Make the most of every moment

If you are lucky, once in your life you are blessed with sharing a moment in time with a dog that is...well....more than just a dog.  One glance into their eyes and you know you have spent many lifetimes together.

Sharing "sick" time together.

For me, that dog is Emerson.  He is, by far, the happiest dog I have ever seen in my life.

Always smiling!!

Although Emerson started out as Richard's dog (Rich rescued Emerson before we met) there is no doubt -  he is "my" boy.  

Awhile back , E-boy started limping.  We took him to the vet thinking he had pulled a ligament.  A pulled ligament would have been the best case scenario.  Emerson had bone cancer and we had a choice.  We could do nothing and he would probably be dead within three months or we could amputate his leg followed by a hand full of chemo treatments and he might be with us for another eight months.  Never thinking we would be the type of people to subject our pets to chemo treatment - Rich and I found ourselves going with Option Two.  We wanted to do everything we could to give Emerson a fighting chance.

E-boy running around just a few weeks after having his leg removed.

Those first few days after his surgery were HORRID.  I spent much of the time in tears, laying on the floor next to Emerson wondering if we had made the right choice.  But - within a few days, Emerson was up and about acting like he had always walked on just three legs.  We started the chemo shortly after.  We didn't have any problems until about the third round.  Emerson developed an infection - he was so sick, they sent us home with an IV in his leg.  If he didn't improve in a few hours, we could bring him back and they would put him down.  It was another night filled with tears.  We had made decisions that seemed to only be causing Emerson more suffering.  But 24 hours later - Emerson's tail was wagging again.  It was clear, our boy was NOT ready to die.

The six months Emerson was expected to live turned into a year - and that year turned into two and a half years.  An additional two and a half years that I should truly view as a gift. But I'm having a hard time doing that tonight.  Instead of being thankful for the extra time we have been given - I find myself focusing on what is going to be taken away.  

Today, we found out the cancer is back.  It can't be treated, it WILL kill Emerson. For now, his tail is still wagging but we don't know how much longer he'll be with us.  Rich and I knew we were going to get this news.. it was just a matter of time.  But death is like that for us all, isn't it? It IS going to happen - and it IS just a matter of time.  For that reason alone, we should make the most of every moment.  That is the promise we are making to Emerson tonight.