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Jarvis the Brown Menace

Mom here....

This is an exceedingly sad time and I'm not really sure what to say.

As most of you know, Jarvis made his trip to The Bridge yesterday. The cancer most likely spread to his liver or spleen or both. They were both enlarged and he was extremely anemic. He had been going downhill for the past two weeks - not eating much, had to bring him water while he was laying on the couch, stopped playing, going outdoors was a challenge. He had no energy, almost like he was depressed. I really didn't want to hear what I knew the vet was going to tell me so I kept him home, took care of him, made him eggs, and loved on him as much as possible. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and took him to the vet. He jumped right in the car like always. Then I suddenly knew just how bad it was. He usually gets in the car and goes straight to the backseat. He got in yesterday and just laid across the front seat. He wouldn't budge. I had to lift his hind end up and put him in the passenger side so I could drive. He wouldn't get out once we got to the vet. Two of the vet techs had to come and lift him out of the car. When he got in the exam room, he just kind of fell. The vet examined him and we decided together that he just wasn't going to improve. The vet said I could bring him home for the day so the kids and my husband could say goodbye. I called Ron (husband) at work and we decided that bringing him home was being too selfish. I couldn't bear to see Jarvis stuck in the car like that or to fall down again. We decided that it was time to say goodbye and give him peace. I stayed with him the whole time, looking in his eyes and telling him how much we love him while he got the shot. It was very peaceful. I'm so glad I was with him when he went.

I know that we did the right thing for him. I know that he had a good, happy, and loving life. He brought so much joy to our family and friends (everybody knew about Jarvis Davis - he's a mini celebrity in our neighborhood). I also know that this crushing sadness will eventually end. What helps the most is all of our pals on Dogster and Facebook sending so much love and support. I said it last night and still mean it - words cannot express the gratitude that I feel.

Wow!

I woke up today just knowing that something special was going to happen. Dad is working from home today so we were all sleeping in. I don't get to do the Morning Cuddle very often with Dad. He has this crazy notion that dogs don't belong in bed. What a weirdo. Anyhow, there I was, as Ella would say, being the meatses in the Mama and Daddy sammich. Diablo was this weird little wandering-around-the-bed side dish or something. Finally, he settled down by me and we all four had a great snuggly nap. (Then Diablo got up and tried to poop on the floor - Dad scooped him up and ran him outdoors though. I stayed snuggly with Mom and laughed)

After we got up, Mom FINALLY checked her email to see that I'm a DDP today!!! I knew it was going to be a good day. Thanks HQ!!! And thanks for my prezzies and well wishes!!

Bark at ya later!

Vet visit

I had to go to the vet last week. (I needed my rabies vaccine and some other booster shots. I was, of course, very well behaved!)

The good news is that the vet has a lot of confidence that we might have got all the cancer when the leg was amputated. He said so many people wait weeks or months to decide to amputate after receiving the diagnosis and that gives the cancer more time to spread. It was just 3 weeks from our first vet visit to the amputation surgery. Of course, this cancer typically spreads quickly to the lungs. We have to watch for me to have very labored breathing - that's how we'll know if the cancer got in there. So far so good. It's been almost 2 months since they took my leg (it went to THE Ohio State University even though I decided not to). We are just trying to enjoy every day that we have together!!

P.S. I like that little guy a lot better now. He's fun to play with! It's also fun to tell him to do bad stuff then watch him get in trouble!! BOL!