Well, for starters, although I didn't vote for him (I went with Bob Barr, the Libertairian) I am taking a small sense of pride in knowing that I've had a small, if not somewhat insignificant part in the making of history (The Presidency was apparently decided just as the polls closed in Hawaii), and that the first African American president in American history was also the frist President born in Hawaii. A detail I'm sure will be little more than a footnote in fine print at the bottom of any future textbook, but will be a big deal for the history of the 50th State, which I should point out, will be celebrating it's 50th anniversary next year. Whether you like Obama or not, you have to admit that this is a major moment in history, and we should take some pride in that. If, in the future, somone asked me what I did on that historic day, I can say, with a humble sense of pride, that I was poll worker aiding in the "Democratic Process."

The Primaries:

If there's one thing that should be learned from this election cycle, is "Thou Shall Not Assume. When you ASSume, you make and ASS of U and ME!" Basically, don't assume that just because you're "America's Mayor:" and a hero on 9/11, doesn't mean that you're gonna get the ticket. Don't assume that jsut because you're husband was President, you're gonna be President too. Don't assume that just because you're an actor, you can channel some Ronald Regan mojo. (You have to work for it!) Don't assume that just because you're behind, you're out of the running. And last but not least, don't assume that it's over, until it's OVER!

The Veeps:

Biden: I think Biden might have been a "safe" choice. By "safe" I mean low risk, not likely to offend anyone. That is, until he opens his mouth. But we're stuck with him now, and let's just hope he does what other VPs usually do, just stay in the background, being quiet and doing nothing importaint.

Palin: Ok, that was a surprise! Noone saw that one comming. Personally, I think that all the vitriol she got was because although she's basically everything that Libs want in a modern woman (ambitious, suceeded in in career that's male domminated, able to balance job and family, etc) the only problem was that she's NOT ONE OF THEM! And that it was the GOP who put up a woman VP on the ticket, and not them!

Obama's "questionable" associates:

I won't go into detail, but all I will say, is that at the very least, it shows that he is a poor judge of character, and that can be very bad for a leader, even worse if you're the leader of the free world. Let's hope that he will surround himself with people who are better judges of character than him.

The Clinton Factor:

Although it's irrelevant now, if either Hillary OR Obama ran, the nomination (and probably the presidency), would be a sure thing. But since they ran against each other........

Prop. 8: (I'm not even sure if I should even write about this.)

I usually don't concern myself with what happens in other states because their pollicies have little impact on me, and no more than my state's policies have on others, but since everyone's talking about it, here's my observation. I'm also not happy that it passed, but almost certainly knew that it would. Why? Because we're probably not ready for it. Don't start flaming me, because I DO support gay marriage, and I don't believe that it would destroy the sanctitiy of it. (Straight people already do a wonderful job of that. Just watch some of these stupid reality shows.) When I first heard that the courts said it was alright, I knew that the battle wasn't over, the war wasn't won, it was only begining. And no surprise to me, instead of launching a all out effort to demonstrate that gay marriage is "harmless", couples, especially a few celebs, went all out. And that got the straights terrified. And this is what happened. I'm sure it will happen one day, possibly within our lifetimes, but not right now. Just don't give up hope on it.

The Future....:

I don't know what will happen now, I will issure this challange to our new President-to-be:

We will be watiching you. We will be making sure you stay honest. Our last President ran our country into the ground, DON'T RUN IT 6 FEET UNDER IT!!!


In closing, with all that's happening in the world right now, and that we've endured 16 years (that's nearly half my life sofar) of one presidential controversy after another, we've all been pretty well burned, and more polarized than ever. I do hope with all my heart and soul that better days are truly ahead of us, and that the future will be brighter, and not a rapid decent into hell.

Goodnight, and Good Luck.

Considering the past few shouts I've been getting lately, I'm wondering, just how many furries here are either from, (or preferably) living here in Hawaii? I know personally of a small few.

