Dear Readers,

Momma and I have now been in Florida for two full months. As you may recall, we left the frozen tundra in early December for greener pastures considering my illness. In other woofs, I could go potty without freezing my little tush off, and Momma would not have to walk outside on all fours – like me – to avoid the inevitable fall and (second) concussion. So you see it made sense.

So far, so good. I’m on my third month of Chlorambucil (chemo), Metacam (anti-inflammatory), Yunnan Baiyao (Chinese herb meant to stop bleeding and maybe shrink cancer tumor) and Panacure (supplement for de-worming and also hopefully for stopping the cancer). You should see our kitchen in the morning. Momma dons the protective gloves and has all of my goodies laid out on paper towels, with disinfectant hand and counter wipes at the ready.

To add a little excitement to my feeding, she has taken to asking brightly “what do you want for breakfast today, Lina — dog food?!” (Ha-ha.) Then, without listening for my answer, she proclaims “okay!” and serves up a quarter cup of dry dog food (not surprisingly a special kind to help with crystals in my urine that she has been feeding me since I was a pup), topped with pea, pumpkin or broccoli baby food. Then she places it in front of me with such a flourish you’d think I was dining at the French Laundry.

Next we turn to the meds. First she gives me (she guesses) three milliliters of the Metacam (“squirt for the Squirt, Lina!) followed by my Yunnan Baiyao wrapped in ham (“ham roll up, Lina — yum!”), then my chemo pill also wrapped up in ham (“magic pill, Lina!”) topped off with pieces of ham with no pills (“treat, no strings attached, Lina!”). All said and done with great cheerfulness, as though nothing could be better! I’m almost exhausted by the time my morning gets rolling.

My bloodwork this time showed my white blood cell count is just a little under normal, but Blue Pearl says all things considered, I’m doing really well. I still play ball with Momma most days, go for at least one walk around the Cape every day and play Frisbee from time to time.

I do have one teeny tiny problem though in that I guess I tend to “leak” a little of that specially-treated urine at night. Not sure why — age? Chemo? Life with Momma (just kidding)?

Anyway, Momma was able to find extra large “waterproof pee pads for the elderly and pets” on Amazon, and they were delivered to our lobby the next day. Imagine Momma’s great joy as the front desk guy (eyes averted) handed them to her in a box that practically screamed INCONTINENCE (see photo right). All I can woof is you better hang on to the extras, Momma. And you can’t avoid the front desk forever.

So it goes. Another day, another challenge. In the meantime, I thought I’d share pictures of me chillin’ on the lanai, chewing on a favorite bone and having a moment with Momma.

Lina, Pawrsevering!

Woofda!