Oh man. This sucks.

[mamagotcha]

Cordell just talked to me on the phone. It seems that my dad's dog, Hobo, has a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer, and will probably need to be put down in a matter of months.

This is really bad news for my dad. He's had that old dog for over ten years, and on top of losing my mom last year, well... it's going to be really hard for him.

I'd like to figure out a way to get out there and say goodbye to that old hound. He's been such a great comfort to both of my parents, and it's going to be really difficult to lose him.

I told Cord to try to get my dad to think about maybe looking for another dog before Hobo gets too bad off. He really likes other dogs, and I think it might be good for my dad to have another beastie around to keep him occupied before Hobo gets too much worse.

Fortunately, at least so far, it seems that these growths are painless, and Cord says he's being happy and playful and seems otherwise in good shape.

Maybe it's road trip time? I need to think about this...


(a photo of my Aunt Kathy and Hobo, about a year ago)

Comments

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Aw, man! I knew Hobes was having problems, but I didn't know it was that bad. :(

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Oh no, that's so sad.

[feckalyn.livejournal.com]

For some reason I read that 'hog' instead of 'dog' and was confused for a minute there.

I often wish pet's lifespans were more comparable to ours. How much grieving is one person supposed to do in a damn lifetime?

[essaying.livejournal.com]

That's how we got Kay -- when we could see that Amy wasn't going to be with us too much longer, we got Kay, thinking Amy could teach her how we did things and then Kay would be all warmed up by the time we lost Amy. Worked pretty well... except... when Amy did die, Kay was so depressed and lonely that we wound up getting Bo to keep her company. Caveat canem, or whatever.

[corva.livejournal.com]

Let me know if there is any help I can be.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Thank you, dear lady! I was thinking about sending my dad to your facility to maybe see if another dog was ready to come home with him... and he surprised everyone by picking up a little Jack Russell terrier yesterday.

Cordell is still there... let me know if you need a big guy to come move stuff or something sometime. They're in Penngrove. He doesn't have a vehicle, but he gets around with public transportation. He also still plays Go, so if Jordan would like an opponent when he's in town, let me know and we'll get them together.