My response, and to quote the Great Master:

"I draw what I fucking please to draw. If you don't like it, FUCK YOU!"
-Robert Crumb

And that's my first rule.

Whoa, 20K already?! That was sooner than I expected.

(The following was taken from my 9/11 tribute page released on the one year anniversary. I can't believe it's still up!)

---

What I Did That Day. (or, "Daddy, What was September 11th Like?")

6:30 am (Hawaii Strd. Time):

Since I didn't have classes that day, I was planning to spend the whole day (or at least the morning) doing my homework. That is, after sleeping for an extra two hours or so. About this time someone wakes up my sister for
school, usually my dad since my mom (at that time) was a nanny for the kids of a Naval couple (both of whom are
Commanders (that's a Lt. Colonel, or 0-5 in the other services) who live only a block and a half away.). Only this
time she was there about two hours before, since the husband (a submarine captain) was on [scheduled] deployment
anyway, and the wife, being and Exec. Officer of the communications station...well, you know what's going to happen,
and this story isn't about them, but me.

Anyway, it's 6:30, and I'm in a state of half-sleep and in the middle of a yiffy (don't even bother asking) dream
and my dad wakes up my sister with this piece of news, "Someone bombed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon." WTF???!!! Dream time (and any yiffy feelings) over. Time for CNN. Now fully awake, but not mentally, I saw, like the rest of you, on practically every TV station this surreal image of a passenger jet slamming into a
skyscraper. Dear readers, this was not the spectacular Hollywood explosions (which I love. Hey! I'm a GUY, sue me.) but a REAL ONE! No models on wires, CGI, primer cord, blue screen, or other SFX techniques. This is REAL,
and even though I tried, I was too distracted to do my homework. The whole day (and the next few weeks) will be spent watching the news, since that was the only thing on, and I'm an infamous news junkie anyway, just ask my uncle.

Evening:

Mom brought the kids over for pizza, which is not an easy task since I have more fingers on one hand than his entire palate, and it's not likely their mom will be home anytime soon. Now I ask you, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN TO A KINDERGARTNER AND A FOURTH GRADER WHAT AND WHY, WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE SAME THING?

Around 9:00pm (give or take):

Chris (the mom) shows up to pick up the kids (in uniform BTW) and we offer her dinner. The first thing I ask her,
"The Pentagon? That should've been out strongest point." (Reflections of Pearl Harbor, which is on my island)

September 12th, the next day:

I'm in my Latin 201 class (which would explain the phrase seen above), and guess what? I'm the only fool who didn't finish his homework. Out of undeserved sympathy, the professor gives me credit for the day. Let's get real here, there should be no excuse for not doing your homework, even if terrorists want to start WWIII. So kiddies, forget this "touchy-feely" crap and DO YOUR HOMEWORK! I made no excuses for what I didn't do, but got lucky and got something I didn't deserve. So if I hear from your teacher that "I didn't do my homework 'cause EK Goya didn't do his, 'cause of terrorists," I will personally come over to your house, kick your sorry ass, and you will write a million times "I will not make excuses for not doing my homework" by hand. (It's easy to cut and paste on computer)

Epilogue:

For my grandparents, Pearl Harbor. For my generation, this.

-EK Goya

---

To see more, including 9/11 related art, [the very few] responses, and a animated gif of Osama's head exploding, go here:

http://members.vclart.net/EK-Goya/911.html

"The submission the favorite was left for was removed by yourself."

'Cause I don't seem to recall removing anything.

There's been a lot of talk about "drama queens (or kings)" wanting to leave the fandom for whatever reason they have. Now, I could go a tirade over what I think of that, and why they shouldn't, but you don't to hear it. (Seriously, you DON'T!) So instead, here's a story of how one fur has managed to survive in the Fandom.

