May 2, 2013

Yep, you’re right:  my last blog post was way back in January after the half-marathon.  But that’s actually a good thing.  As in, “No news is good news.”

I’m continuing to feel great, no cancer-related shit going on, just livin’ life.  My next appointment with Dr. Hampshire the awesome oncologist isn’t until July, when I’ll have the routine CT scan and bloodwork done.  I continue to be amazed (and IMMENSELY blessed and grateful) at how well and NORMAL I feel.

Why update this blog if nothing cancer-related is going on?  To prove to the world (and to myself) that this Stage IV diagnosis doesn’t mean the end of life as we know it.

Case(s) in point:

Because one jumbo-sized bundle of doggie love can never be enough, Jake and I added a second Rottweiler to our pack in March:  Piper!

Eight legs of luv.

Piper came into the Bonita shelter as an un-named stray on Friday, February 22.  SD Department of Animal Control (SDDAC) policy is to hold strays for four shelter days to give the owners time to claim em; if no one claims them, they are put up for adoption on the fifth day. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday, so her four shelter days would be Friday, Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

I’ve been considering a second Rottweiler for over a year (a female this time, since Rotties are prone to same-sex aggression), and have been regularly trolling the SDDAC website – like Jake, the second dog had to be a rescue – but I kept changing my mind and deciding I wanted Jake to be an only child.

Until last Tuesday.

A very bad, blurry photograph of what was described as a two year old female Rottie popped up in the “Lost and Found” section of the SDDAC’s website. Really, you couldn’t even tell it was a Rottie, the photo was so bad. But something drew me to her, and I stopped by the shelter on my way home from work.

Stepping up to her kennel, I didn’t find a friendly, waggly dog at the front, vying for attention over the cacophony of hundreds of barking dogs. Rather, she was laying in the rear, as far back as she could be. I bent down and talked to her and tried to coax her to the front – but she just wasn’t gonna have anything to do with me. For a fleeting second, I thought “Uh oh. This one’s gonna have issues.”

Debbie, the kennel attendant, brought this timid, apprehensive girl to the interaction area and let her off the leash. She made a comprehensive perimeter check, sniffing and intently investigating, completely ignoring both Debbie and I. Again, the doubts tried to creep in: she’s aloof, she’s detached – not a good match for either Jake or me.

But then, after she completed her perimeter check, it was as if a switch were turned on. She ran up to me, big smile on her face and wagging her tail, sweet and loving as could be. In retrospect, obviously she needed to first make sure she was in a safe place before she could let her guard down. Who knows what kind of fear she lived with as a stray?

Again, I thought: “Uh oh.”

But this time it was in a completely different context.

As in, “Uh oh. I’m in LOVE!”

Before leaving the shelter on Tuesday, I put the first “hold” on her – if her owner didn’t claim her, I’d be first in line to adopt her.

Wednesday morning, I brought Jake to meet her. I left him in the car while I went into the shelter and signed in. Again I approached her kennel, and again she stayed in the back. But this time, as I talked to her, she raised that sensitive and perceptive nose into the air and began to sniff. Her tail slowly began to wag, and she cautiously approached the front of the kennel. Yay! She remembered me!!!

Debbie had us slowly introduce the dogs to each other, on leash, in a wide open space. Then we went into the interaction area and removed the leashes.

They chased each other, played a little, and did a whole lot of sniffy-butt. Roles were apparent from the beginning: Jake the alpha, she the submissive one.

By the end of the interaction with Jake, I was certain she’d eventually come home with us.

I went to the shelter again Thursday morning to see her one more time, just to be sure. You gotta understand: Jake has been my one and only - my main guy - for the past two years. He’s seen me through the difficult and sad months of Sam’s care, decline, and death from ALS; my own cancer diagnosis; and assorted traumas and dramas. Would I have enough love to share?

Again, she sniffed the air when I appeared at her kennel - but this time, she immediately came up to the front, 70 pounds of Rottie wiggles and smiles.

We played and we cuddled and – since this was her fifth shelter day – I went inside and adopted her. “What are you going to name her,” they asked as I was filling out paperwork. “Molly or Piper,” I replied. “No, wait - it’s Piper. She’s definitely more of a Piper than a Molly.” Piper was just a better fit.

SDDAC policy is that healthy adopted dogs not be released until they are spayed or neutered – and since they weren’t going to be doing surgeries until Monday, she had to stay in the shelter until today. I visited her again after work on Friday, and fell more in love with her.

A sad statistic is that big, black shelter dogs – especially the so-called “aggressive breeds” – are the bottom of the barrel in terms of adoptions. People walk right by their kennels without a second glance.

The timid, back-of-the-kennel dog with the blurry shelter photograph? Who knows what her future would have been. All I know for sure right now is that she’s safe, happy, and HOME with her new big brother, checking out her new digs, sleeping not on a cold concrete floor but a jumbo-sized soft memory foam doggie bed. With a pillow. And a blankie.

Welcome to the pack, Piper!

Woof!them; if no one claims them, they are put up for adoption on the fifth day. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday, so her four shelter days would be Friday, Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.I had been considering a second Rottweiler for over a year (a female this time, since Rotties are prone to same-sex aggression), and have been regularly trolling the SDDAC website – like Jake, the second dog had to be a rescue – but I kept changing my mind and deciding I wanted Jake to be an only child.

