Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?

Someone called about Jake today. Two questions stumped me:

1) Are you doing this blog for Jake or yourself?

Well, “all of the above”, I guess. Early on, I had to update so many people about him. I thought it would be easier to do it this way. Then I started to take him to different places. Some that I always go to. Some that were brand new for both of us. Maybe he doesn’t care whether we go to a park or a restaurant or some landmark. But I can tell he enjoys going somewhere. And sure, it’s been a great experience for me, too. I really wanted a record of what we did during this time. There are so many great photos and stories. I’ve only shared a few on this site. So yeah, I guess we both get something out of it.

2) Do you think he knows he’s going to die?

Oh my. I don’t know. I guess the question should really be “Do you think he knows he’s going to die soon?” I wonder about that often. His days are always full and he sticks to the usual routine. He’s not in pain. He hasn’t changed much. He’s just Jake. I must say I’m pretty inspired by him. I’m more intrigued by the question “Why do we treat the ones we love differently when we find out we are going to lose them?”

I hung up the phone and took Jake for his usual 4pm walk. On the way back from the park, we bumped into Jed’s owner. Jed is the yellow Lab with cancer that we met the week I started this blog, back on May 5th.

He told me Jed passed away over Memorial Day weekend. I can't write anything else right now.