Habits

When I woke up this morning and Puppy wasn't prancing around the door to go outside, I was sad. When I absentmindedly threw some treats on the floor for Puppy, I was sad. When I went to get the mail and Puppy wasn't laying in front of the door, I was sad. When Izzy started dropping food from his highchair and Puppy wasn't there to gobble it up, I was sad. When I came home from the store this morning, the silence in the house was deafening. And I was sad. I miss my dog.

Cancer is a bitch

I took this picture of my dog, Puppy, last month...
She was an average dog, lounging around the house, stealing the kids' food, and sleeping for 15 hours per day. Two weeks ago, John noticed that Puppy had a lump growing between her eyes. He immediately scheduled an appointment with the vet. I was largely unconcerned, because Puppy has numerous fatty tumors on her abdomen. I thought this would turn out to be a fatty tumor too.

Unfortunately, the vet thinks Puppy has cancer - a very fast growing type of cancer. And although the test on the tumor came back inconclusive, it appears that he might be right. Here is a picture of Puppy's Tumor as of this morning...Everyday, the tumor grows larger and larger. And now it is impeding her breathing. She snorts and sneezes all day. She also has a bloody, mucousy discharge coming from her nose. The vet wants us to euthanize her, but other than the snorting and sneezing, she seems perfectly healthy. So although our friends and family (and veterinarian) think we are wasting our money, we are going to have the tumor removed. Puppy is 13 years old, but I think she still has a few good years left. There is no way in hell I am going to steal those years away from her.