Saturday, May 9, 2009

Denver Parks #4

Probably one of my favorite parks in Denver. We drove in and parked by the sundial. It’s on a slight hill so you have a great view of the mountains. The houses around the perimeter are pretty amazing, too. When I win Powerball…

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Lunch Break

Totally random stop. We were driving down Colfax Avenue looking for dog-capable patios and spotted Jersey Mike’s Subs. It’s in the Lowenstein Theatre Development…also home of the Tattered Cover Book Store and Twist & Shout (which is the only place in town I can ever find the most recent copy of the British music publication, Q Magazine). Shared a tasty hoagie with Jake and then headed home.

Denver Parks #3

This is very close to one of Jake’s houses. It’s the first time we’ve been here. You’ll be hearing that a lot.

Bath Time

This was the last stop of the day yesterday. This is the coolest idea! It’s a Self-Serve Dog Wash at The Wag Shop. I tried it out a couple weeks ago and I’m hooked. For $14, you get to use one of their stalls with an elevated tub to wash your dog. They provide the shampoo, conditioner, brushes, towels and blow dryer. It’s SO much easier than doing it at home AND they clean up after you’re gone. Jake is so white and so soft after a bath.

Swimming After Eating

Chatfield State Park has a popular off-leash area for dogs. It cost $7 per car but is well worth it. There are a couple small lakes and paths that wander all over the place. Dogs go crazy here. The constant moisture of the last few weeks has really paid off. The park was greener than I’ve ever seen it. Watching Jake swim got me thinking about ways to get him to a real beach. Hmm. That would be a fun puzzle to solve. One summer, I lived in a house on the water in Florida and the dogs I had at the time loved to swim. They’d run out into the surf, trying to jump waves and getting knocked over unexpectedly. Then they’d rush back onshore and roll on the sand, until it was so deep in their coats, you’d swear it would never come out. I have no doubt that Jake would be the same. We brought old sheets and towels for the back of the car since he’s always a muddy mess when we leave. Wet dog smells good to me now. Another slice of springtime, like fresh-cut lawns and burgers cooking on the grill.



Time for a bath...

Lunch Break

The day Jake got his cancer diagnosis, the two of us stopped for lunch on the way home. I ordered two hot dogs, one Chicago-style for me and a plain one for him. We sat at a picnic table on a busy street and wolfed them down. Suddenly I felt guilty for all the times that I ran out for lunch and left him at home alone. I started making a list of the dog-friendly restaurants in Denver. I’d like to start taking him somewhere at least once a week. (If you’re got a recommendation, we’re taking requests!)

Yesterday, Paul and I took him to Racines. The food is always great, the menu is extensive and the staff is so friendly and efficient. As soon as we sat down on the patio our server, David, brought Jake a bowl of water. The weather was perfect. Nothing beats outdoor dining in Denver this time of year. Jake snacked on green beans and French fries while we ate. That dog will eat anything except tomatoes.
Next up: Off to Chatfield Park for a swim...

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Denver Parks #2

Two busy days in a row. Jake has been all over town and I’ve taken more than 200 pictures. I’ll do a bunch of updates over the next couple days and get caught up. In the meantime, here’s the next one in the "Denver Parks" series. I love the way he looks so comfortable in this one. He got tired of posing and just took a break.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Buddy Check

Great day today. Too much to go into right now. I'd like to keep these updates frequent, but brief. We’ll keep these digestible for those of you with short attention spans. Jake met another yellow lab at the park. His name is Jed, he’s 13 and he has cancer, too. He’s much further along than Jake, with very pronounced growth, but he seems content and active. I’m hoping Jake’s spirits are as high at that point. His owner walked by our house a bit later and I came outside to give him this website address. I’d love to take a picture of Jed and Jake to share with you sometime. Jake paid more attention to Jed than he usually does to other dogs. I wonder if they know something when they meet. Maybe dogs have their own version of support groups.

Monday, May 4, 2009

This is the bump on his leg after the biopsy. There are two stitches which will come out this week. Jake has a soft tissue sarcoma. Unfortunately, it is a stage 3 tumor. The treatment options are not great but we’ll make a decision very soon. According to the Animal Cancer Center at CSU, dogs develop cancer at the same rate as humans. One in five dogs will develop cancer, which results in 47% of fatal diseases in all canines. I did not know that.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Denver Parks #1

Denver has over 260 parks, including seven dog parks with off-leash areas. I moved here in 1986 and that’s one of my favorite things about living here. This city has always been so dedicated to providing this amenity for almost 100 years, starting with Robert Speer who was Denver’s mayor from 1904 until 1918. (He died of pneumonia halfway through his third term.) It seems like you’re never more than a few blocks away from greenspace. Mayfair Park is very close to one of Jake’s houses (he has two, by the way). You can find him here several times a week, around 5:00 pm. Say “hello” if you see us there.