Grandma O

Our puppy was born on Monday, which means that in less than eight weeks, Ophelia will be an adoptive grandma! I think she'll enjoy having a little pup around. She's such a cuddler that as long as the puppy doesn't attempt to entice her into play, they'll get along just fine...I hope. It remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic. 

It'll be quite a change of pace from having a senior dog to having a puppy. Some of it will be the same though, such as the nocturnal potty excursions and the sleeping on the floor in case he needs comfort, the special food, frequent trips to the vet for immunizations and whatnot, etc. The main difference is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No, not THAT kind of light. In a few weeks, he'll be able to make it through the night, and then we'll be able to go on long walks and play fetch. Yay! I'm so excited!! 

The puppy's senior years are far away, but when they come, I'll love him right through them. By that time, I hope the good people at dogquality.com have a dog stroller suitable for large breeds, hint hint...

Our puppy is in here somewhere :-)

Things are looking up

Ophelia has started gaining weight again. I think she was stressed about losing Lilith. She tested negative for hyperthyroidism, and her xrays showed no signs of lymphoma, so we changed her food back to kibble and decided to wait and see. She just weighed in at 10 lbs, and I hope this trend continues. She looks much better with a little fat on her bones, though she still needs a bit more. 
 

Oh no...

Ophelia's lost a lot of weight lately, so I took her to the vet. They tested for thyroid problems and a worsening of her already present kidney disease, but those values came back normal. During her exam, the vet said her abdomen felt odd, and he was concerned about the possible presence of lymphoma, so today, we're going in for an x-ray. If she's got lymphoma, the prognosis is really grim. We're talking 4-6 weeks. I don't understand because she isn't acting sick, but my mother died of lymphoma, and she acted fine for quite some time, too. They could do surgery to remove the mass, followed by chemotherapy. However, at 15 1/2, I'm not going to put Ophelia through either. The writing is on the wall, and I can't believe how cruel a fate this is, especially so soon after Lilith's death. Ophelia and I have been together since she was about 6 months old. I have shared my pillow with her for 15 years! I've pulled her toothbrush out along with mine every morning, and haven't had an empty lap in a decade and a half. I haven't had to walk into an empty house after work in so long that I just don't know how I'll cope.