Hi there. It’s been a
while, I know.
The truth is, I’m on
the decline a bit. Mum and Dad noticed a couple of months ago that I started
drinking a lot more than usual. They’ve been measuring my water intake for two
years now. It shouldn’t be more than 1.5 litres a day. Also, I started peeing
in the house again. That was also not a good sign.
Mum was not looking
forward to mopping the floor at 4 AM every morning (she said she was gonna kill
me).
So the minute they saw things were changing, Mum took me to Dr Cindy. She
drew some blood and said that the calcium in my blood was too high. So I needed more medication for that.
Also I have not been
so hungry lately. I have lost quite a bit of weight. Mum and Dad have always
said, the minute I stop being hungry, me being Charlie
the-always-hungry-chocolate-labrador, that’ll be the beginning of the end…
Well, that’s where we are really.... So
I needed more medication for that too.
Mum and Dad are
trying to make my meals more interesting. At least that makes me eat. And it
tastes delicious. There are good things about having cancer! Mummy said there
was another good thing about having cancer: I stopped losing hair! Apparently
it’s the medication. That’s a bonus!
Then all that
medication gave me diarrhoea. So I needed more medication for that too. The
local pharmacist told my Dad that if it weren’t for me, he’d go out of
business.
On the other hand, Dr Cindy said the chemo was not gonna make a difference anymore so I’m not taking that now.
The local butcher
gave Mum half a cow’s rib cage for me to chew on. Mum doesn’t really know if it
is good for me or not, but she doesn’t really care anymore. I love a good chew,
and I’m on the way out anyway. She is determined to pamper me until that final
day. Oh, she made me a fabulous birthday cake in March. All that’s left of it
is this:
Mum has also found a
second bed for me, just in case I have a wee accident during the night, I can
move to the other bed. We all have to adjust to this new situation.
Mum and Dad now
expect me to tell them when I’ve had enough but Dr Cindy told them that that’ s
not how working dogs communicate. We working dogs keep wagging our tails to
please everyone else, so Mum and Dad need to look for other body language. But
as long as I still enjoy swimming and cuddling, and as long as I sleep on my
back, Dr Cindy said I can stay.
So there you go, all
good things come to an end. I’m not gone yet, but it won’t be long anymore.
Mum, Dad and Sophie are fine with it. And boy did we have some fun times over
the past years!!! Anyway, Mum says there are lots of swimming pools and
butchers on the other side. She said I need not worry about any of that. She
knows these things, you know?
Mum, Dad and Sophie
are proud of me for having been so good for such a long time. And I am grateful
for everything they have done. I will hang on in there for as long as I can.
That’s a promise!
Charlie
