One Year
Posted: August 27, 2023 Filed under: Our Human Mommy Speaks | Tags: Birdie, Birdie Blue, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Rainbow Bridge, Tallulah, Tallulah Bee, Thek9harperlee 8 CommentsOur Human Mommy Speaks
A year ago today, we said goodbye to Harper Lee. On a spring morning in 2009, when her human daddy randomly opened the paper and saw a classified ad for Golden Retriever puppies, I had no idea how my life would change over the next 13-plus years. Harper Lee taught me so much (most importantly never ever to buy a dog from a classified ad, but I’m beyond thankful I did it that one time). She brought me on amazing adventures near and far. She introduced me to wonderful people, so many special dogs, and one miniature pony. I’ve thought of Harper Lee every day since that last day. Her pawprints will be on my heart forever and ever.
Without Harper Lee, we never would have had Tallulah Bee and Birdie Blue. Miss Lee trained them well, and I cannot imagine the last year without them. The Bee and The Bird have become inseparable. There will never be another Miss Lee, but I feel as if a piece of her lives on in both of them. Letting a dog go is so hard. Their lives are far too short, and the end makes us question the sanity of putting ourselves through that again and again. But most of us do it, because to love a dog and to be loved by a dog is one of the purest joys around. Cheers to Miss Harper Lee for the joy she brought and the joy that her memory continues to bring every single day.
Forever Miss Harper Lee’s Mommy
The Golden Unicorn
Posted: August 7, 2023 Filed under: Our Human Mommy Speaks | Tags: Birdie, Birdie Blue, Cornifying Epitheliomas, Cutaneous Horn, Dog Health, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Golden Retriever Unicornitis, Horn-Like Growth on Dog, Nail-Like Growth on Dog, Pet Health, Pets, Unicorn, Veterinarian 13 CommentsOur Human Mommy Speaks
Several weeks ago, I noticed what looked like a little pimple on Birdie’s nose. It wasn’t bothering her, so I decided just to watch it for any changes. When it started to grow and seemed kind of hard, I made an appointment with her vet. The minute Dr. Kevin saw it, he chuckled and said, “Birdie’s growing a horn. She’s becoming a unicorn!”
He determined that it wasn’t anything too serious (serious is always code for cancer in the Golden Retriever world). That was reassuring. His diagnosis suggested that it could be one of three things:
- a small papilloma (also known as doggy herpes, obviously contagious), in which case it would fall off on its own in a month or two;
- a cutaneous horn (not contagious), which would have to be removed sometime in the future after it grows large enough for a safe procedure; or
- and Dr. Kevin put this in Birdie’s official clinical summary for the permanent record . . . “golden retriever unicornitis.”
In the past week, it’s become obvious that this is a cutaneous horn. It’s also quite obvious that Birdie is a unicorn, so we’ve added Eunice the Unicorn to our toy basket. Eunice will keep Birdie company while she waits for this thing to grow large enough to be removed.
In all of my years with dogs, which has been my entire life, I’ve never heard of a cutaneous horn. The scientific name for it is cornifying epitheliomas. It looks like a nail, horn, or stick growing from a hair follicle. Google it, if you dare. Add this to the way-too-long list of dog health issues I wish I didn’t know. Has anyone else ever heard of or experienced a cutaneous horn on your dog?
We Were So Lucky
Posted: March 17, 2023 Filed under: Our Human Mommy Speaks | Tags: Birthday, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Pet Photography, Pets, Rainbow Bridge, St. Patrick's Day, Thek9harperlee 8 Comments
It’s been almost seven months since we said goodbye to Miss Harper Lee. Today would have been her 14th birthday. I took a photo every year of Harper Lee’s life to celebrate her big day. This is the first year that I haven’t been able to do that, so I put together a collage of past birthday photos.
We were so lucky to have had our St. Patrick’s Day birthday girl in our lives for more than 13 years. We will celebrate that always, on this day and every other day of the year.
Miss Harper Lee’s Family
thek9harperlee 