Friday, September 11, 2009

Mr. Roboto

Jake and his bionic leg from Orthopets. I think it’s pretty cool…very “Mad Max”. He wears it on his walks and he’s adjusted to it quickly, just like we knew he would.


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Happy Anniversary

Jake came home from the breeders 8 years ago today, the night before 9/11. He was the last one in his litter to be picked up and didn’t want to leave his mom, Sentara. On the drive home, he was so scared that he barfed up his dinner on me. Good thing he was sitting on a towel. Here’s another old puppy pic I found.

This week, he saw his oncologists at the CSU Animal Cancer Center for restaging. The official diagnosis: RESOLUTION OF TUMORS! They said the leg looked great. His lymph node has decreased in size. The ultrasound showed the growth on his spleen is gone. The chest x-rays are clean. He’ll continue the chemo every 5 – 6 weeks indefinitely but it appears that we’ve beaten the cancer for awhile.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Lawnchairs

The summer before my mom died, I went to see her in Florida. She knew she didn’t have long and she really wanted to buy me something permanent that would always remind me of her. We discussed things like a wristwatch or a piece of furniture. I had always wanted Adirondack chairs for my backyard. They last forever if you take good care of them. We went online to order them together. When I returned to Denver, I got an email that they were backordered and would take several months. Mom passed away soon after. The day I got back from the funeral in Florida, there was a note on the door from the UPS man. The chairs had arrived. It was almost like she delayed it until I was home. Every year, around her birthday on September 8th, I clean them up. I sand them, brush them with cleaner and apply another coat of stain. It takes an entire day and I love doing it. It was such a beautiful fall day, too. Jake stayed with me in the backyard the entire time. Here’s a photo of the two of us enjoying Mom’s chairs.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

What's My Age Again?

My nephew, Blake, came out to visit. His favorite band, Blink 182, is playing here this weekend. I bought VIP tickets so we had access to the private entrance and we took a picture in front of the Blink 182 truck. Jake was so happy to see us when we returned. As a puppy, he would always sleep with Blake when he came to Denver. Now that his leg is injured, it’s hard for him to jump on and off the bed. He really prefers to stay on the floor and sleep on his own bed these days. But since this was a special weekend, we boosted him up on the bed to sleep with Blake one more time.