The Shechyanu

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe who has kept us alive, and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this festive moment.

It's Zeddie's favourite prayer. Now it's mine too.

Also, I have to say that I'm a big fan of Zeddie as a name. I workshopped this a few years ago — I didn't get very far.

But when Milo was born and Dan saw Zeddie holding him, it just came out.

Dan's good like that. Not today, though. He passed over the seder reins to Zeddie this year (ba dum). Dan said he was "too tired". That's kinda on me. I put him through the ringer the last few weeks. He normally runs a killer Pesach. Auntie Robyn can attest to that. He will again next year. You're all invited. Seriously...just show Zeddie this post and he'll have to let you in. So let it be written, so let it be done. Boom.

Sweet dreams

Dan and I are on our way the park on a gorgeous summer evening. There's a slight breeze, the birds are particularly chirpy and I've finally mastered life on three. We get to the "big hill" and I'm ready for the big test. 

This is my moment of truth.

I sit in front of Dan.

"Water?" he asks.

I don't move. He knows what I want.

He puts the water back in the bag and pulls out the frisbee.

He fires it down the hill. It's a perfect throw. And I'm off.

I push off with back right. I've been strengthening it by hopping in and out of bed. I get a great jump. The frisbee's in sight and I'm keeping up. I dig my front claws into the ground with every gallop to pull myself forward. My front legs are super strong now. And my chest is as big as its ever been. I'm Buff McBufferson. 

I'm tracking the frisbee with hawk-like precision. I can't jump for it anymore so I have to catch it on the fly. But I've done the math: I have to be within seven inches of the frisbee when it's at snout level. That's how far I can stretch my neck forward. I know this because I made Uncle Peter measure it at Passover dinner.

The frisbee hits its high point and it's coming down now. It's spinning counter-clockwise which means I have to approach it slightly from the left so it rotates into my jowl.

I take a quick glance ahead. In a split second, I chart my path. I pick my spot. 83 strides away.

I stretch my neck and kick it into 5th gear. The frisbee's dropping fast but it's on course. And so am I.

This is going to happen. 

Six strides away now.

I open my mouth. I can hear the whiz of the frisbee (the whizbee).

I reach out...

TOUCHDOWN!

I look up and everyone I've ever loved is at the top of the hill cheering me on. Winston and Kenzo and Ella from Trinity. Winnie-Not-Sookie from the Argyle. Jenna, my first dog walker. And even those two RCMP officers from the ferry to PEI. 

And then they shower me with cheese.

Mmm.

Day 1 of Three.

Last night was rough. Sleeping was difficult. Getting comfortable was really difficult. But the worst was putting Dan and Tiia's minds at ease because the yelp I make when I'm looped up on pain meds sounds a lot like the yelp I make when I'm in actual pain.

One thing I can say about a drug-induced haze is your life does flash before your eyes. And mine's been great from the word go. Strangely, I dreamed about my birth father, Punch. He's still going strong and I think he'd be super proud of me. 

I think that's it for today. I need to rest now.

G'nite.

A second chance before a second chance

Yesterday didn't quite go as planned: in the best way possible. Instead of becoming a tri-paw I got one last day on four. And I gotta tell ya, it was EVERYTHING.

The surgery was postponed a day because a test came back later than expected. Good news, though: the result showed that the bump on my head (no...not my dorsal fin — the other smaller and far less cool bump) turned out to be whole lotta nuttin'. So we got the green light for today.

But it was a beautiful day, Dan blew off work and we took a little adventure.

We left the vet and walked up Roncy. This crew stopped us to admire my pink, easter-egg adorned bandage and we got to chatting. I hope Milo and Noah have friends like these guys when they grow up — and that they're in school at 2:30 on a Monday.

From there, we went to the subway. It had been a while since I rode the rails, and it was just as I remembered. Of course, I took the opportunity to meet some new people.

Those last two people have two dogs at home. I sometimes wondered what it would've been like to share Casa Yurkenbaum with another pooch. I wonder if all this has the peeps thinking about my heir apparent? I'm guessing he or she will be another French Water Dog. Obviously, Dan and Tiia would have move to the couch — four in the bed isn't an option.

We got out of the subway and went straight for Cedarvale park. I love it there. I didn't always though. Leaving Trinity Bellwoods was tough. But then I got to know the lay of the land. I discovered the back path. I rolled around in a dead animal or two in the ravine. And I made a few new friends. I got to see Jenn, a dogwalker and an OPB (original park buddy) of mine. She's been walking for years and she's had a few of us three-feeters. She always knows exactly what to say. And she nailed it.

"Maui. You're fit. And you're tough. You're gonna be fine." 

I believe her.

After that, I was okay with this being my last four-legged walk.  I'll learn to do it on three. I'll learn to do a lot on three. Pooing should be interesting.

From there, it was a sun-soaked stroll through the hood, and then home to the young'uns.

And that pretty much sums up life with these two. Milo and I love to share space. We're comfortable just being. Noah's right up in there. Both equally awesome.

And then evening...and then morning...and then...

See you on the other side.

BTW: If this is you, I have a few questions.

And we're back.

Well...it's been a long while since I jumped on here, but I'm gonna have some time now (hopefully more than less), so why not jump back in, right?

That's me and Dan and Dundas West Animal Hospital this morning. I've been coming here for a while, but more frequently recently as I've developed a nasty case of cancer in my leg. And from what I understand, they're going to be removing it today. This was obviously quite a shock to me, and more so for Dan and Tiia who haven't been handling the news particularly well.

But I think it's important, as I get back into this blogging thing, that I'm up front and honest : this is100% the right thing for me (because, as Dan likes to say, the alternative is much worse). As much as I'd like to see Woofy and Jackson and Diana and Cairo again, I'm not quite ready yet. So Tiia, please know that I'm not upset about this. 

Now, having said all that, I do have a few demands:

1. More cheese.

I used to get a lot of it. I used to dream about it. But then one of vets here (I won't name names) said the amount I was getting was "bad for me" or something like that. But, I mean, come on...

2. More frisbee.

Over the last few years, Dan and Tiia have been worried about my blowing out an ankle or a knee so they've been less inclined to fire the frisbee down the hill. Enough of that. I've worked pretty hard to become a frisbee dog, and one less leg isn't going to stop me. So if you bring it, so will I.

3. More questions.

Back when I was blogging a bit more regularly, I'd get some doozies. Keep'em coming! I have all the time in world now to answer them.

4. No more fentanyl

That was not fun.

Ok...I think that's it for now. It's time to go from four to three. I'll be back with an update in a bit.

Much love...and glad to be back at this. I think it's good for me. I'm sure it's good for Tiia. And I know it's good for Dan.

PS: Happy birthday Uncle Peter!