As my long-time fans would know, I got my start in snail-mail lists and xeroxed fanzines, namely those by the Alston Bros. and Cigarskunk's. (See "My Credentials"). And on the old alt.binary lists on a dial-up. I just showed up quietly, posting my art and not much else. I wasn't (and still not) on FurryMuck, nor have I ever been to a convention. I just drew, and kept drawing, and let nature take it's course.

If you asked me 10 years ago, if I'd still be drawing furry stuff, my answer would be a definate Yes. If you asked if I'd ever expect to have a fanbase that would streach across the CONUS, and reach as far as Europe, Japan, Australia, and even as far as South America and even South Africa, AND that I would influance to other furry artists, I wouldn't have believed you. And I still find it hard to believe. All this without even being professionaly published.

I have no idea how this happened.

So, how is it I managed to pass that first critical 10 year mark?

For one thing, I kept my nose out of the "Furrypolitik." I've seen the damages of flaming (and did a few when I was a newbie, and deeply regret doing so), and wanted no more of it. But for the most part, I just stuck to drawing, mainly for myself, and if people wanted a commission, I'm happy to accept, and let my work (and word of mouth) speak for me. The money is nice (when I get it), but what always brought me the most joy is seeing that it makes other people happy to see it. And it makes me feel like I've actually done something meaningful in my life. Perhaps we artists (and fans) forgoten that. And that seems to work out just fine for me.

Simply put: Just stick to what you like about Furrydom, and try to ignore the rest. And it doesn't hurt to be a bit of an "outsider." It gives you the opportunity to see things without bias.

So, why have I survived and other's haven't?



Because I perserveered.

After a month long disappearence, it would appear that we're all back, and like the rest of you, I got a crap-load of new art to post. But, not wanting to overload the servers and cause us to be off-line again for another month, I'm going to be speading it out. Lot's of new stuff including Olympic-themed pics, and a whole series of pics featuring Hyenafur's royal hyena family. (He's going to Iraq, so give him your support please!) plus more the usual crazy stuff you all like to see.




PS: Someone (or someones) seems to has erased themself from existance here. I don't know who it was, but that's the problem when you remove yourself without explaination, noone will remember you even existed.

Today officially means that there are just 6 more months before Christmas. No, today wasn't created as a commercialist ploy to do your shopping early, it was created by a local radio station in order to raise awareness that from between now and Dec. 25th, there will be a lot of people who will not live to see the holidays becase of drunk-driving, speeding, jaywalking, or other reckless acts of traffic stupidity. So every year on this day, that station plays Xmas music to remind everyone to stay alive so they can be annoyed by "Jingle Bell Rock" at it's correct season. So for all of you Furs out there, be safe out there, and Don't Drink and Drive.


(10 pts. for those who can guess what "Leon" means.)

Yesterday my grandfather passed away after a slow and very long death from dementia (a form of Alzhiemer's). As any of you who are in, or have been in this situation, or have a loved one suffering from this terrible disease knows that it is slow death in which the person's mind gradually deteriorates and every memory, every experiance he/she has of you and everyone else, including themselves, disapears forever, and the helplessness of knowing that it'll only get worse, and that there isn't a thing you can do about it! It's like their soul is dying, and leaving only a living shell behind. Life is more than just a heartbeat, it is living, feeling, experiancing, both the good and bad things. Merely existing, is not enough. I can't think of more worse way to go.

No matter how much you run the inevitable senarios in you head, no matter how much you dreadfully anticipated this day would arrive, no matter how much you counsole yourself that "his/her suffering is finally over, and that he/she is in a better place," nothing can ever prepare you for that awful news.

All that is left now is photographs and memories.






"...All those memories, gone,....like, tears in the rain."

Namu Amida Butsu and God Bless.

-EK Goya

There appears to be some confusion here as some people have been asking me for "Requests" that sound more like "Commissions" to me. Just in case anyone has forgoten or don't know, here they are again:


Definitions:

Request: An idea or suggestion. May or may not draw. Jpeg image.

