Cassie

Cassie

   On Saturday, Lois had to take our pound puppy Cassie to the vet for a shot. It turned out that she didn't need the shot after all. She did however have a sore puffy lip and we wanted to get it checked out. I thought that maybe she had a splinter or a bone fragment in her cheek. Maybe it was an abscessed tooth. Aly called me at work when they were done and I could tell by the crack in her voice that something was wrong. The vet had just informed them that Cassie had cancer. 

Lucy

Cass

   We have had Cassie for 8 years now. We brought her home shortly after we got our black lab Lucy.  The two of them have been loving members of our family and are about 10 years old. Lucy grunts and groans and age has clearly left its mark of gray on her fur. Cassie on the other hand has always been agile and her white and brown fur makes it hard to distinguish the color of gray. Lois and I have talked frequently about Lucy growing old, but I don't think either of us ever gave much thought to Cassie's age because she behaves so much like a pup. She still digs in the trash and steals food off the counter. When I heard that Cassie might have to be put to sleep, my heart sank. We have all been having trouble dealing with this news. Tomorrow morning we are taking her to the vet for a biopsy and then we'll have to make some choices depending on whether or not it is malignant. If it is benign, she could still lose some teeth. If the tumor is malignant, we will have to figure out how to handle it rather quickly. The vet says that it is fast acting and can be very painful.
   The girls weep and I have not had such a heavy heart in a very long time.