A birthday without him

So here we are, the day before what could have & should have been Meatys 9th birthday. Its been a hard four months since having to say goodbye. I had expected that I would be on the other side of the pain by now but am not. Don't get me wrong,Its not all bad. I still laugh because of him too. He was an exceptional boy. Easy to love & oh so very hard to let go of.
Twice now since Christmas I have been stopped in my tracks because I swear I have glimpsed Meaty sprawled on the couch as I passed the living room. And I swear that a few weeks ago when Puck was biting and pawing air that he was playing with Meaty. I suppose its possible that I am just romanticizing my little Pug buddies odd behavior.

I never did make it back here to tell the story of Meatys final day. I guess , while I am here anyway, its as good a time as any.

Its no secret that Meaty battled cancer. We had thought we got it all when his face was reconstructed but cancer is........well, unpredictable. Formidable. Evil. And it seems to be on the uprise in our pets. Please, spend the money & screen!

Anyway, Meaty had started coughing a bit but coincidentally had been exposed to kennel cough by a neighborhood dog. On the night of Friday December 17th Meaty was behaving oddly......he turned down popcorn! Meaty was NEVER one to snub food.Near bedtime I noticed him having difficulty sitting & getting comfortable. I thought his arthritis was acting up. It was freezing outside after all.
Saturday morning he was not only uncomfortable still but was coughing...hard. We took off to our vet immediately. He was first checked for heart failure but passed that test with flying colors. His heart was still strong. Both a blessing and a curse to know. Next was x-ray. When Dr Rice came to us with the x-rays in his hands I knew it wasn't good. Stupidly I begged the powers that be for it to be pneumonia or something else treatable but deep down I knew what that look on Dr Rices face meant. He put the x-rays up for us to see and all we could see was tumor after tumor after tumor. He was riddled with them. Clearly Meaty had been fighting for a while. Clearly he was determined to eek out every moment he could with us.
There really was no decision to be made. It had been made for us. We wouldn't even have been able to keep him comfortable enough to pass at home.The cancer had won.
We said our goodbyes and at 10:20 am one stinkin' week before Christmas I held Meaty tightly, his head on my chest as he took his last breath directly over my heart. It was almost as if he was making sure he'd always be in it. Silly boy, he will ALWAYS be there.

So many of you throughout the years have shown that you loved our boy too. Thank you for that.

As I have mentioned already tomorrow, Easter Sunday, would have been Meatys birthday. Please hug your babies a little tighter, give them that *not exactly great for them* goody they love so much & schedule a screening. Cancer doesn't always have to win.

~Kat,Oz & Puck~

Meaty left us

Meaty B left this world behind yesterday December 18th 2010 after along, hard fought battle with cancer.
I have much moreto say but simply cannot at this moment.

May there be buckets in Heaven.

Its back

Momma wasn't planning on saying anything but has recently been asked why she never posts anymore ....especially no new pictures.... when she often posts new pics of Oz and Puck on Facebook. Truth is, I am not symmetrical anymore so she only posts shots that don't show me head on or up close.
I am holding my own. I still play,run,eat and SNORE :}

And now, its not a secret anymore..... but please don't treat me differently. I just want to be Meaty, the goofy Boxer.Not Meaty, the cancer dog. K ?

XoXo
Meaty B

Its been a while huh ?

I wish I could WOOF that it was a happy occasion that lead me here today. I wish.
It was brought to my attention that Troop {154199} will be crossing the bridge today after a battle with that #$% cancer. Most of you know about my battle with that damned disease. Most of you are the reason I'm still here {and are also the reason I am now a *bionic puppy*}. Please show Troop & family some love.

We're happy to see Spring coming our way. We've even had a few really nice days in between those 25 degree days. Moms been able to patrol the yard for a winters worth of canine mines .... I woofed her just to hire the *Doggie Butler* again but nooooooo and its been sometimes dry enough that we all get a nice run going. One day was so nice that Mom & Puck had their first backyard fire of the year. Man did they reek! My sister sent them both straight to the showers. BOL {A clear disadvantage to being a little dog .... they are able to scoop you up & bathe you so easily. Poor Puckers}.
Our walks are starting back up with some regularity. Oz goes more often {and much farther} than I do. What can I woof ? Its a female dog getting old.