Gift: A picture done for free. Usually done out of grattitude for something, or because I'm in a good mood. Jpeg.

Trade: Done between artists. You do one, I do one, which means I expect one in return. Jpeg.

Commission: PAID picture. You actually get the real thing, not just the jpeg proof. It's worth the money.

Please bear in mind that I'm in no real obligation to fulfill a "request" if I don't feel like it. But I'm more than happy to do it for you if you want it as a "commission."

This is a summary of what was one of the nicest weekends I've had in awhile. Last weekend was the local anime-con "Kawaii-Kon," and it was the first convention that I've ever been to. For starters, I wasn't even sure that I was going at all, since, as I've mentioned in a previous blog that I've been spending most of my time, namely weekends, as a caregiver for my sleep-apneated 94 year-old grandmother, and didn't know if I had that weekend free, so I didn't give it much thought until my aunty mentioned it to me. and so, at nearly the last minute, I had the weekend free, so I decided to go.

Too late to pre-register, so I'll have to buy my pass at the door, not to mention (as an artist) having to assemble a portfolio and business cards in a hurry. This was obviously not something to do spur of the moment, but considering what I would have to look foward to for the next few weeks, I needed the chance to get out. And for once, I even have the MONEY to actually spend. The good thing is that I live on island, so getting there was no problem.

The big day:

I got there by bus, (Parking is HELL in Waikiki, especially since there were other events going on around town that day, including a wedding expo downstairs ath the convention center.) and just followed the cos-players. I bought a two-day pass, and headed straight to the Artists' Den (naturally.) I already knew of one person who'd be there [Ponygirl], who I already knew and hadn't seen in a few years. (And as I've just discovered after the fact, so was Netrat. This should teach me to pay more attention to who's there.) I bought a few things from her table, including some of her prints and her [absent] boyfriend's stuff. Met another local artist who works as an editiorial cartoonist at a local paper. (Of whom I was familiar with since we've both went to UH at the same time). Showed him my stuff, which he liked, and even drew something for him.

Also picked up stuff at the Dealers' Room, (Namely plushies and a catgirl figure) and encountered the local publisher "Limelight". He like what I had shown him, and now I'd better start thinking of something new, original, [ & family friendly] for submission.

But of me the highlight was meeting Rikki and Tavisha Simons of "Reality Check", and "Invader Zim" fame. They were quite nice, got a sketch of Catreece and Gir, and No, I did NOT ask him to do the "Doom Song!" In fact, I asked him not to sing it, which I think might have been a refreshing change for him for once. (Ironically, I've never watched IZ. But I probably should now.)

Cosplay:

Needless to say, the bulk of what I saw came from "Naruto" and "Bleech", along with the obligatory cat-girls, (Oh, my mistake, "cat-PEOPLE", since there were guys waering them too), school girls, (some might actually be in their school uniforms), goth maids, stormies, a certain anemic looking criminal profiler with bad posture and a sweet-tooth, and the most disturbing, a middle aged guy wearing a maid outfit, bunny ears & tail, with son in tow.

"Hello, Dr. Phil?"

I also check out some of the other things, like the gaming tables. and overall had a good day. But being a small venure, there wasn't so much to see or do on the econd day, so I called it early. Not to metnion that I had a bit of a headache. But I had a great time notheless, and maybe I may have earned a few new fans. next year though, I'll probably just stay for one day.


Now it's back to shuttling my grandmother to and from day-care, changing her diapers, get no sleep, and spend the weekends watching her sleep all day. Fun.

Photos to follow...

After 5 months of being petless, the Goya household is once again filled with the sounds of paws as we got a new dog last week. A pom like before, but a male this time named Max. Intersting enough, he's was given to us by the same person who gave us Tobie. After a very sleepless (for me) first night, he now seems to be adjusting to his new life here. Let's all hope that Max will have a long(er) and happy life here!

