Well, this is the first time Charlie is not doing her blog in her own singular voice. She passed away this weekend of cancer. The vet came to our home and Jonathan and I were each holding a paw when she passed. It was peaceful. I am not sure what will happen to this blog now but I do want to end it for now with photos of some of Charlie’s best moments.

As you all know, some of Charlie’s favourite activities were hiking with her dad:

Jonathan would have to carry Charlie home when she got too pooped!

Walks on the beach:

Braai’s (bbqs)

Getting together with fellow distinguished bassets:

Going to UCT Campus with dad:

Naps were also a favourite activity:

She loved stealing finding food on the table:

Bread? What Bread?

Being an erudite and intelligent basset, she loved a good book:

And with one look with her sad basset eyes, she was always able to get Jonathan to put aside his studies to take her for a walk:

She also loved hanging out with her best friends Waffle and Midnight:

Being a very tolerant and patient basset she put up with what she would call her mother’s “feline infestation”:

Oh, the crosses Charlie had to bear!

Amarula and the kittens seem at a loss to know what to do now that Charlie is gone:

Though it took awhile, Charlie and Amarula came to an understanding:

Charlie even came to tolerate the kittens:

And though Charlie would never admit it, she even came to like my (now deceased) cats. In fact, they are probably playing together now as I write this

Charlie and Mogy:

Charlie and Kimchie

And Charlie and Chosun:

Charlie loved sneaking up on Chosun and stealing his food:

She loved sharing her life and adventures with all her readers. And she would want to thank you all for reading her blog. Now she is packed and ready to go on another adventure. She will have Grandma MacGregor and a bevy of cats (whether she likes it or not) to play with. And every walk will be unleashed. We love you Charlie! Until we meet again…

Off on another adventure…

I also want to thank you for sympathizing with me in my battles with mom’s hideous felines.

Sweet God these things can’t take a hint! They never leave me alone!

Though I will finally admit that I have come to like….er…I mean tolerate…the cats. And boy, they sure are great mini-heaters:

I will admit the kittens help keep me warm!

Even Amarula has been staying close, making sure that the kittens don’t play with my tail while I sleep so I can get a good rest.

In fact, Amarula has been really helpful at distracting the kittens—when the kittens get too much Amarula takes them off my hands! I am almost beginning to believe that cats have souls like us dogs!

I love you all and want to thank you for all your positive thoughts! I will continue to keep you updated about my progress. Truth is, I am not scared to go and I know that many wonderful bassets, other dogs, mom’s deceased cats, and even Grandma MacGregor are waiting for me. But I wanted to say goodbye just in case this might be the last time I get to write you all personally.

Vet prescribed lots of sleep

Just wanted to let you all know that I have not been very well lately. Mom and dad took me to the vet and it turns out that I have lung cancer. Though the prognosis appears bad as the cancer is quite advanced, my parents and I hold out hope that I have some spunk left in me yet to see me through a few more months. I still have lots of holes to dig, cats to terrorize, and pizza to steal.

In fact, I just finished burying something in the garden a few minutes ago

And I still appreciate visits from my regular canine crew Midnight and Waffle

Midnight and me

I am still eating well and seem ok to observers, though I haven’t felt like going on a walk for awhile (there goes my svelte figure!) The most troubling development since my ill health began, however, is that I seem to have become much more tolerant of the cats—and even occasionally find myself almost liking them (never repeat that to anybody)! Clearly, I have to speak to the vet about changing my medications as they are obviously causing me to hallucinate!

I will keep everybody updated on my progress.