Yellow

Jake had an appointment at Aspenwood Animal Hospital for another bandage change. So cool that they were working on a holiday. This was the first time that I’ve actually seen his toes unwrapped since the surgery and, although I thought it looked a little gruesome, the docs were actually pretty happy with how it’s healing. Today they picked a bright yellow bandage. When we got home, I put one of my mom’s chairs in the front yard. Jake and I just hung out there for the rest of the day, enjoying the afternoon.

Independence Day

This time last year we were all in the mountains for July 4th weekend. Jake’s foot is still sore from his recent surgery and he’s not supposed to walk much, so we stayed in town this weekend. Funny that he is still wearing a red, white and blue bandage a year later, but for something totally different this time.

Happy Birthday...Again!

Jake turned 9 today! A year ago I thought we were counting down his final weeks. Who knew? I still like the photos I took last year so take a look at this one or this one if you want to see him in funny hats.

The Price You Pay

I don’t usually think about the cost when Jake needs treatment. However, I’ve been whipping out the credit card a lot these days. Jake’s surgery. His meds. Bandage changes every few days. Very expensive. So I had an idea. As a teenager, I collected Marvel comic books and have thousands of them boxed up in our basement. I’ve been thinking about selling them for years but not sure I wanted to part with them just for the heck of it. I’ve posted a couple of them for sale online recently. Today, I sold my Incredible Hulk #181 for $1,200 which was pretty close to the cost of the vet bills over the last few weeks. It has the first appearance of Wolverine, from the X-Men. I remember buying it at a drugstore in 1974 for 25 cents. Seriously. Kind of bittersweet to sell a tiny part of one’s childhood but I loved the idea of using it to help pay for Jake’s care.

Thanks, bub. Now if we could only get him some Adamantium bones and get rid of those leg braces. (Inside jokes for comic geeks.)

The Book I Read

Here’s the information on the “Survivors” book, which features a number of inspirational stories about dogs who are fighting cancer, including Jake’s. Jamie Rowe did an amazing job at our photo shoot a few weeks back. Check out her blog and the video below. And if you’re feeling generous, buy a copy for yourself or another dog lover. I just ordered mine. Proceeds benefit the CSU Animal Cancer. Thanks to the great docs up there, I’ve had Jake a year longer than I thought. That’s worth $25 to me any day.

Ease the Pressure

Still recovering from surgery but, in general, Jake’s doing pretty well. We sat on the porch for most of the day, enjoying a beautiful summer afternoon in Denver. The bandage will get professionally changed by the vet every 2 – 3 days. Because of the difficult location between his toes, they really want to watch out for potential infection. We have to keep it wrapped pretty tight to keep him from chewing it off.

I'm Hurtin'

Jake had surgery today on Thursday. I picked him up at the vet’s office and his paw was wrapped in a massive bandage. I had to carry him from the car to the house, limp in my arms like an 80-pound sack of furry potatoes. I made a bed for him in the living room and slept with him on the floor all night. He was pretty doped up from the morphine and in a lot of pain. Every breath that he exhaled came with a tiny whine. All…night…long. Poor guy. But he slept most of the day on Friday while I worked from home. Saturday was a major improvement even though he can’t put weight on the leg and won’t be able to for awhile. Today he was back in the front yard sporting his trademark colorful bandages and a pretty fine attitude, considering what he just went through.

Hello Again

Ruh roh. D’oh. Found another bump this week, between Jake’s toes, on the same leg as last year. A quick visit to the vets at Aspenwood Animal Hospital. They aspirated it and the results are in: cancer consistent with the soft tissue sarcoma last year. They conferred with CSU Animal Cancer Center and want it removed. Surgery is scheduled for next week.

I doubt he’ll be able to get wet afterwards so we decided to bathe him today. Hosed him down in the front yard and used some swanky hotel shampoo. He always likes to be brushed afterwards. Hairy dog.

Art Lover

We were up early today for a rare morning outing. This time we met up with a photographer, Jaime Rowe. She’s working with the CSU Animal Cancer Center on a book about canine cancer called “Survivors”. Dr. Christine Hardy asked me if Jake could be featured as one of the stories and pose for some professional photos. Well, of course. Jaime has taken action shots of Jake at the K-9’s for Cancer walk last year, as well as the recent Project Ruffway benefit, but this was the first time he has received a full-on photo shoot. The book will be out in September and I’ll post details later.

