Otto

Our goofy dog is almost 10 years old.  He is not a boat dog.  He belongs with land, and sticks and squirrels to chase. Otto is loyal to his people and obsessive about things he wants us to chase.  Not motivated by food, his best reward is a friendly scrub behind the ears or above his tail.  A very close second best reward is a game of fetch, or hide and seek. Since Christmastime, Otto has been limping with the pain in his hind leg seeming to get worse steadily.  Given his velocity and enthusiasm for chasing, we had assumed he was continuously reinjuring a sprain.  In fact, in January, I was in the orchard working when all of a sudden, a brown furry blur sped up the road with Otto right behind. As the coyote in front disappeared into the forest, I heard a yelp from Otto.  His sprinting had exacerbated his pain. Our neighbor, who is a vet tech, pointed out recently that his joint was getting larger which could indicate bone cancer.  Otto created a lot of Drama at the vet office not cooperating for an X-Ray to confirm cancer (he is very afraid of vets).  But, he was sedated enough to allow me to manually feel the bulge on his rear "knee".  It is hard as bone.  So, we have accepted the likely presence of bone cancer.  With or without treatment, he has a short life expectancy.  Currently he is still enjoying attention, ball tossing (very short throws), and walks on his 3 legs and long naps in the sun.

Otto and Eila were puppies together.  (he is born 4 months before her) and is part of most of our memories set at our house.  So, we are enjoying all the memories we have left to make, and praying that he leaves before October, when we are planning to set sail.  We want to be able to say good bye in person and not leave him behind in this condition.