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Well unfortunately Mo didn’t work out, not through any fault of his own. We have a very non-dog savvy cat who does things like running 90mph to try and get the dogs to chase him. Poor Mo wasn’t sure what to think of it, but in order to keep the cat from getting squished or eaten we decided not to chance it. So Lemmy will be an only dog for a while longer – at least until things settle down with baby Gabe and we’re all getting more than a couple hours of sleep at night. I am hoping to enter Lemmy in the Lake City shows in early October and we’re planning on going to the SOMOS NOTRA meet at the end of October.

On 11/5/11 we said goodbye to Nemo (Shaldra Mikater Elam), the best damn dog in the world. We adopted him 14 yrs ago just before his second birthday. We were his 5th or 6th home and he came with issues – severe crate anxiety and he didn’t trust people at all. He warmed up to us eventually and became a huge part of our lives. He was there when we bought our first house, when we got married, etc. He was so excited when we got home from our wedding that he ran outside, jumped straight up in the air and grabbed a bird on the wing. It was the best wedding present we received. He was always an odd dog and kept us laughing. He almost blew up our house once scrabbling to eat peanut butter cookies that were cooling on the stove. He turned on a child proof burner and filled the whole first floor with gas. He survived 4 major surgeries after he turned 10, including eye removal, liposarcoma, mast cell cancer and a 1lb lipoma. He was a stoic, tough boy and I learned a ton from him. I thought I was prepared for him to go, especially after he was diagnosed with lymphoma early this year. I knew our time was short, but I was still not ready. I am so grateful and lucky to have had him past his 16th birthday.

He was my first whippet and he will always live in my heart.

His memorial thread on Whippet World: http://www.whippetworld.net/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11941

The only way to safely handle Michael Vick, is face down by the scruff of the neck. If you’d like a Vick of your own to chew on, see: http://www.officialvickdogchewtoy.com/

Our Nemo turned 16 today, quite a feat after being diagnosed with lymphosarcoma 5 months ago. He lost an eye, defeated mast cell cancer, liposarcoma and survived having a 1 lb lipoma removed at 13.5 yrs old. We celebrated with a special birthday meal – in his salad days he used to get a birthday Whopper but as he’s aged we switched to healthier and more digestible treats. I don’t think we have much time left, one of his prescapular nodes has been growing rapidly, about the size of a plum now. He also incontinent, deaf, blind (only sees light/dark) and suffers from dementia. He still does love to eat and so I made him a special dinner in honor of this major milestone.

Today he got a meatloaf cupcake, frosted with beef baby food on a bed of four cheese mashed potatoes surrounded by sardines.

I think he approved.

We went to Ponte Vedra beach last weekend and got some nice shots of Lemmy. He delighted in chasing birds, jumping in the surf, tossing seashells in the air and looking for crabs.