As we start 2009

Well, the holidays are packed away and we are starting to get ready for the routine of school and activities once again. However, sometimes life gives you a wake up call and interrupts your routine.

We traveled to Dallas for the holiday to see my family. As usual we boarded our dogs, Annie and Riley at our favorite doggy spa knowing they would have a great time while we were gone.

We picked them up right before New Year's and thought we were ready for a fresh start, ringing in 2009. That was not to be so....Annie came home with a limp. By Sunday her paw was swollen and she would put very little weight on it and that night Mike had to carry her upstairs when we went to bed. (For those of you who don't know Annie - she is our German Shepard/Lab mix that we have had for the last 10 1/2 years).

On Monday, I took her in to see the vet thinking that this was her arthritis acting up again. They took an x-ray and called me to say that they believed that she has osteocarcoma - cancer or a bone infection(although a bone biopsy was not done, just based on the x-ray). We are devastated. The doctor gave us a couple of options, remove the toe (which would not guarantee that she would be better or that it had not spread to somewhere else), take her to Tucson for chemo and radiation or make her as comfortable as possible and keep her at home. We are choosing to make her comfortable and keep her at home as long as we can. It is very sad for all of us.

The one thing that I keep thinking about is before Mike left for Iraq one of my fears was that Annie would get sick and die before he returned. Before he left I asked her out loud to please help me and not get sick while he was gone. I remember chuckling because she was a dog and how could she make herself not get sick. While he was away, she was great at taking care of us. Barking when she heard something late at night and I felt very safe having her around. She could be a pain in the neck but was a great dog for us while he was gone.

So she stayed healthy and now that he is back I guess time is not on our side. I am very sad to think about not having her around. The doctor couldn't give us a real idea of how much time but we are going to try and enjoy the time we have with her as much as possible for now.