I've been told I have to go now. Mom needs to chase hairballs AGAIN. Oz is blowing coat and WOW is he ever making a mess! BOL

X's & O's
Meaty B, feel OK these days

While Momma fumes ...

While Momma fumes I thought I'd hide here.
Momma found out that Great Grandma who just turned 95 last week fell while at the cemetery today & whacked her head on a tombstone. Apparently she is/was bleeding !! What has Momma fuming is that her daughters {my Grandma & Aunt } won't go over to check on her because .. now get this ... they are afraid to tick her off and neither want to *go alone*! Howl-o people, she is 95 years, about 80 lbs what is there to be afraid of ??!! Admittedly Great Grandma is one of those ladies that can freeze you out with just a look but grow a pair! She'll get over the *intrusion* eventually.
Momma was a nurse, my sister is a med student but Grandma won't listen to the reasoning that Great Grandma could be concussed or worse yet have a bleeder.
Because Momma is stranded without her truck right now & the *daughters* are chicken ____s my sister {from her school} called the police in Great Grandmas town & they are sending someone over right now.
Hope we hear something soon. Hope its all good but I will tell you now ..... my Momma is PEEVED OFF and has told them all what crappy people shethinks they are. It will probably be quite some time before she calms down.

~Meaty, knows Momma is not mad at him but steering clear anyway~

Howl-o there !

Its me, Meaty. Do you guys still recognize me ? BOL

First of all let me WOOF a belated Yappy Howl-o-weenie to you all. I so look forward to the day every year. Its the one day that kids come to me in droves :} I got ripped off this year because of the Buffa-blo weather. It poured all day & stopped prior to 6pm {kiddie time} but don'tcha know the wind was blowing like crazy & we actually had a windchill ! I didn't get to sit fireside this year, no one did. Amazingly we still got over 30 kids but I did not get to kiss one face or sniff one butt. Sooooooper bummed !!
Mr Mike{Tysons Daddy} came over during the day to help Momma *go wireless*. Now she can go anywhere with that laptop of hers so I told her *No more excuses lady, we must pupdate Dogster more often now*
Mr Mike is really cool & although he did call me F-A-T, he laid the love on pretty well.

My hoo-man sister,brother & my sisters boyfriend threw a Howl-o-ween party in our garage Friday & I did get the love that night. I stormed that garage like a dog on a mission.Hey, there was pizza ! BOL. Everyone was quite happy to see me ...oh yeah, and Puck. Ozzy just sat outside the door barking & howling at the top of his lungs. His version of *GET OUT*. BOL
It didn't work .... they were out there until 4am and when Momma got up the first thing she saw was a note from my sister. *If you need to go anywhere take my car. Someone is sleeping in your truck* BOL
Never dull around here I guess.

Even though I have been feeling pretty good lately it was Puck that got to go hiking with Momma & Grandma today. They took him to Chestnut Ridge. Momma said he got to go because he has never been. She said he did very well ....... a natural at hiking. {He even went down a slide & was on the swings!}. Guess I am teaching him well. Next time had BETTER be my turn !

We were devastated by the news that our pal Otto{Sirius Black the Newfies brother} passed away this week after a battle with cancer. Momma got to meet him in dogson this past July. Know that we love you Otto !! Xo

It is now 8pm pm and I MUST get going soon. My Yankees are hitting the diamond in 20 minutes. I must do a quick run outside & pick a good seat on the couch. They are playing my pal JayJays fave team, the Phillies. Our Mommas had been having fun teasing each other back & forth. The Yankees are up on the Phillies by 1 game and lets just say that JayJays Momma is ....... well, nervous. Its okay Ms K, we are all supposed to be nervous.We both love great teams so naturally it will be a great series. Look at it this way..... win or lose there are 30 other teams who would kill to be in our positions right now. Lets just enjoy the ride !!

Oh, one more thingy before I do go. Momma got an email today from Terri who painted me earlier this year asking her to write a few paragraphs about me. It seems I will soon be featured on the site {like so many of my pals have been}. We can't wait !! We willbe sure tolet you all know when I am added. Momma desperately wants Oz painted now too & might just ask Santa to make that wish come true. Think he takes requests from dogs ??

Gotta peace out now,
~Meaty B~

As summer draws to an end

Howldy everywoof!

