Years turning into months, months turning into weeks

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