As reported Amber’s surgery went very well, but we didn’t realize the full extent of its success until we went to pick her up last night from the animal hospital. Charging through the doors, Amber came sprinting towards us on all 3’s, grinning broadly with her tail wagging furiously.

YAY!!! I'm outta here!

The hospital technician ran along beside her, trying to support her with a towel, but she quickly showed us that she didn’t need it.

What are we hanging around here for, Dad? I'm ready to boogie!!

She hadn’t eaten much at the hospital, but the moment she got home, she headed straight for the cupboard that houses her treats and demanded her Greenie. Then she ate, not one, but TWO portions of chicken and brown rice and went outside and pooped. I know this may be more information that you wanted to know, but if you knew the amount of anxiety that existed in my household about how she would be able to handle this, you would know why this was something to celebrate!

Today marks the first anniversary of my mother’s passing and it was just the beginning of many losses that we endured during the past year. When Amber’s cancer was first diagnosed, I wondered: What lesson are we supposed to learn from this? Now I am thinking that perhaps, Amber’s strength of spirit is meant to remind us of our own resilience and adaptability. In the face of change that is compounded by grief, hurt, and disappointment, we humans may wonder how we will get through it all. But Amber shows us that with love and faith, all things are possible. Thanks, Amber, for reminding us who we are with your amazing attitude and incredible courage. As Max and I wrote in Life to the Max, “…be grateful for every teacher who leads you—even if it’s the one at the end of the leash!”

Speaking of gratitude, I want to shout out to our vet, Dr. Tracy Wight and the amazing staff of McClintock Animal Care Center for their continued caring concern, faithful follow up and patient hand- holding. Also we want to thank Dr. Christopher Monarski, Dr. Miller, Donna, Jordan and all the other technicians and staff of VCA Animal Referral and Emergency Center of Arizona who calmly answered all our questions and soothed our fears during this anxious time. If you are in the East Valley in Phoenix, Arizona, you will not find better veterinary professionals.

Stay tuned for more news next week after we meet the oncologist!

I had been annoyed with her. I had come back from our Thanksgiving trip with a sinus infection and I had gotten behind. I wasn’t feeling much in the holiday spirit anyway, but Amber was in it from the moment I entered the house with shopping bags. She would greet me at the door and thrust her whole head in the bag to make sure I wasn’t trying to slip something good past her.

But the night I was wrapping presents was the worst. Even though I had locked our bedroom door, she knew how to thrust her nose against the door just right, so she could pop the lock. In she rushed, running through my wrapping papers…

Amber gets into the holiday spirit!

…pulling ribbons out of my container…

What a sneaky little devil!

…and standing on her back legs to strain to see what toys I had hid for her high in my closet.

Then on Christmas morning, she had been the first one up, trying to push through the barricades we were forced to erect each year to keep her from sneaking her stocking too early.

"Gimme!"

You just had to enjoy the holidays with Amber around.

Those of us who have Airedales in our families know how stalwart these dogs can be and with so much zest for life, how could we have been prepared–just one week after getting a clean bill health from her routine health check-up–that we would receive devastating news?

I had been noticing that Amber was getting up a little slower, but she had knee surgery when she was a puppy and we all thought maybe she was getting a little arthritis. After all, she is almost 11. Then came the day when she and Krissy were doing their usual rough-housing when she came up lame. I took her back to our vet who checked for Valley Fever, but then referred us to us a specialty hospital. Still, I thought it was an orthopedic issue, so I was shocked when the specialist there told me he suspected cancer. A few days later, the bone biopsy revealed chrondrosarcoma—a small piece of good news in the face of the more aggressive osteosarcoma that was originally suspected.

It is hard to step away from your emotions when challenges like these involve your family members. But instead of reproaching yourself for things you might have done differently, you have to be a dog and stay in the moment. You can’t look back and you can’t look too far forward. You have to deal with what’s in front of you right now and only this, nothing more. When we did this, it is very clear to us that Amber is not ready to leave us. Her heart is strong and her lungs are clear. She is always looking forward and her resilience inspires us. The time that we’ve had to deal with this has been short and given her age on paper, decisions have not been easy. But considering her spirit, that bone and cartilage cancer is very painful, and that her bone is at high risk to fracture, we chose to have Amber’s leg amputated today. We ask our friends and fans to send healing thoughts to Amber and to watch our blog for updates. I will be posting about Amber’s journey as a tripod and cancer survivor–because I believe she won’t just survive, she will thrive. I know this because today I am not just a dog; I’m an Airedale!

P.S. Amber is out of surgery and doing very well.

On Christmas morning this year, we had a teenager home from college and my 93-year-old mother staying with us. So besides my husband and me, the only creatures who were stirring were our two Aire-kids, Amber & Krissy. Amber knew from the moment we hung the empty stockings over the fireplace weeks before which sock was hers and she knew that soon it would be filled with all kinds of delectable treats.

She let us know frequently that her patience was wearing thin.

Krissy knew that before “Santa” arrived, Mom stashed the stuff in her closet and she paced outside of it, pressing her nose against the mirrored door, whining and complaining.

Once the stockings were filled, my husband I had to barricade the fireplace to keep the kids from tearing into the stockings too soon.  This was met with a fair amount of indignant disbelief!

Just as the clock was inching toward noon, the still-groggy freshman and slow-moving senior finally emerged from their slumber, Amber and Krissy knew the festivities were about to begin.  But then they sat down to have breakfast!

After an interminable amount of time, the moment arrived and the stockings were presented. Amber couldn’t wait to see what was inside…

Krissy wanted to see too!

But she finally settled down to blissfully enjoy her own bounty.

Then it was off to play with some of their new toys!

From watching our dogs, I am reminded that it is the simplest pleasures that often inspire the greatest joys. I wish for all of you in 2011, the simple pleasure of good health, good laughs, and good friends and family. Enjoy each moment and remember to live “Life to the MAX!” Happy New Year!

It’s been fun playing with the dogs during the last eight nights.  If you were celebrating Hanukkah, we hope you had nights of warm gatherings and quiet introspection.  As we close this portion of our online celebration, we want to leave you with this thought:

Love shines like a light in the darkness

and darkness cannot overcome it.

We are called to share our light through acts of love.

As each candle gives its flame to the other,

see how its own light increases.

A candle is a small thing,

but together we can light the world.

Krissy really wants to light the menorah, but she just doesn’t have the opposable thumbs to strike the matches.

Cheer her up with a holiday greeting and you could win a Life to the Max bandana. Share your greetings here or on our Life to the Max Gift Book page on Facebook.

Oh, those delicious little jelly doughnuts–Sufganiyot–are so delicious during Hanukkah! But you can’t just sneak some because the powdered-sugar will give you away every time!

Tell us what your favorite treats are during the holidays and you could win a recipe card and dog bone cookie cutter for Max’s AHH-mmmm Morsels.  Yummy!  Hope you’re living “Life to the MAX” and enjoying the sweetness of the season!  Blessings!

I don’t know who is more off-key–the dogs or my husband?

Tell us about your favorite holiday song, who sings it best in your household and you could win a FREE Max’s AH-mmm Recipe Card & Dog Bone Cookie Cutter!  Howl-ever you celebrate the holidays, sing loud!