Thursday at 5:55pm near Colchester, CT ·
- Dear Friends and Family-
Most of you know that [redacted] and I LOVE dogs. I always get the strangest looks when I inform people that we have six dogs that live with us.
"SIX!", they exclaim.
Uh. Yeah.
I usually just smile, and sometimes think to myself that it's strange that they have more than two children and several pets in their house, or even worse, no dogs at all, but to each his own I suppose.
It goes without saying that our dogs are a part of our family. We don't have any kids to run around and drive us crazy, but we do have six dogs in the house that would give ANY parent a run for their money. Just ask [redacted] or [redacted], who would say that taking care of our dogs is a full time job.
Anyone who knows us well, knows that we love our dogs and would do anything for them. We always get the "you're crazy" look every time we have to go to the emergency vet at Bolton because Seamus has a stomach ache or Barnie needs acupuncture for his back. We love our dogs and want to make sure they are happy and healthy, whatever it takes.
So, with that in mind, it is with a heavy heart that I let everyone know that our handsome Tank has Stage 4(a) Lymphoma. He has been having some bouts of lethargy (not eating, sleeping more than usual, doesn't want to play outside) and we took him to the vet to see what was going on. After a quick exam, the vet discovered that his lymph nodes were swollen and ordered a biopsy last Friday. We received the results yesterday, and found out that he tested positive for Lymphoma.
We immediately called a veterinary oncologist and he had a consultation this morning. After a few more tests, he completed his first round of Chemotherapy. He will have 19 weeks of Chemo, with three weeks off in between. He is in good health otherwise, and the vet is hopeful that he will go into remission quickly. Right now his prognosis is good, and we are thinking positively for the future.
I hope that most of you realize that I tell you this not because I want your attention or FB comments, but because EVERYONE LOVES TANK, and we thought it was important for our friends to know! He is the star of every party, and I know many of you look forward to seeing him (and his giant ears) when you come over. We need your positive energy and love in his direction...we want those big ears around for more years to come.
I told Tank he has to get a job to help pay for his vet bills, but I don't see that working out right now. For now, he will just hang out, sleep and not listen to his mom and dad, and then go to the vet once a week (in his fancy new cancer fighting coat) to kick cancer's ass.
Maybe we are crazy and care too much, but we just want the best for everyone, whether human or canine!
Thanks for the love-
E and D
OK, this status is from a friend of a friend which means I had no business even reading it, so it probably makes me a bad guy, and at least not a true "dog-lover," that the whole thing pisses me off. As I don't personally know the author, cherry-picking something like an emotional post about a sick dog probably pushes me into "bad guy" territory, but ... ugh. The "self-awareness" disclaimer scores her some sanity points, but "E," noticing the confused looks of the people who realize you are crazy for owning six dogs doesn't make you less crazy (ok, maybe it does a little, but you're still a nutty wombat). Owning too much of anything is bizarre, and a handful. Yes, your six dogs would "give any parents a run for their money" in the sense that they would be difficult to take care of and maintain, but so would owning 256 Mazda Miatas or 11 uranium centrifuges or two cats (two too many). Uh, yeah. People aren't taken aback by your love of animals, they're put off by your willingness to over-possess. Which brings me to my next point.By no means do I wish illness upon any dog (nor anxiety upon any dog owner), but the element of this ... essay? that really irks me is the act of equating dogs and humans. I think our author is correct in stating that taking care of their pets is "a full time job." In other words: it's not parenting. Your animals are not humans; they are lovely creatures that make wonderful companions that indeed give and deserve love, but you did not carry these beings to gestational term and bear them, you bought them at a store (ok, almost certainly from a "breeder," you kooks, but still). More importantly, it belittles parents everywhere to speak as though owning/developing/training these creatures with a developmental ceiling fathoms below that of a ten-week-old human baby is in the same universe of commitment and complexity as parenting. With this post, you're not "over-sharenting," a minor sin in its own right (and yes, it's weird to talk about mores and norms on Facebook as if they exist and are actual things, but for better or worse, they are at this point) you're "over-showning:" sharing too much about creatures of which you own too many. It's annoying, at very, very least.
What's more, "Tank" is not "the star of every party." In fact, 100% of the parties I've ever attended have NOT starred Tank. Axiomatically, not everyone loves Tank since I don't love Tank (fine, self-centric and hyperbolic, but I have to fight fire with fire). Again, I'm not in any way the intended audience for reading this, but ... argh.
I seriously wish a speedy recovery to Tank and sick puppies everywhere, but this status sucks. It's too fucking long - which of course cannot be said of anything I write.
