It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you that my Molly has begun her next great adventure.

Molly entered my heart and my family on November 17, 2004, shortly after her eighth birthday. She was fostered in Rochester and I drove to meet her in a blizzard. Molly was afraid, but she was kind enough to join me on the drive home. That drive lasted about 4½ hours instead of the normal 2 hours. It soon became apparent that Molly needed another dog to encourage her bravery and to teach her that dogs don’t belong in corners with averted eyes.

Molly and I adopted Skye on Mother’s Day 2005. Skye tried hard to teach his “big” sister how to play. Then on June 21, 2005, Red became Molly and Skye’s new foster brother. Molly and Red soon developed a very close bond. They helped each other to overcome many fears. Because they had each other, both progressed much further than either would have without the other. Red officially became Molly’s forever brother on January 28, 2006.

Molly may have been the smallest of my fur-kids, but she proved on several occasions that she was the mightiest. None of the three of them ever had any doubt that Molly was in charge. If one of the boys did something she did not approve of, Molly did not hesitate to tell them off. Red seldom incurred the wrath of Molly, but Skye did on several occasions. I admit to being greatly amused to see my 50 pound Molly thoroughly verbally chastising my 75 pound Skye as he cringed away from her. I am so proud that my sweet girl gained enough self confidence to be able to tell Skye off as she did.

In October of 2007, Molly suddenly developed two tumors on her lower left gum. I took her into the vet. We scheduled surgery for the same week the tumors first showed. Molly came through the surgery just fine, and the tumors were sent to a lab for a pathology report. Two weeks later, the tumors had returned and the pathology report told us Molly was dealing with malignant oral melanoma. Molly’s doctor and I tried to get an appointment for Molly at the U of M. The soonest appointment we could arrange for Molly would have been 3 weeks out, which would have been far too late to help her. At my vet’s suggestion, I called the University of Wisconsin Madison . It was Friday afternoon and they made an appointment for us to be seen on Monday morning. On Tuesday morning, Molly had surgery that removed the left side of Molly’s lower jaw. The cancer never came back. They had gotten it all. Molly was eating and enjoying hard food again 31 days after her surgery.

Five weeks after the surgery to remove almost half of Molly’s lower jaw, we discovered a mast cell tumor hiding inside a “nothing to worry about” fatty tumor on Molly’s chest. Again, Molly had surgery the next day. This was Molly’s third cancer surgery in less than two months. This lump had previously been checked by four different vets in four different, unaffiliated vet clinics. This tumor came back, multiplied and became very painful. Mast cell is the name of Molly’s killer.

If not for the hidden second cancer, I would have won more years with my sweet girl. This shows we can’t ever know how long we have. I am glad I was able to share the time that Molly did have. These rescue dogs give us so much more than we could ever give to them. Thank you, RAGOM for allowing me to share part of Molly’s life with her.

Molly never learned to play with toys despite her brothers’ and my best efforts. She also never learned how to be naughty. Molly smiled until the end. She gave us love and happiness.

Molly very firmly believed that food is love. She retained her ability to eat and enjoy food to the very end. Her breakfast this morning included, a chicken breast cooked just for her and cut into small pieces, a banana, some fresh pineapple (given to her by her friend Jane), her “green gunk” (dehydrated natural food for dogs by Honest Kitchens – rehydrated of course!), strawberry yogurt (given to her with love, by her friend Karen), and one fresh strawberry, all seasoned with a few of my tears. Red, Sky and I were with Molly as she left on her next adventure. We will never forget her.

Molly April 27, 2008
         Still smiling in my heart forever!