Dudley and I trust everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, we sure did! Dudley had some Alaskan salmon filet to go along with his normal food and I ate too much as I usually do. In addition to friends and family, I am very thankful that the 65 lb. methane manufacturing ball of cinnamon fur and I found each other more than 13 years ago. He seems to be feeling better, and I am most thankful for that. He’s slow first thing in the morning and he hesitates longer at the stairs on the deck, but he’s eating good and his tail is wagging when we go on our daily walks.

I read Fiona Apple’s letter asking her Latin American fans to please understand that she was postponing her concert tour so that she could be home with her dog Janet, who is 14 and dying from Addison’s disease. It’s a long letter and she speaks eloquently about Janet’s impending death and her relationship with Janet, describing her as both mother and daughter and the most consistent relationship of her adult life. Needless to say, I was snot-bawling pretty good by the time I finished reading it. I do admire her priorities. Her cover of The Beatles’ Across the Universe isn’t bad either.

Waking up from a post Thanksgiving feast snooze!

Our pets are members of our family and the best friends we’ll ever have. I’m lucky to have some terrific human friends, but Dudley lives with me and does things that make me laugh that wouldn’t be so funny coming from my human friends. He can run me out of a room with his rancid gas attacks, or jump on my bed and park his butt on the pillow next to mine and I find it absolutely delightful and laugh at him. Humans don’t delight me with these type of antics the way a dog does.

When we adopt a pet into our family, we do have an obligation to care for them in the best manner possible. I don’t travel nearly as much as I would like to, simply because it’s hard to find someone who will take good care of my dogs. I have great neighbors who always help out in a pinch, but since I don’t want to board Dudley, I feel like it’s pretty much my responsibility to be here and take care of him in the manner that he is accustomed to. I also have to make sure his final days are as comfortable as possible and know when it’s time to let go of him. In other words, be the friend to him in the end that he has been to me for over 13 years. So for my friends who have lost, or will someday lose their beloved furry four-legged friends, I leave you with the extraordinary wisdom of Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss:

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. ~ Dr. Seuss