A Matter Of Perspective

Two weeks ago, our lives seemed pretty uncomplicated, with the same mundane things that everyone else has to worry about.  Then a little lump reared its ugly head on Blueberry's head.  Now that we have the surgery behind us, its given me time to think a bit about the lessons that have come our way.

There are times when having four dogs is a bit of a juggling act.  We try to make sure that all four of them get their share of love and attention, and whatever else they need.  For Morgan, that's extra exercise so she doesn't climb the walls in the house.  Bunny needs a bit of space from Morgan, her personal body guard.  Lilac needs extra patience and understanding.  Then there's Blueberry, the typical middle child. 

She really doesn't ask for anything.  Blueberry wants to go with us when we take Morgan and Bunny out, even when that involves car rides, which she's not so crazy about.  All she really wants is not to be left out.  Sometimes we're able to make that happen, and sometimes not.  If we're going hiking on a trail that we know is pretty difficult, or the weather is warmer or cooler than optimal, we leave her at home. 

However, going through a scare with an illness changes your perspective on things.  Suddenly, life became all about Blueberry and her lump.  I've known a lot of Greyhound people who have dealt with cancer in their dogs, or mysterious lumps.  We've dealt with fatty lumps on Treat, Hawk and Lilac as a part of the aging process.  Treat died after a brief battle with a spinal tumor, but there was nothing we could do with that one.  Making decisions for Blueberry while we were still reeling from the possibilities was a much more harrowing experience that seemed to take over our lives for that brief span of time.

Now that we're through the surgery part and she's on the mend, I find myself wondering what we can do that makes Blueberry feel special.  She views riding in the car as a necessary evil to get to fun stuff, but she really doesn't enjoy it.  Going for walks is really not her thing, either.  We've had many battles over the walking issue with her.  She likes practicing obedience, when it interferes with someone else's time, especially, but she doesn't like to do it for very long.  She's in an inbetween phase where some things are a little too much for her to handle, but she's still young enough to want to go and do things.

So, we're making room for her to have a spot on the couch, we let her join in on the training games, and we take her along whenever we can.  If she demands her own blog, I'm in trouble, though.  One is about all I can keep up with there.  We're looking to Blueberry to see where she'll lead us.  I'm sure we'll find something that we never expected.  Blue has a quirky sense of humor that often keeps us on our toes and it's one of the things I love the most about her. 

You might remember that a little while ago, we were asked to use Blueberry's picture for the cover of Lacey Blue And Friends, a new book that's coming out.  We're pleased to announce that it is now going on sale.  You can find more information about it on Lacey's website.  If you'd like to order a copy, you can visit Lacey and Bill on their blog.  We have heard that it will also be available in a few other forms, as well.  They were nice enough to let us have a copy to give away here on the blog, too, so keep your eyes peeled for our giveaway, sometime after Thanksgiving.  Bill Hart, the author of the book, has also extended a very generous offer to us.  He told me initially when we were talking about the book that he planned to offer it to rescue groups to use to help raise money if they were interested.  Now he has offered to donate $2 from the sale of the book to Blueberry from now until the end of the year.  If you order the book through his website and use this coupon code, WCEJR5E4 he'll donate the money to Blueberry.  So, if you have some dog lovers on your Christmas list who like to read, we've found your gift for you. 

We were also asked by Barbara who writes If I Didn't Have A Sense Of Humor if she could start a donation fund for Blueberry's vet bills.  You can visit her blog to learn more about it.  Several people have asked about it and Barbara asked us if she could help us by doing this, so we were grateful to accept the offer.  You never know when something will strike you out of the blue, as we have learned.  The good part of that, though, is learning about the good in people and seeing the best in them when you might not be at your best.  To say that we have been grateful for all of the support we've recieved as we've learned of Blueberry's illness seems very small, but we really are appreciative of all the kind comments we've recieved on the blog, Facebook and Greyhound forums that we visit.  Our perspective is changing every day!