As summer starts to draw to an end we're finally finding some time to sit down and WOOF.
Sweet summer days are hard to come by here in Buffa-blo so when we do get nice weather we tend to take advantage for sure.The white stuff will be here soon enough and you'll probably see so much of us you'll be hoping for us to get a freak summer in the middle of winter. BOL.
I truly believe the only reason we've been poking around online lately is because we are inundated with bees. Momma is allergic so she is terrified. She is also a bit embarrassing........ you should see her running around, arms flailing, screaming like the worlds ending or something. I have seen the neighbors laugh. BOL
Those darn bees keep us out of the yard some days. And now that we had a coyote in our yard a couple weeks ago we have to be careful at night too. We haven't seen him but that once. I have to credit Oz. He's the one who chased him off.

Thanks to all that have been keeping in touch to check my progress. I'm feeling pretty okay! My scar has healed so well that if you don't know to look for one you'd never know what I went through.
I do hav some off days but we believe its mostly arthritis.

Thanks to you guys ..... paws down the best pals in the world .... I wasn't the only one helped by the auction. Two canine cancer organizations also received donations for research. Credit was given to *Meatballs Dogster Pals*
{My *web-dawgs tell me that the details are on the auction website}

I haven't had any tumors pop up and that's majorly good. I have had a few infections but I seem to have the worst of them whooped. Now its just one ear. No biggie.

I go in for blood work this month but expect nothing but GOOD news :}
Puck is not so lucky. The time has come for him to say goodbye to his *little buddies*. Yepper, he gets the ol' snip snip on Sept 9th.
Its good news in a way. It means that he has healed from his burns and that is excellent. He has one teeny tiny little bald patch left. So small that Momma has had to stop calling him Kojak. BOL.

We may be linking Puck to mine & Ozzys pages {when we can get Momma here long enough to help that is}. We may as well. For being my sisters dog ..... you'd hardly know it. He is always with us. He eats from our bowls, follows and plays with us all day and sleeps in our bed with us and our Momma. My only real beef with that is ....... he steals MY pillow. Grrrr.Well, until he gets the * shiver me timbers* and he shimmies under the blankets and presses up to Momma that is.
Momma is a bit of a cover hog so we've just ordered Puck his very own *Daisy Mae Snuggle Sack*. We hear realy great things about them.
He also got a new coat yesterday. Some mornings here have been in the 40s. Ick !
He hates to be separated from my Momma. She'll likely turn pink when she realizes I have shared this but ......... she can't even shower alone or piddle without a certain little puggie trying to jump to her lap. BOL

Oz is doing great. His eyes are getting a bit more cloudy from the corneal dystrophy but the boy still doesn't miss a piece of meat being tossed his way. BOL

Yesterday was our *day of beauty*. I sure wish Momma would stop calling it that. Smelling fruity is bad enough ....... does she really have to make it sound so froo froo too ? BOL
We all smell *Hawaiian* now. Sigh.

Welp, I am being given the *wrap it up blabbermouth* sign. Hopefully I won't have to wait months to WOOF again {glares at Momma}.

Peace puppa pals.
~Meaty B, stinkin' pretty~

*Tap Tap* is this thing on ??? GREAT NEWS

Am I in ? Where is my grey buddy of late? Not here? Cool !
Howldy everywoof. Somethings been bugging us ...... and maybe has been some of you ?

I woof of the grey box telling us to sign into the Dogster Network .........while we ARE signed in and typing away.It pops up like a gazillion times, won't accept our Dogster log in info and is very annoying.
We can type a post but the post won't take. Here is to hoping ........ So far, no grey box!!
Momma will be smart enough to C & P this entry before hitting the *publsh* button this time though. BOL

On July 22nd 2009 Momma got the best birthday gift EVER.
My results are in and I HAVE CLEAN MARGINS !!
Not only that but the rest of my pathology looks VERY PROMISING too !!!
We have been itching to share this news. We asked some Facebook friends to pass the message and our apologies but we aren't sure if anyone did.

Anyway, back to me. BOL ;}
Dr Fingeroth says Momma has to watch for signs of illness but for right now ....no chemo, no meds and back to life as normal.
I have lost some weight but now that we know my pathology came back good Momma is breathing sighs of relief .......its just because I am so much more active now.
If the rain stops I may even get to hike this weekend. My first in a loooong time. I'm pretty excited !

