7 June 2011: Mykee Is 14 Years Old!

Mykee, my sweet and gentle keeshond, is 14 years old today. In the past six years, she has undergone major surgery and extensive chemo treatments twice, but you wouldn’t know it from her youthful demeanor and disposition. True, she is now somewhat deaf, but she has learned to read my lips and to go wherever I point. More amazingly, she continues to bark enthusiastically for the same boring Science Diet dry food she has been chowing down twice a day for all the 4,984 days thus far of her life.

Although Mykee watches every calorie I ingest or imbibe at home, she is not normally allowed to have human food, so she lives for the rare occasions when I treat her to a bit of pizza crust or a tiny morsel of white chicken breast, and jumps with joyful anticipation when I extend my arm to let her lick the bowl from which I’ve just had my instant oatmeal with skim milk.

But, because Mykee is twice a cancer survivor and it’s her birthday today, I’m giving a small dinner party for her tonight, and she’s going to have a bit of what I’m serving in her honor:  Brie and crackers, stuffed pork chops, deviled egg potato salad, and cupcakes filled with cranberries, pineapple and walnuts. I hope this keeps her going for at least another year, or two, or three.