In the "zone"

My brother Lou and me, we were part of the same litter of 11 puppies.  When Mom saw us, she fell in love.  She coaxed Dad to come see us with all our brothers and sisters one cold november Day almost 10 years ago. When Dad picked me up from the pile of pups, I nuzzled his chest and he was in head over heels in love with me.  I am still the same dog, and Dad loves me like no one could, except Mom. Mom says I am her favorite dog ever.  She has had some amazing dogs, so I feel really blessed to be the favorite.  She really, really loved Larkin.  Larkin was her favorite before me.  Dad says Larkin was an acquired taste.  But Mom loved her and Larkin knew it.  Dad loved Chinaco, or "shnagg-a-dog" as Dad called him, who was the perfect dog when Dad and Mom had them together.  Chinaco died shortly after moving to the house we live in now.  He couldn't do stairs because of his arthritis.  Dad loved him so much and still thinks about and misses him often.  Dad keeps his collar as a way to keep in touch with Chinaco.  Sometimes he cries because he misses him so much.

 Larkin has a special place in Dad's heart.  When Dad first moved to California he saw Mom and Larkin on the TV news.  Mom used to run with Larkin around Palo Alto even though there were bad people who would abduct blonde pretty women like Mom when they were out running even though the women just wanted to keep in shape.  Dad saw her on the TV and fell in love on first sight.  Seven years later he saw Mom at their work and asked her out to lunch the minute he saw her again.  They have been together ever since.  Larkin died less than a year after they moved  to this house where Lou and I have always lived.  She was a good dog who loved Chinaco and Mom and Dad and especially tennis balls. Larkin mourned Chinaco and then she became Chinaco, so Dad loved her just as much as him.  It was hard on Mom and Dad when she passed.  She died of cancer...

Dad says we are in the "zone" since we will be 10 years old this Halloween, and golden retrievers die between 10 and 14 years.  A golden who lives more than 14 years is like a baseball player who hits over 300 average, it is rare.  Dad loves us and we love him and Mom.  I just feel tired lately.  And there are big lumps on my body.  I hope I took the cancer away from Mom so she can live many more years as humans should.  Its okay if the cancer kills me because I have lived a long life for a dog already.  Dad promises he will keep me in his heart.  He says "If I don't think about you, who will?".  So he will always think about me just like he thinks about and remembers with love Chinaco, Larkin, Duke, Saber, and Lisa.  All dogs go to heaven...

Left over burgers

Dad was home late yesterday.  He and Mom arrived at almost the same time around 6:30 PM.  Dad was tired and didn't feel like cooking so Mom asked for the left over burgers for dinner which upset me because I was hoping Dad would give the tasty morsels to his faithful dog, you know - me.  I love left over burgers, or burgers of any kind.  Dad was happy because beef is good for Mom to build up her blood and to gain some weight.  She has lost another 5 pounds, which means she is barely 120 pounds in her clothes.  Since she is 5-foot 7 inches tall, she should weigh more like 140 or 145 fully dressed.  Keep eating burgers Mom!

Dad needs to be careful

Dad is Mom's caretaker through her cancer treatment and, well, life in general.  Today he was trimming the scrub oak trees along our back fence so the sun gets to the bamboo screen and the garden better.  He set up a 25' ladder into one of the trees to trim some branches away.  We live on a hillside and the back of the lot has a really steep slope especially right at the fence.  Dad was up with the lopper (thank God not the chain saw) when the ladder slipped downslope and he was launched into mid-air.  He should be more like a cat and land on his feet instead of on his back with a thud.  The collision with the ground and the small of his back knocked the wind out of him making him crawl around on the ground on all fours like a dog gasping for air.  I felt sorry for him that he was in so much pain.  He's lucky he isn't either in the hospital with a broken back, hip or paraplegic as a result of that fall.  Dad is a Physics genius, so he thinks, so he calculated his speed on impact.  He estimates the collision at about 15 miles per hour when he landed.  He should be more like a cat and land on his feet!  He needs to keep himself healthy to take care of Mom while she fights the cancer.  Not splaying  on hard-pack and gasping for air for five minutes like today. He took some Alleve to ease the swelling.  His left elbow is all kinds of black and blue.  He did tough it out for the rest of the day to finish so the yard would look good when Mom came home.  Get it together dude!