Everyone says my face looks great. Yes , I do have that scar but with my fur back in you really can't see it. Momma says that if someone doesn't know my story and to look for it, she bets they will never even notice it.
Guess the chicks won't be digging me so much afterall huh ? BOL

We cannot thank you all enough for the supposrt.
Baxter & Kenzie really saved me bigtime when they came up with the auction idea.Brilliant,loving pack!!
They are still hard at work on it even though it has closed. The last step will be transferring all the monies {once all items are paid for } to Dr Cs office. Howlever, thanks to my GOOD NEWS, we will be donating more to the charities than we expected. PAY IT FORWARD !

Mom would like the keyboard for a few seconds so I will just say my goodnights for now. I promise to catch up on p-mails tomorrow so long as our little grey box stays away. {Bizarre huh?}

~Meaty, can't wait to get his mail~


Hi everyone.
I just wanted to say a human thank you to everyone involved with helping us save the Meatyhead. He is doing so much better ---- like night and day I swear. He is playing like he is a pup again and I am quite happy to once again be exhausted by his antics :}

I also want to address an issue I have caught wind of via the Dogster grapevine.
The issue being a recent vacation to Florida that I took this month. I can completely understand how hearing I was on vacation after allowing someone to hold fundraising would give you pause. Hell, it would have me.Therefore I would like to set a few things straight.

1.This vacation was partially free.I had no flight fees and my shark diving experience was a birthday present from a dear friend { really it was just his way of chickening out on his wife but I'll let him save face and call it a b'day present.LOL}

2.It was put together and paid for over a year ago. Before illnesses and auctions.

3. We tried backing out when Meaty took sick but were told our money was non-refundable. Use it or lose it. I will not deny needing a few days away and if I can't have my money back anyway ....why not go ??!

4. If anyone feels mislead,betrayed,used, or any of the other words I have had hurled at me lately than please p-mail me and I will see to it that your donation is returned.It may take some time to do but it WILL be done with no hard feelings.

5. I wish not to lose Dogster friends over this. I wish not to be thought of or spoken of badly because of this. However, if you feel the need to *drop* us as pals as others recently have then I will {sadly} accept that.

Now, with that off my chest I'd like to say thank you once again and add that we are comitted to *paying it forward*. Please include us in further fundraisers etc.
We may not have money but, as was proven through Meatys auction, there are many ways to give. We'd lke the chance to do so.

~Kat~

Is no news always good news?

I hope so because if that is true I am in the clear.
My biopsy results are still NOT in. Grrr.
Dr Fingeroth did call Momma twice last week. Once to say he was surprised the results weren't in and that he was going to *get on* the lab. The next call was a voicemail that said *the biopsy is still not in but some pathology is and looks promising*. He didn't say what pathology and when Momma called back Dr F had already left on vacation. He is due back tomorrow.TD

I am feeling FANTASTIC !!!!!!
I am bucket chasing, instigating and even doing my jump and flips again. I hear I may even hike this week ! Thank you all !!

I am slimming down some which on one paw has Momma worried it may be from cancer but on the other she prefers to think its just cuz my activity level has taken off in a big way. No holding me back! BOL

I know I am far behind here and I do apologize but I must blame Momma. She had to go on this prepaid Florida vacation thingy she and friends got about 18 months ago.She hasn't been feeling well & didn't even want to go but is now glad she did. She say she shook some stress and is feeling a bit better.
She refused to let me keep the laptop{glares at Momma} because the villa supposedly had WiFi.
It didn't work! Am I the only one to get a giggle outta that? BOL
You should have seen her face when she checked yesterday to find over 300 emails and a bunch of Dogster stuff too. Serves her right. BOL

She did get to meet Sirius Black the Newfie {NPC} , his brothers Otto and Gandolf as well as their Mom and Dad. She said she even got to swim with Gandolf. It was a precursor to swimming with sharks ---which she did this past Saturday and LOVED.She was down just under an hour and says she could have stayed there for days. {Nutter!}
Oz is sooooooooper upset that he wasn't there to meet Sirius--- his brudder from anudder mudder. We call him *Yeti* so Momma bought him a stuffed Yeti, some treats and even saved them her leftovers from dinner the night before ...... just like she does for us :} She said they were cleaning hair outta the pool for 2 days but it was SO SO worth it.

