Girls Gone Healthy

We received devastating news about our 9 year old Irish Setter yesterday. He has intestinal cancer. It is aggressively advancing. There is no treatment for him. All we can do is love him. Continue to try to get him to get him to gain weight. Also enjoy him and listen to his signs as to when it is ....his time to "leave us." At this point he is not in pain and is still very much our very happy, prancing man. This guy is a member of my family. I love him as I do my own children. I can't imagine what the next weeks, months, fingers crossed - years... will bring. I know the last is probably not a rational thought but I refuse to not think this is a possibility I have faith and hope.

Something dawned on me today while I was fixated on the pain our family is going through. Every situation I have gone through in life has eventually passed no matter how permanently fixed it was in our life at the moment. Every pain we have gone through has brought new qualities out in our family. Patience, understanding, compassion, love... and now eventually courage. All of our experiences have built us stronger as a family. I know we don't know the timing of this. How much longer we have with our furry loved one. We need to know this is something we can not predict - nor would we want to.  We need to be patient with ourselves and one another as we are a different stages of mourning and the stages can change hourly. Then when the inevitable happens we are going to have to accept it and mourn again. This is a wound that will not heal quickly but we need to remember this too shall pass. Someday there will just be wonderful memories and new strength that came from Duke of Shenanigans  and his time with us.

So, if you have a difficult situation today - remember - it will end and you will be stronger. Everything will be ok.