Giving Thanks… aka ThanksGiving

It is always important to give thanks, and be mindful that there is a hidden treasure in every unexpected turn no matter how it looked when it first hit your radar.

Little Miss Can’t-Be-Wrong

To be honest, when I first brought Aoife home, breeding was the furthest thing from my mind.  She was, after all, my first beloved Kerry Blue; before which, I had no prior experience.  So the fact that 5 years had rolled by was no surprise…

But now I had been seriously considering breeding Aoife at her next heat.  For no one can deny that Aoife had many desirable qualities.  And it was toward that end that I had all the important DNA tests done back in April.

For purposes of planning, the calendar remained a bit of a mystery.  Though Aoife’s seasons for mating had historically been spaced far apart, the last had come surprisingly early.  So I had my fingers crossed that Aoife would do her thing no sooner than October; a time I could be ready with the planning.  But when I returned from our recent quick-turn-around trip to Maine, my sweet-girl was in blood.

That would seem disappointment enough, but truth be told she has a distinctly palpable caudal mammary tumor.  My understanding is mammary tumors are extremely common in canines.  And although 50% are malignant, that statistic does not reflect on a mortality rate that is much less.  Problems tend to come about when people wait too long before seeking appropriate care.  And as a owner of an intact bitch, I cannot say that I did not realize there was a distinct possibility that she may over time develop one.  But it does rather squash the plan to breed at least at this time, and obviously none of us are getting any younger.

So why have I entitled this blog Giving Thanks… aka ThanksGiving?  It is strictly a matter of faith.  For I have learned and internalized that circumstance is seldom as it seems.  I have learned a treasure emerges from every hardship that has been fully trusted.