Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 -- Mattie died 404 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2008. Only weeks after Mattie completed kindergarten. Sitting next to him was his "girlfriend" Charlotte. The same girl he proposed to in our car and gave her a plastic ring! They brought out the best in each other. Though Charlotte is 15 years old, she is very thoughtful with Mattie Miracle and is always a significant teen fundraiser each year at our Walk. It was Charlotte's family that created the Mattie J. Brown Scholarship Fund at Mattie's school, so that his legacy would always live on. To me this scholarship doesn't only memorialize Mattie, but it is a constant reminder to me of the beautiful friendship these two children had with one another. 


Quote of the day: Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer


TODAY'S BLOG FOCUSES ON THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF SUNNY.......

Sunny had a vet appointment today. This is his third one with this doctor since we adopted him last September. When we adopted Indie and Sunny, we changed veterinarian practices. I liked our former vet but she was moving out of the area and when I asked her who I should go to, she recommended this other practice. It is always challenging to start with a new practice, but I really like Sunny and Indie's doctor. She is very personable, loves animals, and has a good rapport with them. Sunny needed vaccines and blood work today and though these aren't fun things to do, she did them effortlessly with Sunny. I would describe Sunny as a good and compliant patient. At least once he was in the exam room. In the waiting room, he was VERY anxious and whining. He seemed VERY bothered that a cat was in a cage! He wanted this cat out and about. It was fascinating to watch, as he kept walking over to the cat's cage to check on her. 

Many dogs came into the waiting room too, and each one of them was intrigued by Sunny. Sunny is like a grand ambassador and gets along with ALL dogs. Feisty ones, aggressive ones, and of course easy going ones. Sunny greeted every dog and then continued his ambassador tour right outside the building where the vet is located. I brought two masses to the attention of the vet today. I believe in being proactive about issues and health. Now the vet could have dismissed me, but she examined the mass on his eye lid and the one on his hind leg. She feels confident they are benign tumors, but wants them both removed in the Fall when he gets his teeth cleaned. She feels giving him anesthesia once will be better for him rather than multiple times. Some vets would have taken the wait and see approach with these masses, but I like her conservative approach and her desire to work with facts about the issue. She says that masses on the eye lid usually continue to grow and if it gets larger, she won't be able to remove the mass without it affecting his ability to close his eye. NO THANK YOU! It is coming out.