sad but brave: Skagit Goddess of the Mountains

My little Skagit does not look much like a goddess of any mountain today...

The Goddess of Sadness.  Is there such a thing?

A lump on her lower jaw seemed to appear (& grow larger quickly) out of nowhere a couple weeks ago.  My brother-in-law who was visiting thought I was obsessing, thought I was imagining this thing doubling in size (overnight).  I got an appointment that we would have to wait 5 days for....I called back and begged for a sooner one and got it.

I hoped for the best, but I found myself tearing up thinking about the "what ifs" waiting for this appointment for man's my best friend over the weekend.  This girl has been through so much with me and my family.  She is, without a doubt, the world's greatest dog, and the best dog I could ever have hoped for.  I knew the day I brought her home my life wouldn't ever be the same again.  My mornings would never be the same again.  She's the one that sat at my feet right next to me on vigil, steadfast, strong, silent but so very present during my labor pains with Astrid.  She makes me feel like the most important person in 'the world according to Skagit'.  Just last weekend she amazed all my friends with her loyalty.  She swam all the way across the lake just to get into my canoe ~ to be with me.  I swear her heart is the biggest organ by far.

I had to beg and beg and beg for this dog like you have no idea.



3 1/2 months old on her first backpacking trip.



The prognosis after lots and lots of worry is an infection (which is good that it is not a tumor).  But the infection (which was caused by who-knows-what, maybe cheatgrass) turned into an abscess that had to be drained.


my girls

The slouchy "get this thing off me, Mama" stance.


Skag: Sad but Brave.  The drain tube is sort of ghastly if I think about it too much.  I am the one who has to clean it, and it is the least I can do for her after all she does for me.

I'm so glad that my friend will be getting this tube out on Monday, and on the road to a full recovery.  I don't dare tell her today that the cone (Elizabethan Collar!) will be around for a little while (until stiches come out)!