Thoughts, like dogs, sometimes stray...

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. --Groucho Marx
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Dog is man's best friend. --anonymous
Diamonds are a girl's best friend. --Jule Styne and Leo Robin
However, in the event of a divorce, the girl often ends up with both...
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You have to forgive Fifi - she thinks she's human. --Annoying Dog Owner
Maybe so, but I don't let humans jump on my lap and lick my face, either.
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I've never owned a dog that thought it was a human. I have, however, owned one that thought I was a dog. Every time we went for a walk together, Chipper, in classic dog fashion, would mark a particular street-light pole as his own. Then, before agreeing to continue on our journey, he would look at me expectantly. I swear he was hoping that one day I would get with the program and mark the pole as he had so carefully demonstrated. I never did.
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Cody turned 15 a month ago, one day after our 29th wedding anniversary. He was six weeks old when we bought him, so very soon he'll have lived with us for a full 15 years.

Sometime before this last birthday he was diagnosed with cancer. Our vet gave him a matter of weeks or possibly months to live. Although he is obviously in discomfort without regular doses of vicodin, his health has generally improved since his diagnosis, possibly due to the antibiotics he is also taking.

"I guess he didn't read the biopsy results," the vet said at his last visit.

Cody is nearly blind and almost deaf; even his sense of smell is failing. He spends a lot of time sleeping and occasionally needs help to get to his feet after a long nap. But he still finds it within himself to wag his tail when someone touches him. He loves Pam's voice students and just can't get enough of them when they come over for lessons. He plays little games with us, and he can even tell his favorite joke - chasing his tail and then waiting expectantly for the laughter he used to hear and love. I'm not sure what his payoff might be, now that he's deaf, but he still performs.

This is his favorite time of year, when the beautiful weather allows us to leave the back door open so he can go in and out as he pleases. He loves to sleep on the patio, right outside the door. In his younger days he would chase birds when they landed in his yard, but now he can't see, hear or really even smell them. Sometimes, though, he growls and shuffles huffily off into the yard, maybe even barking in his old-man's croak. I think when he does that, he's pretending there are birds around. And, of course, pretending he has just scared the bejeepers out of them.

Yup, he's definitely better than diamonds!