Catching Up

Dear Cubby,

Facebook has really made me extremely lax in my letter-writing, and that's sad because I so want to remember every event of your life.  Looking over 'Dear Sophie' recently, I realized how important that is.  The last letter I wrote you was in the middle of June, so let's do a little catching up here.

We'll start with the black widow.  There are no words to express how enraged I was at that nasty spider!  We didn't even realize you had been bitten until you got very sick and swollen very fast, and I went outside to look for the suspect.  There it was right where you had been snooping around shortly beforehand.  It comforted me more than all get-out to drown that beast in carburetor cleaner!  Thankfully I had veterinary help throughout the night and, by the next morning you were so much better we didn't even need to run you into the office.  I'm awfully sorry I didn't spot it and kill it before your run-in, but you can bet it made me obsessive about thoroughly checking the yard, particularly from March to November.

Things were pretty quiet in July; it was so scalding hot outside we didn't venture out much.  We did make one little trip to the vet to see what she had to say about a little growth on the side of your nose.  It sure looked like a mast cell tumor to me and I was scared to death.  But your doctor said it looked to her to be a benign histiocytoma and she recommended we just watch it a while and see if it changed.  Well, it did, and I didn't like what I saw!  Then, just in conversation, my niece said just the right word to click the 'on' switch and light up the bulb in my brain ... "dermatologist."  Of course!  You've had a dermatologist since you were a puppy!  So we hightailed it in to see her, you had an excisional biopsy done, and now you have a cute little dimple in the side of your booper as a souvenir.  And, thank the Lord, it was indeed a benign histiocytoma and all was well.

We had a nice little jaunt up to Montana in August to celebrate your Auntie Ginny's birthday and had an awesome time up there.  We got to spend time with toddler Austin and visit with Kasey and Dan and Courtney and your Uncle Doug.  There wasn't as much playtime as you would've liked with Ruger, but you got to enjoy him for a little while.  And Disney ... oh my goodness, I wish I had taken a picture of this gorgeous Great Dane.  His giant size made you look like a Chihuahua in comparison.  Most of your playtime was alone, though, chasing your ball up and down the hill and out in the corral.  Thank goodness for the Chuck-It® ... I don't think even Zack Greinke could've pitched the ball that far that many times.

September and October were pretty routine; same old stuff.  We had planned on zipping over to Kansas to see some cousins but that didn't happen due to some medical testing I had to get through.  But we did get to drive up to Oak Creek, Flagstaff, and Williams on a fall-color-finding overnighter.  Somehow I think riding in the back of the van is a lot more comfy for you than under an airplane seat.  And you enjoyed the cooler, crisper air for sure!

Well, gee, Cubby, I can't think of anything else noteworthy that we've done for the past few months.  It has been one of, if not the, hottest summer on record and I really haven't felt well enough to do much.  But even at home, I appreciate you and depend on you every day.  Not an hour passes that you're not helping me with something.  I'm so very thankful for you and I so dearly love you.  And I'll make sure to write you a lot more letters in the coming days.

Photo Descriptions:  a dead black widow, Cubby's face with a little white bump on the side of his nose, Cubby sitting at a duck pond in Montana, and a weather station at our house reading 122 degrees outside on June 19th.