You're not Getting Older, You're Getting Sadder
Well, so much has happened, and keeps happening. The Tall Man and I are well and truly back together, as he is (gradually) moving in, and mostly that is going well. But. The Sophie, the lovely dog we rescued from the shelter in 1999, who was getting old and demented but still sweet and happy, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March. (Oh, wait, it gets worse.)
She had been having seizures and general weakness, so the vet put her on prednisone (I mean, a 17-year-old lab/border collie mix is not about to have surgery, so there was no real point to more aggressive treatments), and was doing better, if still obviously failing. So, Sophie still lived at the Tall Man's house while my little dog and I prepared for them to move into our house and have a general family reunion.
But then Sophie went missing one night while she was out back for her regular nighttime pee, apparently through a small gap in the fence in which she'd never shown the slightest interest. And of course she had no collar on, and of course her chip dates back to 1999 and we don't have the records for it anymore. And of course the Tall Man is beating himself up in a serious way.
We did ALL the things -- flyers, visiting vets with flyers, going to the shelter several times a week...Craigslist and various dedicated lists and sites for lost dogs, and nothing. For a dog that old and sick it's hard to imagine too many happy outcomes, and it's been 5 weeks now. I can't even begin to articulate the shades of sorrow that have passed through here lately, but, you all know. It's more than the usual swamp, right now.
We persevere, to borrow a phrase, and in my wiser moments I know this is life and there will be highs and lows ... but it's the doldrums of summer here, and so I turn to livejournal because I just need to *speak*, in some way, I think.
I am now completely unused to the interface and format of livejournal, it seems fumbly and not lovely... but I miss y'all, as I've said before, so, let the online whining begin!
Sending out love and hugs and hope for better days.
She had been having seizures and general weakness, so the vet put her on prednisone (I mean, a 17-year-old lab/border collie mix is not about to have surgery, so there was no real point to more aggressive treatments), and was doing better, if still obviously failing. So, Sophie still lived at the Tall Man's house while my little dog and I prepared for them to move into our house and have a general family reunion.
But then Sophie went missing one night while she was out back for her regular nighttime pee, apparently through a small gap in the fence in which she'd never shown the slightest interest. And of course she had no collar on, and of course her chip dates back to 1999 and we don't have the records for it anymore. And of course the Tall Man is beating himself up in a serious way.
We did ALL the things -- flyers, visiting vets with flyers, going to the shelter several times a week...Craigslist and various dedicated lists and sites for lost dogs, and nothing. For a dog that old and sick it's hard to imagine too many happy outcomes, and it's been 5 weeks now. I can't even begin to articulate the shades of sorrow that have passed through here lately, but, you all know. It's more than the usual swamp, right now.
We persevere, to borrow a phrase, and in my wiser moments I know this is life and there will be highs and lows ... but it's the doldrums of summer here, and so I turn to livejournal because I just need to *speak*, in some way, I think.
I am now completely unused to the interface and format of livejournal, it seems fumbly and not lovely... but I miss y'all, as I've said before, so, let the online whining begin!
Sending out love and hugs and hope for better days.