayers, an unrepentant domestic terrorist, is one of your biggest fans. And, why does the entire muslim world want you to be our next president, if you aren’t muslim?

On with updates of a personal nature:
Custom woodworking isn’t paying the bills. I’ve actually lost money this year. So, I’m driving a cab two nights a week to help make ends meet.
Speaking of custom woodworking, I have a project to do. I need to make a storage case for an item that measures 8 3/8″ long by 6 1/4″ deep by 4 1/4″ high. It will incorporate a picture frame, a brass plaque, fancy footwork and a hinged lid. It will hold Logan’s ashes.
MEG still misses Logan, as do the other dogs. All five of them (MEG and the four dogs) wander around at times; MEG calling for Logey Ogey, the dogs sniffing the places he normally laid. Sara seems to be especially lonely, since the two of them would often lay together at night.

Life, however, goes on. I need to go run some errands. I will swing through the blogroll later today, and drop comments where appropriate. It’s good to be back, and I will try to keep all three of my regular readers entertained whilst I continue to ramble. With the cab, I should have some good stories. Like Saturday evening, when ASU got handed their butts on their home field, and I was sitting in Tempe traffic when they got their one and only touchdown, and I had forgotten that they tend to celebrate those things with fireworks…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!