Hi all,
Me rambling on again i'm afraid. So last Sunday did the usual things, me , wife & dog in the car and mother in laws for lunch. Sunday evening returned home & Mrs notices a large swelling on my canine & loyal friends neck and by Monday it's grown rapidly. I try and get an appointment but the earliest one available is Wednesday morning. Vet suspects it's Lymphoma and takes samples from lymph nodes, 1 week wait for results for results.
By Saturday morning he isn't well at all, and we take him back to vets. For 2 visits we've racked up £400 bill on credit cards.The first credit card debt mutually agreed in years. Some may say it's just a pet & pets die eventually. Here's my take, when everyone had deserted me (my fault not theres ) this one stuck around. I remember the days before i got serious about stopping & i'd sit on the end of a 3 seater sofa & how he'd jump on the middle cushion & try to snuggle up to me for just a little bit of affection. Often his paws would accidentally land on my keyboard and £50 each way would read £h?w? each way and a message would pop up saying PLEASE ENTER A VALID AMOUNT YOU WANT TO BET lol.
When i first came here determined to stop there would often be televised big meetings on TV and i on more than one occasion made my mind up to walk him before the 1st race came on. He's been riddled with arthritis for years & often holds up his back right leg off the ground whilst walking, yet whenever he heard the rustle of a doggy clean up bag being dragged out of the box or the jingle of his lead being picked up he'd be at the front door, tail wagging saying "COME ON AL LET'S DO IT ".
I remember in the early days walking him & never knowing the result of the 1st televised race, looking at my watch and realising it was over thinking "WELL I'VE MISSED THE FIRST RACE RESULT SO I CAN MISS THE SECOND RACE RESULT TOO". We both got something out of this experiment, i got away from gambling & he got the love and affection he so craved for.
His future doesn't look quite as rosy as mine but no matter what i feel more than ever that his contribution to my ( not recovery but getting better) will never be forgotten. There was a time i'd have used this to crawl back & go back to what I'd become many years ago. But not this time as i view recovery as a jigsaw of a million pieces ( some will complete it others wont in their life time ) but if i ever complete my jigsaw somewhere in there there'll be a small piece black & white in colour with jet black velvet ears who'll pass never knowing the most valuable lesson & legacy he left behind for me. Just For Today.
Stay Strong
AL
Often his paws would accidentally land on my keyboard and £50 each way would read £h?w? each way and a message would pop up saying PLEASE ENTER A VALID AMOUNT YOU WANT TO BET lol.
When i first came here determined to stop there would often be televised big meetings on TV and i on more than one occasion made my mind up to walk him before the 1st race came on. He's been riddled with arthritis for years & often holds up his back right leg off the ground whilst walking, yet whenever he heard the rustle of a doggy clean up bag being dragged out of the box or the jingle of his lead being picked up he'd be at the front door, tail wagging saying "COME ON AL LET'S DO IT ".
....................but if i ever complete my jigsaw somewhere in there there'll be a small piece black & white in colour with jet black velvet ears who'll pass never knowing the most valuable lesson & legacy he left behind for me. Just For Today.
Stay Strong
AL
He was trying to tell you something, the best way he could !
Heart breaking when a pet becomes old and sick, but what a legacy he will leave should the worse happen.
Stay strong
Ken
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