Taking the long, scenic joyous path ...

Ahnung and Legacy - Grand Marais, January, 2013

Last weekend we headed back up to East Bay Suites in Grand Marais with my friend Jenny, and my pups Ahnung and Legacy. We went last December (2011) when Legacy was still a youngster. Not knowing how much longer I will be blessed to have Ahnung with me, I decided we needed to head back up to the North Shores. There is something magical about waking up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore; there is something magical about walking Ahnung and Legacy on the beach; there is something magical about the water, the rocks, and the powerful silence of being in Grand Marais in winter. Ahnung and Legacy wrestled hard and then they slept hard. It made my heart sing to see so much life in my sweet girl. It's hard for me to wrap my heart around the reality of Ahnung's cancer .. of cancer that has spread to her lungs and that grew 30% in 4 weeks. I look at her, and I see life, joy, wisdom, resilience, purpose, peace, and love ... pure, simple, unadulterated love.

Heading to Woody's!

Since we've been back my sweet girl continues to do great! She is absolutely loving her raw whole food diet from Woody's Pet Food deli. She has now been on this incredible diet for a few weeks. For two weeks now she has been on a raw diet (previously she was eating cooked meat because she was on a low dose oral chemo drug).

Today my sweet girl came along for the ride to pick up the case of raw meat we had ordered from Woody's: 25 lbs of free range chicken with supplements. We stopped at Lake Harriet Veterinary on our way to picking up the food so we could weigh her. It's been a couple weeks since we weighed her. I was ecstatic when the scale read '61.8'! Wow ... she gained 4 lbs! At the end of November, she was down to 57 lbs. Not only does she love the food she is eating but it has helped her gain her weight back! After getting lots of hugs from the staff at Lake Harriet Veterinary we headed off to Woody's Pet Food Deli. Upon our arrival we were greeted by Liz. From the first time I went to Woody's they have been incredibly friendly and helpful. Liz hands me a small envelope .... ' a little something for you and Ahnung from a couple of her facebook friends' she tells me with a smile. I open up the envelope and in the envelope is a $50 gift certificate from two of her facebook fans (yes, believe it or not, Ahnung has 450 facebook fans! ;-) Liz goes on to tell me how the owners of Woody's were contacted and shared with them Ahnung's story, blog and facebook page; she shared how they were touched by her story and the work she does. I was so moved by this incredibly kind gift by two individuals whom neither one of us have actually met ... by two beautiful human beings who gave me the greatest gift ever ... sharing Ahnung's story. So Christian and Sharon, thank you ... thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the surprise, for your generosity, for taking the time to reach out to the owners of Woody's Pet Food Deli to pass along her story. And Ahnung thanks you for the yummy food she got today that she snarfed down for dinner! She will have many, many more delicious meals this week thanks to some amazing friends :)

When I look at Ahnung now I see a spirit so full of life. She doesn't know, nor does she care, that there is cancer in her body. With the weight gain and just how incredible she looks and feels, I am hopeful. I admit that I am also nervous about being hopeful. I am prepared to take this final walk with my precious girl. I am prepared to walk this path no matter where it takes us, but if I could have one wish it would be that this final walk be the longest, most scenic, most joyous, most playful walk where we can continue to celebrate again, and again, and again.

Ahnung at Woody's Pet Food Deli