garden

Here's a little bit of our garden project, thanks to Dave. Sorry if the formatting of the pictures is off, but blogger can get tricky. The before:

organic seeds in organic soil

repotted since they're bigger

seven months

Dave is still doing well. I love having nothing exciting to report. He's been very active with the nicer weather, and is a happy little dog. He had a couple of days where he didn't want to eat his kibble, but it may have had more to do with the hard kibble than the appetite. We initially soaked kibble in broth and mixed it with wet, and then went to grinding up the kibble with some wet. Now we're transitioning back to kibble. But his appetite for treats and the wet food remained excellent.

Today marks a few important Dave milestones. He's been out of remission for seven months, and has outlasted his prognosis at that time - five more months than the two they gave us. Go Dave! It's also a year and three months since being diagnosed originally, pushing him higher above the average.

excitement

We had an "incident" in the neighborhood today. Our next door neighbor barricaded himself in the house (details here). Mike and I had to run out after the initial drama of an ambulance coming, and came home to a closed off street, SWAT team, Bomb Squad and a ton of police officers. Wow...

Dave was in the house the entire time, the officers wouldn't let us get him. I suppose the safety of people is more than a dog, but I worried for the few hours while I watched SWAT members taking cover all around my house and car. The good news is that we are good, our house is fine and the officers did a great job and stayed safe. But my heart is still pounding.

Dave is fine, he's made a complete turnaround from a few days ago. He may seem a little confused in this picture, but he's good to go.

solace in aging

I've come to grips with having a senior dog. We lovingly call Dave our old man, sometimes call him puppy and find some happiness and humor in the sad, yet funny things that Dave now does. What I haven't been able to figure out (and wouldn't this be lovely) is where my comfort level is and my acceptance of what's happening.

Is Dave extra-tired after a full week off with Mike and I, doing lots of abnormal activities? Or is he slowing down, the effects of cancer and being close to ten catching up with him? Is he not eating his kibble because it's too hard for his senior teeth, or because he's losing his appetite as a symptom of losing the larger battle?

I'm taking solace now in his greeting me at the door and popping his head up to look out at me when I drive away or arrive at home. In the way he scrunches down when he's picking out which toy to bring to me. In the way he devours the soft, wet food that we're giving him to ensure he's eating something. When he jumps up (usually by the second try) in bed and curls up in my legs.

I have a different feeling now than I've had in the past - acceptance? Gratitude? I want him to be here, and be well while he's here. For tonight, he is.

yard work

spring

Spring is a fun time in our household - new beginnings and all of that good stuff. It's time for gardening, the Phillies and just getting outside more. It rained (once again) today, but in the late afternoon the rain broke and we were able to get out and pull some weeds. Muddy weed pulling is the best! After weeding our side pathway (baby steps), we applied corn gluten - it's an organic weed preventative. It's also an ingredient in a lot of dog foods because it's an inexpensive additive, so animals love to eat it. Dave sniffed around but didn't bother it too much, surprisingly.