Maya Monday

Maya is home from her surgery today. She had two growths removed that were both sent off to a lab. She's home and doing fine; she's wearing a cone, which she will be less happy about in days to come. 

We don't have an exact age on Maya, but if she was a year old when we got her she's 10 going on 11 years old now. I've always thought of her as my little girl, and I still do, but the fact is that my little girl is getting old. I can see it in her behavior, she's more of a homebody now, thankfully, and she's more devoted to me than ever. Looking at her as a stranger might, I can see that she's got some scars and just got two more today. Her muzzle is gray and her teeth look every bit of 10 to 11 years old. If she didn't already have a home and people who love her, she might be hard pressed to find those things today. 

I started out with Bert, Vito, and Sasha. Bert and Sasha died within months of one another. A year or so later came Clay and later Jack, Onyx, and Gypsy. Then Cabell and Bremo came along, and then Emmylou and Molly. I'm not exactly sure when Trooper, Sparky, and Max entered the picture and don't want to take the time right now to figure it out. Maya came into our lives in February 2013. Vince was around the same time, and later of course there was Gigi, and later still Serena, Della, TJ, and Arby. I've probably left out a dog or two from the timeline, but it's not from lack of love, just the fact that there's been a quite a few and my memory has long been spotty at best. I blame the college years. 

[Edit: Someone just pointed out that I somehow missed Zachary and Theo, both lovely dogs who never gave me a moment of grief until they passed. That's at least 21 dogs!]

It is said in some circles that each dog that comes into your life takes a piece of your heart and gives you a piece of theirs, such that eventually one can hope to become fully canine. While I welcome that eventuality it definitely comes with a cost. Each dog I lose hits me harder. Maya may have to take me with her when her time comes, unless Della insists I stay with her. That's a battle of wills I'm not sure I'd want to be in the middle of. 

Della rode along when I went to pick up Maya.

She was happy to see me and she was ready to come home.

She has already split this cone. I'll put another one her tomorrow morning.

This is happened today.