Mom came home and felt sorry for him and scolded him too.  She pointed out the she may outlive him because he has so  many accidents that cause bodily harm to the old duffer.  Dad cooked her hamburger sliders with grilled zucchini from our garden.  They laughed and hugged and generally enjoyed the evening.  The old duffer recovered well!

Ass Whopping

Mom and Dad took it easy today so Mom can rest and be strong to fight the cancer.  After going to the farmer's market in San Francisco to get fresh veggies, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms and a hanger steak for dinner they came home to chill in our yard.  The sat in the garden drinking wine.  Then they went upstairs for a long and leisurely bath followed by some luxurious sex.  Then they went back to the yard to play bocce.  They are both very competitive which made me nervous so I tried to get them to stop playing.  Every time one would toss the palino, I would rush to the end of the court wagging my tail and panting heavily.  Dad was very irritated with me because he would keep me off the court when Mom would play but Mom would let me distract Dad when he played.  Dad took an early lead which I didn't like.  Then Mom got four points on one play and then whooped Dad's ass.  It was a thing of beauty.  Dad may or may not have let her win.  It doesn't matter because Mom was felling good.  It was a glorious day.  I hope I helped Mom win!

Blood markers improving

Mom and Dad went to see Mom's oncologist Friday afternoon while Lou and I stayed at home bored as ever.  Mom had gotten her blood taken that morning before going to work so the doctor could check progress since her first treatment.  The doctor was gushing that Mom had responded really well to first treatment.  Her white blood count went from 120 thousand to 3 thousand with healthy white cells on the rise indicating that Mom's marrow is in strong recovery.  Her platelets had improved too along with the disappearance of swollen lymph nodes.  A really good report.

Mom and Dad then went to the Rosewood for a drink and to relax after, which meant that Lou and me continued to be bored, so we dug up a few plants from the garden and I stole some juicy tomatoes to hold me until dinner.  When they got home everyone was so happy that it made Lou and me absolutely wild with excitement.  Let's have more good days like this.

Mom will go in for another meeting with the oncologist on the 14th of August.  Then she will have her second treatment the 19th and 20th.  She and Dad plan to go to Sausalito the 16th through the 18th to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.  They are looking for someone to babysit Lou and me that weekend.  I hope it is someone fun who will give me treats.

Mom is amazing

Mom came home from work last night with a story to tell.  She was facilitating an offsite meeting when they asked to pause the meeting to recognize Mom for her good work.  Four executives all gave testimonials of how amazing Mom is at work.  They punctuated it with a recognition bonus that let Mom get $5,000 after taxes and stuff.  She was so touched by the gesture that her eyes welled up.

I know Mom is amazing because I am her favorite dog of all time.  What they don't know is that she does all that great stuff at work, she is an awesome Mom and wife at home.  And she is fighting cancer  and getting chemo medicine that makes her feel like crap while she does all that great stuff.  She's one in a million.  Please God, you want her in heaven to take care of stuff up there, but will you let her be with us for a long life?

Away from her

Mom had a business dinner last night so it was just us guys, Lou, Dad and me, at home without Mom.  I was really missing her and worried that the cancer or germs could get to Mom without me there to protect her.  She came home at almost 10 PM, which is Mom's normal bed time.  She stayed up with us for a while after changing into casual clothes because she missed us too.  We sat and talked as a family in the family room which Dad has utterly torn apart for painting.  Then I got one of Mom's walking shoes that she lets me chew on and went to bed with Mom and Lou.  Dad came up later and made me get off the bed so he had a place to sleep.  He still let Lou stay on the bed because he says Lou knows how to share the room versus me who is a "bed hog".  I don't look, sound, or act like a hog at all.  I like bacon, though, so pigs are okay as long as they are only at the grocery store or butcher shop where Dad buys bacon to fry up at home.  Mom will be home for dinner tonight.  I hope Dad finishes painting the family room before she comes home so she is comfortable.