Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers

Feb. 13 They tell me my time has come. Life had been treating me great until Jan. 11 after school. All of a sudden this strange feeling of being overly tired and not very hungry hit me. I had a strange tumor growing on my side the size of a cell phone and a golf ball size one under my left armpit on the lymph nodes. Those sneaky tumors were growing inside in numerous places on my lymph nodes. Dr. Randy said "this isn't good, I better call the MSU oncologist to see what our next step is." I was hoping the doctor would say "go lay on a beach in Florida and relax!" But instead I had to have thin needle biopsies done on a few of my lumps and send the tissue cellls to MSU. Not a very comfortable procedure. I felt like I deserved a juicy steak after that, but then again I didn't have much of an appetite! I settled for lots of hugs, many "you are such a good boy" comments and a Milkbone treat. The results came back that there weren't enough cells to diagnose. More lumps showed up and I wasn't feeling great, but I was at the door each morning to go to school. You know I have a job and the kids need me. It was decided I would go under the knife again to have one of the tumors taken out and sent to MSU on Feb. 7. I was fighting this terrible Lymphoma with all I had but on Feb. 3 I had no appetite to eat at all and couldn't eat and I had to stay home from work. I was wearing out. The good news was I kept drinking tons of water. The next Monday I saw Dr. Randy and he put me on steroids and I was way too weak to have surgery. I got some appetite back on Weds. and my Dad started feeding me Cheerios with milk. For the next few days, my Mom and Dad spent a lot of time laying next to me on the floor snuggling me. Puppy Bella figured out our rumbling days were over and she was my constant companion always next to me or giving me kisses. On Monday morning, Feb. 13, I had labored breathing and I was so weak I couldn't walk. The past Friday, Dr. Randy told us my red blood cell count was so low, it was hard to get oxygen. My Mom called Dr. Randy and he came immediately to our house. I was layng on a cozy blanket hearing my Mom's loving voice and feeling her calming touch, when I heard Dr. Randy's voice speaking to me, I thumped my tail 2 times. I knew I could be at peace. I heard my Mom say a prayer and  tell God his canine angel was coming home to him. I know that if feeling loved could prevent cancer, it could never have entered my body. I owe a million dog kisses to my Mom and Dad who made me want to smile every time they looked at me. Seeing Ryan, Amy, and Ellie always made me happy. Grandma Kitty and all my relatives always kept up to date on my volunteer work and by cancer battle. Lots of hugs from them. I know my passing will also be hard for my 1,000 elementary students, school staff, and my close friends at the Marshall District Library. I want them to know that I was honored to be part of their lives. Their smiles made me hold my tail high and wag it! My last big heartfelt thank you goes to the compassionate Dr. Randy and his staff. They gave me courage and such a feeling of calmness when I was going through treatment. I was lucky to have had 4 1/2 years with such wonderful people and to live in such a loving community. God Bless You All!   Finn