Hilo, Hi: Recently, a local enviromentalist group filed a lawsuit against Pele, the ancient Hawaiian volcano goddess, for contributing to the production of greenhouse gasses for over a 25 year period, and the recent eruptions that have cast volcanic haze ("vog") over the entire state, causing respitory problems amonst many, and nearly forcing the evauations of serveral nearby towns in the area surounding Kilauea crater.
According to Sue Yu, the plaintifs' attorney, "Not even ancient gods should be exempt from EPA, and international standards." Madame Pele herself could not be reached for comment, but when the group staged a protest near the volcano, they were tragically buried under a flow of lava. In a statement, Madame Pele's attorney declared: "While my client deeply regrets this tragety, she calls into question on whom leaves a greater impact: She, of whom created this 'Aina (Land), or the insignificant creatures who rape what is rightfully hers." The lawsuit is schedualed to be dismissed.

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!

I've finally hit the historic 10,000 views mark, and in just under one year too! Let's see if we can hit 20,000 by next year!

Also, I'm just about caught up with my commissions now, so I'm once gain open for new ones. Order now while the economy's still okay!

NOW REOPENED FOR COMMISSIONS!!!!

Commission for:

Kuntos: Completed
Palshife:Completed

A few reminders:

I do not take payment in advance, nor do I accept paypal, or anyother form of electronic payment. Please wait until I actually tell you how much you owe me.

If you live outside of the US, please tell me so.

I already know that this year's going to suck. How do I know? It all depends on how the previous year ends, and how the new one begins. I bascicallly spent both my New Year's eve and day watching my 93 year-old grandmother, and most likely will do so for the immediate future. All because a certain relative of mine will not give me, or my mom a break. That's all I'll say about the matter.

As a result of this brooding family conflict, I'm closing the book on any new commissions until I clear up the one's already listed below:

Commission for:

Ryoga: In Production
Goat: Pending
Kuntos: Pending?
Palshife: Pending?

For you four, I will try to get yours worked on and finished as soon as I'm able to, as duties permit, as I'm basically caring for a very old baby. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my grandma, and this is a matter of familial piety (unlike some others in the clan). It's just going to be hard to get a good night's rest when you're woken up every two hours so that she can inch her way to the bathroom. But I will get your pictures done!


I just hope I don't end up with another anxiety attack like last year.

This will be my last blog of the year.

What started out with celebrity backlashes, and ending with an assasination, not to mention thing in my personal life, ranging from a anxiety attack, to losing my dog, this has truly been one crappy year. But it wasn't a total loss, after all, my alma matter did have an incredible football season. (With a perfect ending on Tuesday I hope.), and perhaps the best thing to happen this year....

I found you all here on FA, and I would like to thank you all for that.

But overall, I normally would be wishing you all a Happy New Year, but this time I'll just wish you all a Happy New Year's Day, since I don't have much optimism for 2008.

Except for maybe the Olympics.

See you next year!
-EK Goya

Since the day after Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, I've been taking a tally of all the holiday movies being shown on TV, and I must admit, I was kinda surprised at the results. So here are the movies I saw listed on my TV, and the rules I used to qualify.

The rules:
1. Movie must have been seen in the theaters first.
2. Made for TV movies do not count unless they are remakes of #1.
3. All versions of "A Christmas Carol" count.
4. TV specials are not counted.

The Results:

The Nightmare Before Christmas: 1 (That's all? I expected more from this holiday cross-over flick.)

A Miracle on 34th St.: (2)
1947: 1
1964: 1
(IS THAT ALL?!)

It's a Wonderful Life: 3

Bad Santa: 4

White Christmas: 5 (and my parents thought they'll only show it once.)

Jingle All the Way: 5

Prancer: 6

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey one): 7

Christmas with the Cranks: 7

Elf: 7

The Santa Clause: 7
Santa Clause 2: 3

Home Alone: 8
(lost data on HA2. the others don't count.)