Jaime wanted an urban setting and she suggested the grounds of the Denver Art Museum. Jake and I were there last year with 9News and got some great pics in front of the “Cow & Calf” sculpture. I was definitely ready to go back and get some more shots in front of the massive outdoor sculptures. Jaime’s shots will be on her website soon but here are a few taken with my camera. Jake in front of the north entrance, with the new building designed by Daniel Libeskind in the background.

The sculpture on the left is by Beverly Pepper. It’s called “Untitled” but when I worked at the DAM, we always referred to it as the “monoliths”. Jake pooped right in front of it. Was that an editorial comment, or just the spot with the greenest grass?


A fun shot that captures both buildings…the new one by Daniel Libeskind and the original one by Gio Ponti.

Me and Jake in front of “The Big Sweep” by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg. This is another one of those sculptures that gets mixed reactions but it always made me smile.

Technically this one is on the grounds of the Denver Public Library. It’s called “The Yearling” by Donald Lipski. By the way, this is the second horse sculpture he’s been to. Check out the exclusive up-close access we got for “Mustang” at DIA last year.
Last stop: “Wheel” by Edgar Heap of Birds. Each of these red “tree” structures has text and images related to the history of Native Americans. On the back wall, there’s a sentence that reads, in Cheyenne, “nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim”. It means “We are always returning back home again.” I agree, on so many levels.

Check out more of our public art stops here. There’s a comprehensive guide you can download from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs if you’re interested.

Coming Home

Dan’s mom, Billie, flew to Denver to spend the weekend with us and also celebrate her birthday. Here they are with Jake for the obligatory “front yard” shot.

Feelin' Good

Today was Jake’s checkup at the CSU Animal Cancer Center. Our appointment was at 8 am so we were on the road early this morning. Among other tests, he was scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound, which requires fasting. That’s always a pain for humans but worse for a yellow Lab (with an endless appetite) who doesn’t understand why I “forgot” his breakfast today. It was a bit surreal today. Driving up to Fort Collins, with Jake in the backseat, I remembered the first time I brought him here last year and he was accepted into the clinical drug trial. All I wanted then was a few more weeks with him (or maybe months, if I could be really greedy).

While we were waiting in the lobby, I met a first-time client whose 3-year old Golden Retriever was being treated for cancer. I told him to have faith – that Jake was here a year ago with a tough diagnosis but is doing well – and that the staff at CSUACC would take good care of both of them.

We started with a physical exam from Dr. Lana and Dr. Hafeman. They aspirated a number of the lumps on his body…all normal, non-cancerous.

I really like this photo of them measuring what used to be the tumor on his leg. It just looks like a birthmark now but check this or this out if you want to see how massive it was in the past.

They took him away for a couple hours for x-rays and ultrasound. I came back at 1:00 pm to get the test results. ALL CLEAR! We’re done with pills and docs! He gets to go back to being a regular dog for awhile.

Thanks to all of everyone at CSUACC for everything…on so many levels. Jake and I really appreciated the extra attention today. But looking back, everyone was fantastic when we first walked in the door last year like any other patient. Thanks, too, for accommodating Dave from 9News and letting him go “backstage”. He’s working on a follow-up to last year’s story on “Jake’s Journey”. I’ll post the link when it airs.

Dr. Hafeman asked me if I was going to keep doing this blog now that Jake is OK. I only thought about that for a second. Absolutely. We’ve only visited 27 out of the 260 parks in Denver. We still need to get on Coors Field. And I really want to get him to a beach one day. This is just the prologue.

Late in the Afternoon

Dan and I did a full day of yard work, under Jake’s supervision. I left his leg braces off today since he was just lounging around on the grass – mostly sleeping but occasionally greeting neighbors and kids in strollers, or inspecting our progress on the plantings. As much as I love the “big idea” postings in distinctive places, these kinds of days are my favorites. Like the saying goes, “music is the space between the notes”.

Always Remember to Respect Your Mother, Pt. 2

Jake got to meet the Nuggets’ mascot, Rocky, last week. Since today is Mother’s Day, here’s an old photo of my mom with Rocky. My parents came out to Colorado for a visit when I worked for the Denver Nuggets. I’m not sure about the exact date. I think it was sometime during the 1995-96 season. Why doesn’t Rocky ever age? More postings of Mom here and here.

