Thursday, October 2, 2008

Gravy in Heaven for Grendel


Grendel left peacefully, in the loving embrace of his guardians. He wanted all of you to know that he appreciated all the prayers and love you sent his way.

Be Loving. Accept Dogs. Do It Now.

I'm going to Have a Golden Tail!!

Hi!

It's me, Grendel! I am at the Shabazz-man's place. He has been really nice to me and gave me a Great Steroid Shot that made me feel a Lot Better and made sure I had my Gravy. I have my Green Rug here in the kennel and it's nice and comfy.

But I have to tell you something. My legs don't work anymore. The Shabazz-man said they won't ever work again. But I won't need them anymore. I am going away. I am going up to Heaven to see God and St. Laika and Cub and Cassady and Zorra and Sneakaround Jones and Fluffy and all the dogs who have already gotten their Golden Tails. I'm going to wait for Mom and Da to come see me first, though, to say goodbye.

I am sad for Mom and Da, 'cause they'll miss me, but I am not sad or scared, because I know all about the Last Day. Rowan's guardian splained it so well:
“Imagine you are in the best place you’ve ever been, you feel strong and alert, you are at the top of your game. You might even be running, or just walking along the shore...” “If you look around,” she said, “you will start to see other animals, you will recognize them and maybe even stop to play with them. All your friends from the blog will be there, your fellow canine bishops will be there, and +Maya too. You’ll see Romeo and Buddy. And your human friends will be there too.” After that maybe you can see Jesus and, a’course he’s going to be all happy and laughing and everything. Jesus will definitely give us pets, I feel fairly confident of that. And Jesus’ mother will be there to welcome us to Dog Heaven. Saint Roch, Saint Francis, and MadPriest will be there too naturally and they will all play with us. I am sure one of them will have treats...”
This is a great splanation. Oh, it will be a Joyous Party! Gravy and Love and Golden Tails Galore! Rowan, I'll be waiting for you!


Peace out, Scout!

Love and Gravy and Goodbye,

Grendel

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Pray for a Dog

Yesterday Grendel took an alarming turn for the worst. Where as before only his right front paw was unstable, yesterday he was very shaky on all four legs and his right front paw was totally non-functional. He seemed quite unsettled. Last night I stayed awake with Grendel until he finally went to sleep. I took him into the vet today.

The Shabazz-man was not very comforting. He said it was not arthritis. He said that based on the configuration of the paw and the stiffness of the limb it appeared to be one of two things: an advanced tumor of the spine or some sort of degenerative spine disease. He was alarmed at the progression (we had taken Grendel in three weeks ago for his annual and there was no signficant problem besides a stiffness in the legs and the loss of a few front teeth)

Sp Grendel is spending the night at the Shabazz-man's and he will have X-rays and other diagnostics. If you are inclined to pray for a dog, pray that he remains pain-free. Pray that we have the strength to do what is needful. If you have a dog, give him love. Kiss him and tell him you love him. As Grendel would say, Do It Now!

I will keep you posted.