Natl. Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: 9

---

For those who want a less secular Xmas movie:

The Greatest Story Ever Told: 1
(You'd think Max Von Sydow would've had no problem kicking Pazuzu's butt in the Exorcist after playing Jesus. "The power of Chr- uh, ME compells you!"

King of Kings: (4)

1927: 1
1964: 3 (You mean this one is a remake?!)

The Nativity Story: 9 (The one that caused a big stink last year.)

---

And now the most played movies. I'm quite surprised at the results. It's a 3-way tie!

The Polar Express: 11
Santa Claus: The Movie: 11
(These two were shown every week.)

A Christmas Story: 11
(Of course, the bulk of it was shown for a full 24 hours straight. Funny, I'd expected this to be THE most played Christmas movie, but there is one story which is the most undisputed, and the most played. Even more than this one)

The ABSOLUTE most played Christmas story is:

A Christmas Carol. With all of it's tellings, retellings, and spoofs, the Dickens classic comes in at a grand total of:

22.

1938 original: 3
1984: 8
1999: 2
2001: 2
2004: 1
Scrooged: 2
Ms. Scrooge: 1
A Diva's Christmas Carol: 2
An All Dogs Christmas Carol: 1
(You all expect me to include this one, don't you!)

There, that's all the results I managed to catch on my TV. Your results may vary.

Next year: Made for TV movies, and (classic) cartoons.

Any commissions ordered or requested now will not be started upon until after the new year. Also, anyny currently in production will not be finished until after Christmas at the earliest.

I found this weird shoutout on my page today from someone called "Cockmonglerdemon". I don't know who this person is, but I do hope that person is BSing the part about being 13. For the record, I DO NOT WANT ANYONE UNDER 18 TO VIEW MY WORK! I do not want to be forced to pull ervery piece of yiffy stuff here and revert to my original idea of having a more "family friendly" site that I'm not reluctant to admit having. I've never banned anyone here, i hope I won't have to. Some of you won't think that's fair, but it's not fair to me if I'm the one getting busted for corrupting a minor. If you are, I'm a very big sticker for the "Honor Code," and I expect it to be obeyed! For those who haven't been in ROTC, it's: "We will not LIE, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

Which is why there is a "Yellow Flag" warning on my page.

I want to know who this person is before I take further action.

Those familiar with me know that every year on this day, know that I usually post something to commemorate the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. It's hard not to be reminded of that day since I live at "ground zero" so to speak. This year, I'm doing something different, and mention another disaster that happened there that not even I was aware of.

Nearly three years later, on May 21, 1944, weeks before the invasion of Saipan, in an area known as West Loch, the site of the Navy's weapons depot, (A site that was untouched by the Japanese attack), a second tragety occured not by an act of war, but by an act of carelessness.

On that day, due to improper loading porcedures and laxed safety standards, several explosions tore trough a number of navy LST transports (the predecessor to today's Assault ships.), killing 163 people. Due to the impending invasion (which also went underreported due to the Normandy invasion over a week earlier.), and the Navy's usual covering up, this "incident" went unknown for decades.

Today, there is no memorial for these dead, only a rusted hull of an LST overgrown with vegetation in an isolated and unused section of the Harbor.

This was the other Pearl Harbor....

In honor of Veterans' Day, here's the list of my family members who defended my freedom and a recap of those who made that ultimate sacrifice.

---

Rank & unit given if known.

WW II:

Pfc. Shigeru Nakamura, 522 HQ, 442 RCT/ 100 Btl.

Kwanyei Goya, Imperial Japanese Army. KIA- Okinawa 1945.
*(I suspect there were probably more.)

Korea:

Col. Iwao Yokooji, 442 RCT/ 2 Inf. Div.

Pvt. Tetsumi Yokooji, 7 Cav. Rgt./ 1 Cav. Div. KIA-9/28/51
(Iwao's brother.)


