Tis a day of mixed emotions here at Lesbian Central.  Our dear Miss Mona, age 11, has been diagnosed with early stage lymphoma.  She begins chemotherapy tomorrow morning.  She has to go once every 3 weeks for 5 treatments.  Poor Miss Mona has lost some weight and a bit of her sassy energy, but otherwise she remains dogged in her daily pursuits:  stealing tennis balls from her brothers, sleeping on the furniture and eating cat food whenever possible. 

We are hopeful that the treatment will be successful in making her final months comfortable.  Chemotherapy is much less awful for dogs than people.  My Dad was a bit concerned she would lose all her fur and scare my grandmother, but that is typically not a dog side effect.  I hope.  Not so much to avoid scaring grandmother though.  No, other than a bit of intestinal distress, the typical side effects are not bad.  Otherwise, I wouldn't put her through it. 

Still, she's my dog.  She was a stray dog running amok on the streets when a car hit her and broke her hip. They took her to the hospital where my friend Dr. John worked.  He fixed her up and suggested I foster her.  That was 9 years ago.  Obviously, she stuck.  My Dad named her Mona because she makes this low moaning sound when she's unhappy.  She's a super smart, funny, sassy little lady. 

This past weekend, our 17 month old niece came to visit and was all giggles and smiles to meet Mona.  Mona licked her a few times and then became much more interested in the adult with the leftover hotdog.  When Mona would bark, I said "woof woof" to keep Ava from being afraid.  In two seconds flat, Ava was saying "fff, fff" to imitate her.  It was very cute. Mona was not impressed and kept trying to land a hotdog. 

What does this have to do with anything?  Not much, except that it is my blog and I need to put this out there in the universe for some good healing vibes.  This is our second pet cancer challenge this year -- our cat had breast cancer and is doing fine.  So all you pet lovers our there, lesbian or not, please keep a kind thought for Miss Mona. 

She's our good girl.