A Gift from the Heart

While everyone else is celebrating Valentine's Day, we are celebrating a major milestone. This is a day that we never in our wildest dreams imagined would occur. It is a day that even six weeks ago seemed like a dream. Today our Blonde Bear turns fifteen years old. 

I will never forget that day when she was just a little over a year old, and everything in her little life changed. We lived in Greenville, SC at the time, and our apartment building backed up to an outdoor area that had a great walking track. We took Sydney there all the time, and some of my fondest memories are from there. That's the place where she first tasted blackberries. While most dogs like meat, this girl likes fruit. She would walk up to the bushes and pull off the berries so gently. It was almost as if she didn't want to crush them, instead she wanted to savor them. It's the same place where Christian let her off the leash and she went running into the pond to chase the geese. I wasn't there for that one, but I did make it in time to see the resulting bath. Christian liked to pretend he was mad at her, but when he told that story it was obvious that he was amused by her antics and the innocent look she gave him afterwards. It was also the place that she got stung by a bee for the first time. But none of those had the life shattering change as that one day.

The walk that changed our lives was the one walk where she went from enjoying the great outdoors to collapsing, her hind legs giving out on her. Christian carried her home that day, and soon after we had a diagnosis of hip dysplasia. This has plagued her life since then. Surgery helped provide some relief, but arthritis has been a never ending battle. This was just one of many health related issues she has battled, but she has done so with the heart of a champion. 

We have been thankful for every birthday, for every year of her life, a life that we never expected to last this long. This year though it is extra special. It is special because we recognize how short the lives of our babies really are. The loss of Katie really served to make that real for us. Of course, even six weeks ago, Sydney's 15th birthday seemed unattainable. With the cancer diagnosis, I wasn't very optimistic, but turns out our girl is still a fighter. She's had to be since the beginning, and it looks like she will be to the end. 

Go Bananas!

If you have read this blog, or if you know me at all, you know that we believe we have the smartest, most amazing pets. While we know this is true, there are times that they surprise even us.

If you know the game Bananagrams, you may be shocked to learn that even cats can play. That's right! Jack is a Bananagrams expert. One night Christian and I sat at our kitchen table playing. We were across from each other and Jack sat in the chair in between us watching intently. Those eyes were totally engaged, and you couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.

As a player runs out of letters, he or she says "pull", indicating that each player must take a new letter tile. After watching this happen several times, Jack obviously got the hang of it. One of us said, "pull" and he easily knocked a tile into his seat. After picking it up and placing it back on the table, we just assumed this was a fluke. The next time, he repeated this action. The third time, Jack tried to send us a message. Instead of easily knocking the tile onto his chair, he took his paw and hit a tile as hard as possible, sending it flying through the air. We finally got the message, he wanted to play too.

There are so many memories that stand out in my mind about Jack, but this is by far one of my favorites. It is such a reminder of his personality. He is deliberate, patient to a point, and without a doubt persistent. It amazes me even now to think about that night. The moral of this story is don't be afraid to let your pets "Go Bananas!", you never know what may happen.