Vietnam:

Dennis Sato

---

I've also been told that my great-grandfather was also a WWI vet (for the US), and my neighbor, who is currently in the hospital due to a heart attack.

Also I'd like to give a specail shout-out to all you Mil-Furs and Vet-Furs for your service in both peacetime and war. There is at least one who appereciates it.

Thank You!



Some information provided by the AJA war vets website:

http://www.ajawarvets.com

Not scary (for you at least), just a childhood memory.

My mother has a dry, blunt sense of humor. ("What's for dinner?" "Food.") So she's probably the last person you'd suspect of pulling any kind of prank, especially on Halloween. You see, the "trick" part of "trick or treat" isn't very big here, (TPing, egging houses, etc.), or at least in my neighborhood. In fact, it doesn't happen at all.

Anyway, on Halloween night when I was younger, (I don't remember how old I was), after the traditional pillaging and dividing of the spoils, it was time for bed, and being the older brother, I took my rights and took dibs on the top bunk, (this was back when my brother and I slept in the same room with a bunkbed.) Just as I was crawling into bed, I looked back out the window, and like Charile Brown, the "Great Pumpkin" rose out of patch, and scared the crap outta me, followed by my mom's face.

"Gottcha!"

Proves you just can't trust anybody, even your own mother.

"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today..."

My dog Tobie died yesterday.

About three years ago, the brother-in-law of my sister's now ex-boyfriend (never liked the kid anyway) gave us his pet pommerianian when he and his wife were moving to a new "pet-unfriendly" apartment. It was the first time we ever had a indoor dog before (we had three outdoor types beforehand), and after some time in learning about her "I have to go to the bathroom" sign, (not to mention a few "accidents"), she became a part of our family.

Tobie was the most "expressive" dog I have ever met. She bonded with my mother most of all, and when my mom goes somewhere, even if it's to the bathroom, she would get lonely. (As I told my sister many times, she could be gone for six months, and Tobie would care less, but if mone goes away for six minutes, she gets all weepy.)

Seperation Anxiety wasn't her only expression, there's the "Gimme your food" look, and she especially loved cheese.
As for her own food, she would have this odd habit of leaving bits of it on the carpet, IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT, and hiding her doggie treats in a "secret stash."

And when she rolls over on her back, with most dogs, it's "submission", with Tobie, it's "passive resistance." (She must have been some protester in a pervious life, either that or a possum.)

Then there are the other odd things, like waking me up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, or rolling in dirty laundry, hiding in any small place or box, and my personal favorate...."plush humping." (Yes, you heard me, she humps plushies, I have photographic proof, and the funny thing is, she's spayed. )

Things were great until last week.

Last Sunday, she started geting seizures.

We took her to the vets, and she spent the next five miserable days in the hospital.

(Before anyone starts calling "tainted dog food from China", her blood tests came out clear, and I'm going on faith that that was one of the first things they were testing for.)

We brought her home on Thursday with meds for the seizures. She wasn't looking at all like herself. Very listless and glassy eyed.

On Friday morning she had another seizure, and spent the rest of the day back at the hospital.

She was broght home the next morning for the last time, same state as before.

That night while I was doing dishes, I heard my mother cry Tobie's name followed by "NO!"






She died in my mother's arms.




Tobie was only seven years old. (Give or take).

Too short a time.

What killed her? I have no idea. Stroke? (like the one had before), Liver dammage? Unlike the rest of my family, I cannot accept the simple answer of "some purebreds have a shorter life span," or "Just her time."
It was not. Not by a longshot. I probably will never know.

My folks took her to the vet hospital for "burial"
(I REALLY don't want to know what that implies!)

This has been a really rotten year, and there's still 2 1/2 more months to go.

Ellen DeGeneres' pain has got nothing compared to mine right now.

I'm sorry, the next blog will be more uplifting, I hope.