Charley Brown

Today Casey took Charley Brown in to the vet for an on-going ear infection. It was his 2 week check-up and they were supposed to only check his ears, but luckily someone noticed that one of his back legs was swollen where the lymph nodes are located. We don't know what's going on yet because it will take a little while for the test results to come back, but the vet has reason to believe it could be Lymphoma, which is very common in Boxers. If so, we will not be able to put him through Chemo because the toxins in his urine can be very harmful to kids, not to mention the procedure is very expensive. In addition, I would not want him to live somewhere else while going through it, because that would all be tramatic for him. So if it is cancer... well... yeah.

I am trying to stay positive right now, but it is hard. Charley was my first 'kid'. He was the first puppy out the door to greet us when we went to the breeder to pick one out. He kept me sane when Casey was in Japan. He has licked my tears away, and kept my feet warm at night. He is my first dog and I doubt I will ever have a dog, or pet in general, that is more attentive, smart, and happy as Charley. Everyone that meets him (even a few cat lovers) end up liking him (minus all the licking!) because of his personality. We can take him almost anywhere and know that 1) he'll be on his best behavior, and 2) he'll get a lot of attention. When we take him to Petsmart to see 'his people', he has to greet everyone in the store. Most people there don't know our names, we are just "Charley's parents". Not sure if I would have it any other way.

I knew that someday I would have to come to terms with this, I just figured Keaton would be walking and talking by that point. I still picture Charley sitting under Keaton's high chair, waiting for food to drop. I see him helping Keaton learn how to walk. I see him really enjoying his own kid instead of borrowing all the neighborhood kids. It's hard not to feel guilty right now because I realize that for 11 weeks, Charley has been second string to Keaton, and I regret not spending more time with him when I could have... I will now because I'm reminded that nothing lasts forever and I don't want to waste anymore time if we don't have a lot left. I regret getting so upset with him when he would lick Keaton or get in the way when I was trying to do something. All I can do now, besides hope for the best, is try to make up for what I haven't done for him that last 3 months. He really has been the best friend a person could have- loyal, trustworthy, and always around when you need him.

Charley will turn 6 next Saturday. I really hope he lives to see many more birthdays, and that this is just a wake-up call for us and he gets through it. I'll keep the blog updated about him. Hopefully the next entry will be good news.

Love,

Charley Brown & Keaton's Mom