Time warp…

That’s the best way I can describe the past five months.

My company has been in the middle of a major acquisition. An industry blending of two powerhouses in our tech/telecom space.

Being in legal, we do all the upfront work. Negotiate the deal, pull together all the paperwork, sign our lives away, close the deal.

We’ve been working on this project pretty much since mid-July. And after many lost weekends and long weekday hours, we finally got the deal done.

And now the rest of the business can pick up the work and begin integration. I’m looking forward to a slightly more “normal” pace.

I was rewarded for my efforts. My boss is great in that way. She has always seen my potential and tried her best to reward my efforts.

This time around that came in the form of a large promotion, raise and an serious increase in annual stock. No complaints here. Gratitude.

But, life goes on in the midst of all the crazy, in the busy, life goes on…

And sometimes it hits a speed bump.

The last two months our dog, Archie, hasn’t been doing well.

Gastro issues.

We said he was taking after Frank, who also has a delicate constitution.

Archie started not being able to digest his food. It just sort of started running through him. So, off to the vet we went, stool sample and all, thinking it must be Giardia. Nope. That’s not it. So, we changed his food. Started making him Turkey and Rice. The vet suggested we add pumpkin. Frank then read that adding pumpkin can have a counter-effect. If they need it, it will help bind the food. If they don’t, it can actually make the stomach issues worse. At first the change seemed to help, but that was short lived.

Back to the vet. Next, we ran a blood panel – I’m not even sure what we were testing for exactly. She came back and said it as likely IBD or intestinal cancer.

Cancer – dammit. There it is again.

The only way to know if it was cancer would be to put Archie, who was a pug and 11 years old, under anesthesia and do a biopsy.

To what end?

If it was positive for cancer, was I going to put him through Chemo? At 11? I don’t even like the thought of putting a person through chemo, at any age. What quality of life would that lead to?

So, we stayed home, put him on a steroid and added sweet potatoes to his diet. Which, he seemed to rather enjoy. And after a few days, his output looked better and he pepped back up. And so we went for another month.

And then last week I traveled all week, and Frank had a mess on his hands. Poor Archie couldn’t keep anything in. Everything liquified, though this time there was blood. And no matter what we did, including doubling the steroid, nothing seemed to work.

So, we called the vet on Saturday, had a long conversation with her, and scheduled an appointment for Archie to cross the rainbow bridge on Monday at 10a.

That was yesterday, and it’s still far too tender for me to write about. But suffice it to say, it was humane, he got all the treats, including his favorite peanut butter, and lots of loves and cuddles and kisses, and then to sleep he went.

My heart is broken. He was a sweet pup, and though he was the “family” dog, he clung to me every chance he got. Always on his blanket in my office when I was working, always on the couch in the crook of my knee — usually hogging the couch by the end of the evening so I had no room. I never minded. He was gentle, sweet, affectionate and forever excited when we came home after being away. He will be missed.

But on the animal front, for us, that was the end. I promised Frank no more animals. Casper the cat belongs to my daughter, and we’ll enjoy him while he lives with us, but when the day comes that she leaves, he will go with her.

Frank wants to lessen our responsibilities so that we can be freed for things like travel without thinking about who will care for the pet.

For me, it’ll be the first time, other than a brief stint when I moved to Pheonix, that I will be without a dog. And right now, I’m mourning that as well. I love animals. They give everything and want nothing but love in return. It’s an unfair exchange in many ways.

I am grateful for the time we had him, and his predecessor, Harley. It’s been a good run of 27 years.

Today, I’m in Florida, again on business. It’ll be a good distraction, I think.

Life goes on…