“Cause when love is gone, there's always justice
And when justice is gone, there's always force
And when force is gone, there's always Mom…Hi, Mom!”

“Oh, Superman” by Laurie Anderson

Hope & Glory

Welcome to the one year anniversary of “That Soft Dog”. This blog was only meant to last a couple months but here we are. Jake returned to the Furry Scurry today. When we went last year, it seemed like the start of a very sad, short process, with a predetermined outcome. Now it feels incredibly optimistic. Two years in a row. Should we even dare shoot for three? Maybe this is a good indication of why it’s foolish to worry about the future.

Like Cats and Dogs

During the peak of Nuggets-mania in 2009, I took Jake down to the Pepsi Center and shot a pic of him wearing a Walter Davis jersey in front of the arena. I had this insane idea about doing a photo shoot with Jake and the Nuggets’ super-mascot, Rocky, on the court. I worked for the team from 1986 to 1996 and still have many great friends there. I figured it would be a “slam dunk” (sorry, couldn’t resist). But we ran out of time. The Nuggets were out of the NBA Playoffs before I could line the shot up. And of course, there was no way this dog would be around for the 2010 playoffs. Wrong. Here’s Jake inside the Pepsi Center before the doors opened for Game 5 vs. the Utah Jazz. (And don't forget, he's already been on Invesco Field. What's next? Maybe the pitcher's mound at Coors Field?)

Lesson learned: Dream big and ignore the shot clock.

Years Could Go By

Well, it looks like we made it to a major milestone. One year ago today, Jake was diagnosed with cancer. The prognosis was only 2 to 3 months. I got him 9+ months longer than I thought. His birthday, my birthday. The anniversary of my mom’s death and the anniversary of him coming home weeks later. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s. What a great time of year to live in Denver. Lawns are greening up. Flowers are blooming. Enjoy some springtime colors from the front yard while Jake and I celebrate with a short walk on his bionic legs.

Everything Will Be Alright Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Jake’s cancer diagnosis. My dad just happened to be visiting from Florida that day and was one of the first to hear the sad news. Oddly enough, he’s back in Colorado this weekend. Much better situation today. We took a quick afternoon walk over to Mayfair Park for a few pics. I think Jake may be getting bored of these photo shoots now. Do you blame him? More dad-related stories here and here, if you’re interested.

Up on the Catwalk

More photos from Project Ruffway...Jake drags me across the runway…

The amazing team from CSU Animal Cancer Center...

Jake meets my new girlfriend, Miss Colorado (just kidding)…

Ready for the Floor

Project Ruffway, the benefit for the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, was a blast. Jake was a pro. A little shaky walking up the 3 steps with his leg braces but once he was on the runway, he was in his element. Dr. Hardy from the CSU Animal Cancer Center introduced him as a cancer survivor, which got the crowd energized. I bet he thought, “Hey, that applause must be for me!” So right on cue he did a couple laps, generously doling out love to the VIP’s sitting around the edge of the stage while the cameras flashed.

There are lots of party pics at the MetroMix and Blacktie-Colorado websites. I’ll post some others soon. There are so many to choose from. 9News was also there to shoot footage for a follow-up feature on Jake’s battle with cancer. April 18th will be the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis. A lot can happen in one year.

Daytime Drama

Jake appeared live on Colorado & Company this morning (his third time on 9News). He was promoting tickets to Project Ruffway on Friday night. It’s a fashion show that raises funds for the CSU Animal Cancer Center. Buy a ticket and help support the research programs that have made it possible for him to actually attend this year!

One More Time

Two more medical visits this week. Dr. Hedlin at Aspenwood Animal Hospital takes x-rays to confirm that Jake has torn the CCL on the other rear leg. We were expecting that eventually. It’s pretty common. However, the left rear leg (the first one to tear) is actually stabilizing a bit so we’re happy about that. Surgery is still not an option due to the chemo, so we’re back to OrthoPets (at their new, expanded building) for his second leg brace. As usual, Martin and Amy Kaufman, and their staff were fantastic. And I can’t believe that we’re just two weeks away from the one-year anniversary of the cancer diagnosis. He was supposed to be gone last summer. So what if he wears two braces for walks now? He’s still here and cancer-free right now.