“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model of being alive.”
- Gilda Radner

In hindsight I realized that I cursed myself when I wrote in my last post that things were finally settling down! Ah, well. I’ll probably never learn. So here’s what went on over the past nine days:
1. My sister had a baby! Emmett and Lucas are now uncles! His name is Owen and he’s the [...]

Things have settled down significantly around here. Emmett is home and recuperating. Though the surgery went well, they removed everything from skin down to the tendons to get as much of the tumor as possible, so he has a four-week recovery period that prohibits walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs, basically anything fun for a dog. [...]

We met with the specialist this morning. He was fantastic. He explained everything calmly and clearly, and presented us with a concise picture of what we’re facing. And it’s not what we thought.
Emmett’s x-rays showed that he has two microscopic nodules on his lungs. As soon as he said that, my heart sank through my [...]

So. This morning. Emmett’s appointment.
We bucked up, said no crying, we need to be brave for Emmett. Deep breaths, etc. We drive to the animal hospital making lame attempts and jokes and reaching into the backseat to rub his silky ears.
We are ushered into an exam room, and are visited by a fairly inept surgical [...]

I caught myself “lasting” nearly everything today. Today is the last day Emmett will eat breakfast on four legs. Today is the last day Emmett will wrestle Lucas to the ground on four legs. Today is the last day Emmett will nap like this:
It was his last four-legged car ride, and his last four-legged dinner. [...]

Wednesday is the day. We take him to surgery at 9 AM, and he’ll have to stay for at least one night but perhaps up to three nights depending upon how fast he’s recovering.
I am relieved beyond belief that this option will eliminate the cancer. As I watch videos of other three-legged dogs, I realize [...]

The past few weeks careened past us leaving everything in their wake, everything except one question: What are we going to do?
We met with the oncologist. He was wonderful, kind, thorough, honest. He presented us with the two options we already knew. Surgery plus radiation therapy (every day for three weeks), which would push the [...]