Until I saw a picture.

A very bad, blurry photograph of what was described as a two year old female Rottie popped up in the “Lost and Found” section of the SDDAC’s website.  Really, you couldn’t even tell it was a Rottie, the photo was so bad.  But something drew me to her, and I stopped by the shelter on my way home from work.

Stepping up to her kennel, I didn’t find a friendly, waggly dog at the front, vying for attention over the cacophony of hundreds of barking dogs.  Rather, she was laying in the rear, as far back as she could be.  I bent down and talked to her and tried to coax her to the front – but she just wasn’t gonna have anything to do with me.  For a fleeting second, I thought “Uh oh. This one’s gonna have issues.”

Debbie, the kennel attendant, brought this timid, apprehensive girl to the interaction area and let her off the leash.  She made a comprehensive perimeter check, sniffing and intently investigating, completely ignoring both Debbie and I.  Again, the doubts tried to creep in: she’s aloof, she’s detached – definitely not a good match for either Jake or me.

But then, after she completed her perimeter check, it was as if a switch were turned on.  She ran up to me, big smile on her face and wagging her tail, sweet and loving as could be.  In retrospect, obviously she needed to first make sure she was in a safe place before she could let her guard down.  Who knows what kind of fear she lived with as a stray?

Again, I thought: “Uh oh.”

But this time it was in a completely different context.

As in, “Uh oh. I’m in LOVE!”

Before leaving the shelter on Tuesday, I put the first “hold” on her – if her owner didn’t claim her, I’d be first in line to adopt her.

First thing the next morning, I brought Jake to meet her.  He stayed in the car while I went into the shelter and signed in.  Again I approached her kennel, and again she stayed in the back.  But this time, as I talked to her, she raised that sensitive and perceptive nose into the air and began to sniff.  Her tail slowly began to wag, and she cautiously approached the front of the kennel.  Yay!  She remembered me!!!

Debbie had us slowly introduce the dogs to each other, on leash, in a wide open space.  Then we went into the interaction area and removed the leashes.

They chased each other, played a little, and did a whole lot of sniffy-butt.  Roles were apparent from the beginning:  Jake the alpha, she the submissive one.

By the end of the meet-and-greet with Jake, I was certain she’d eventually come home with us.

Piper (left) and Jake (right) getting
acquainted in the shelter's interaction area.

I went to the shelter again the following morning to see her one more time, just to be sure.  You gotta understand:  Jake has been my one and only - my main guy - for the past two years.  He’s seen me through difficult and sad months; my cancer diagnosis; and assorted traumas and dramas.  Would I have enough love to share?

Again, she sniffed the air when I appeared at her kennel - but this time, she immediately came up to the front, 70 pounds of Rottie wiggles and smiles.

We played and we cuddled and – since this was her fifth shelter day – I went inside and adopted her.  “What are you going to name her,” they asked as I was filling out paperwork.  “Molly or Piper,” I replied.  “No, wait - it’s Piper. She’s definitely more of a Piper than a Molly.”  Piper was just a better fit.

Gratefully, SDDAC policy is that healthy adopted dogs not be released until they are spayed or neutered – and since they weren’t going to be doing surgeries until the following Monday, she had to stay in the shelter until she had recovered from her spay.  But that Tuesday morning, you can bet I was waiting at the shelter’s front door for them to open so I could pick up my newest baby!

Newly sprung from doggie jail
and on her way to her new home!

It's a sad statistic that big, black shelter dogs – especially the so-called “aggressive breeds” – are the bottom of the barrel in terms of adoptions.  People walk right by their kennels without a second glance.

The timid, back-of-the-kennel dog with the blurry shelter photograph?  Who knows what her future would have been.  All I know for sure right now is that she’s safe, happy, and HOME with her new big brother, loving her new house and huge backyard, sleeping not on a cold concrete floor but a jumbo-sized soft memory foam doggie bed.  With a pillow.  And a blankie.  When she’s not cozied in the bed with her mommy and brother.

It's a good life.....

Welcome to the pack, Piper!

Multi-Rottie joy!

A few weeks after bringing Piper home – and seeing that she had adjusted and bonded with Jake in like a minute – I hit the highway and headed up the coast for a little road trip that took me to San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and San Francisco.

Loving the rugged central California coast.

Sailing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge
on a gloriously warm and sunny spring day.

The next big adventure coming up?  Journeying with Amanda to ALASKA in June!

After successfully running her first half-marathon and finishing ahead of where she hoped to be, my Baby Gazelle signed on with Team In Training to do her first FULL marathon in Anchorage! 

The Baby Gazelle and her very proud mommy.

I’m so proud of her for taking this on because, in addition to kicking her running and training into high gear, she’s continuing with fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society AND completing her studies to graduate from university this month!  The culmination of her tremendous level of academic and physical work and achievement will be a mother-daughter week of adventure and exploration that we’ll be sharing with three other fabulous femmes!

Cancer?  WHAT cancer!?!  The sun rises and sets, the Earth keeps on spinning, and life goes on.

And I continue to be thankful for every single second of it.