Monica Knits

As Shaq and I wandered about the yard yesterday, one of us accidentally knocked this toadstool off its perch. It was a sad moment for me; this tender life beneath the decaying leaves was abruptly cut off, before its prime. This made me think of Heidi, who also expired too early.

Only the day before, Monday, November 23, Heidi, our sweet, friendly and gentle GSP had gone in for surgery to have a splenic tumor removed, but the tumor proved to be inoperable. Read more....

With great sadness, the decision was made not to wake her up from surgery, to spare her pain. The vet told us the cancer had spread widely to other organs and lymph nodes and that Heidi had only a few days to a few weeks to live.

Fortunately we had been blessed with Indian Summer weather over the past couple of weekends so the whole family got to play and relax in the sun. I was able to capture a photo of Heidi in one of the poses so characteristic of her--sitting on the lawn, smiling and watching the goings on for exciting happenings to jump into.

I am also glad that I had been cooking her favorite foods recently, though we hadn't expected to lose her this soon. While I was cooking, she lay on the pillow closest to the kitchen and supervised the whole process. The minute I picked up her bowl, she was on her feet--her eyes sparkling, her tail wagging, and all the while, licking her lips.

And, each morning these past two weeks, even when she was weak, we couldn't dissuade her from getting up to cheerfully greet anyone who came into the den. She will be missed by all her knew her.