Paco is our December 11, 2011 Pup of the Week

Just before us pups are placed on this earth we are given our instructions, find a human who loves you then gives them all your heart. You are very happy and fulfilled doing this. But, since we give our hearts to our humans, ours don’t last as long as human hearts, which break their hearts. It all sounds like a vicious circle to me.

This brings me to my good friend Paco. Paco lives in Italy, which is part of Europe, which is like a land where there are a hundred United States, one more screwed up than the other. Paco and his Mom were both very fortunate to find one another. They gave each other their hearts so they would beat as one.

But Paco’s heart, after many years, has grown weaker. He had to go the the dogtor (or, as they call them in Italy LaDogtor) for an echography (I am sorry, I don’t know what this is, I asked Pocket, who has an honorary doctorate from training school and she said you perform the test by going to a cliff and throwing a dog against a wall, then seeing how far he bounces back. These honorary doctorates from training schools are useless when it comes to medical knowledge.) Paco also had a to have a blood test. Now these I know about. I hate those little pricks. On their way to the test, as Paco was being driven by his Mom while her Mom was with them keeping Paco calm their car broke down in the road.

Now besides being just about the sweetest dog I know this is why I love Paco. Because Paco’s Mom telephoned for a “safety car.” Apparently a “safety car” is what they call taxis in Italy. I have never been in a taxi in Italy but I know taxis in America are anything but safety cars. It makes me wonder where Italians get their taxi drivers.

The “safety car” got Paco to the dogtors, but, sadly, he did not get good news. Whatever the echography is it showed his heart was getting worse and he has a ventricle that was widening. He was prescribed some meds after they made sure that the meds would not overwhelm his kidneys.

A few days later Paco got his results back from the dogtor. He had suffered from liver problems earlier but his liver was getting better and his kidneys were not affected by the medication. There would have to be further tests to see how successful the medication was working but things were looking up for Paco.

It is sad when you have a friend who is sick and is so far away. But we are asking you all to keep sweet Paco in your prayers. He is a wonderful boy, so caring, so helpful when one of us are in trouble, and we hope he is with us for a long time because we love him and the wonderful things he teaches us, like safety cars.

So please keep sweet Paco and his Mom, over in Italy, in your prayers, so he can keep his heart beating with hers, keep our hearts, and faces smiling, for a long time to come.