There was one accident while she was away. My brother Puck got burned by hot grease on his head and splashes on his lips. The pigment in his lips is returning. Only a tiny spot is still pink and one vet tech at the emergency vet {Dr Fs office} thought he was named Puck because the pink on his lips make him look like he is puckering up to kiss. BOL
His head .......OUCH. He looks worse than I did with my face hacked open. Momma and my sister took Puck to Dr C for follow up yesterday and he assured them that although Pucks burn looks horrible to us its really not the worst {medically speaking}. He even belives Pucks hair will grow back. The spot is about the size of half dollar coin {and is right now blood red raw and oozy} and he is coned. Now he just might understand my misery.
The emergency vet tried talking my sister into operating IF Pucks hair doesn't eturn. Something about pulling his skin over so the bald spot would go away but there is no way in h-e-doublehockeysticks my fam will allow an unnecessary surgery. If he stays bald we'll just get Tysons Mommy,Miss Tif, to shave his head into a mohawk so he matches. BOL
I keep getting in trouble for trying to lick Pucks owie. I'm just trying to help :{ He tried to help me heal .......
Which btw is going very well. Momma came home,grabbed my face to see how my fur is coming in and was quite pleased. A passerby on the street probably won't even notice my scar :} It has no fur but doesn't really stand out much. Momma is going to try to get some pics of me as soon as she can get her hands on a camera.

Welp, I better get going for now.Someones at the door that needs a good scare!

~Meaty, off to intimidate~

Wooo Hooooo and P. U!!!

They're out, they're out, they're out !!!!
Dr C said my scar was looking much better than it did on Friday and grabbed up his scissors. My sister had to laugh because the minute Dr C cut out that first stitch my *nubbie* started going a mile a minute. BOL.
{I think I surprised them all when I didn't pull away:}
I was a very good boy {of course} and stood there grinning and nubbie wiggling like a fool. I knew what this meant .... NO MORE CONE !!
No sooner were my stitches out and what does my sister do ? She blabs out loud that I can now have a bath :0
Apparently I *smell like a dog*. Um, ya think ? BOL
I'd like to strap that sucker around her neck for two weeks to eat,drink, and sleepy drool in and then see how pretty she smells. BOL
She must have had payback in mind ...... ya see, I snucked some Puperoni {which I am not used to having} and today I gased Momma & my sister the whole wa to and from Dr Cs office.BMTO
Air fresheners are working overtime at my house today. Muhahahahaha.



Anyway .....Now we wait on the biopsy which Dr C seems to think should be coming in pretty soon now. Hopefully I won't need much aftercare. I have heard then woofing about something called chemo as a pawsibility & how its not pleasant so I'm just going to hope for the best! We are hoping to have the results before the auction {meatballtheboxer.webs.com} closes on July 1st so we know how much money will need to be transferred to my account at Dr Cs office .... and how much we can donate to the two canine cancer organizations we have chosen to receive any overage.

I'm a little late but I'd like to give some shout outs {SORRY!!} to Lacy NPC who commisioned that gorgeous painting of me on my page and to Terry who painted it. Also to Ron the *Eggman* and Takoda who carved the most insanely beautiful egg with my picture on it as well as a Jeff Gordon one for my Momma because she had to sell her crystal Gordon car at my auction {pics to post as soon as Momma can get her hands on a camera}.
And lets not forget Helga & Ellie who have informed me some of their famous cookies are on their way to me .
Last but certainly not least, to everyone who has donated their time,energy,greenbacks and thoughts to me..... to us.

Oh Oh Oh, one more. To my hoo-man bro who turned 19 on the 26th ! All he got to do was work,work,work but you won't hear him complaining. He was going a little nut-so when he was unemployed and never wants to be that way again.

Welp, Momma is giving me the *cut it short* signal. She has to run to the market for some dinner . She and my sister are on their own AGAIN as my bro and my Dad have been working 14 -15 hour days lately. By the time they get done all they want to do is shower,eat something quick and be chill. They are both normally Zzzzz-ing long before the rest of us. I never understood why Momma would complain about my snoring but now that I have to try to sleep with the 2 of them snoring away, I totally get it. BOL

Have a great day everyone !!!

~Meaty B, finaly free!!~