One week ago on March 17th, Scooby was in surgery. Today this beautiful sweet guy continues to heal beautifully and his stitches will come out soon. Here he is resting up with his own personal sunbeam. And then he’ll be back to Full-Speed Scooby, running and jumping and climbing and swimming and walking on the beach.

And he’ll be doing one other thing too.

Eating every single treat he possibly can 🙂

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. That’s Our Scooby. thepongofund.org

Yesterday was National Puppy Day. But deep down, isn’t every dog really just a puppy? I think so. And so does 20 1/2 year-old Scooby. So from us to you, no matter what your age, we say Happy Puppy Day 🙂

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. Puppies Forever. thepongofund.org

Happy Scooby Sunday.

“Thorns may hurt you, people desert you,
sunlight turn to fog,
but you’re never friendless ever, if you have a dog.”

–Douglas Mallock

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

Everyone thinks they have the best dog…
and none of them are wrong.
— W.R. Purche

And of course, this goes for cats too ^,,^

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

Thank you everyone for your Happy Birthday wishes. And for your Happy Scooby wishes too. For your Facebook comments. For your cards and your calls. Each one of them was meaningful. Likely far more meaningful than you will ever know.

That my birthday coincided with Scooby’s French Fry Friday made it even more special. Because watching Scooby with his French Fries is the best! As for the rest of my birthday celebration, it was low key.

Because I wanted to stay home and hang with the Scoobsters. So that’s what I did. Knowing he just had surgery a few days ago and had that gnarly mass removed from his soft stomach made me want to stay extra close to him.

Plus he’s got stitches in a few places and I want to make sure I’m nearby if he begins to fuss with them. So that meant we spent the night doing little more than telling each other jokes and making each other laugh.

We watched some TV. Scooby got a massage. I gave a massage. We shared some snacks. We played some games. And we toasted my birthday with some tasty red wine.

I had mine in a glass. Scooby had a couple of drops in a special Scooby bowl.

After a while the TV went off and we just sat in the candlelight. I looked at him and thought about how much I love him. And he looked at me, hopeful that I would get up and get him some more treats. Which I did. Several times.

And the night continued with a comforting sense of calm. There were no other duties or details left. Just to be.

To be at peace with my special friend and pray that he continues to thrive. As I know so many of you are doing to. And I thank you for that.

We both fell asleep on the couch. We woke up but didn’t know what time it was. I grabbed my phone to check and saw an email had arrived a bit earlier. It was from the vet. Late on a Friday night. The subject line read Scooby’s biopsy.

Just those two words: Scooby’s biopsy.

I put the phone back down.

I looked at the Scoobs and he looked at me. I thought about a million things in that moment. He thought about French Fries.

I got up and brushed my teeth. Then I gave him a bedtime snack and brushed his teeth too. We went outside for one more sniff of the night air and to look up at the sky and to say thank you for another birthday.

Under that night sky I opened the email.

“We received the report from Scooby’s biopsy. The mass was a benign hemangioma, a type of non-invasive, non life-threatening cancer of the blood vessels. This tumor was completely removed and that should be curative. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope he is doing well.”

Benign! Benign! BENIGN!

I read it twice just to be sure. And then I read it out loud so Scooby could hear it too.

We ran back inside and had a little more wine and a few more treats. Then we went to bed without even brushing our teeth again. Because it was that kind of moment.

The perfect gift to end my birthday. Thank you for being part of it with us 🙂

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. It was benign. thepongofund.org

(Photo Credit of Scooby sticking his tongue out at cancer is by Terri Jacobson Photography​)

Yes. It was French Fry Friday. And because it was my birthday, we both got fries 🙂

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. Scooby’s French Fry Friday. thepongofund.org

My name is Larry Chusid and today is my birthday. And my birthday gift to me is taking this moment to say thank you to you. To each and every one of you. Thank you for caring about the animals. Thank you for loving the animals. Thank you for being the voice for the animals. For they too deserve to be heard.

“Until one has loved an animal, part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France.

My birthday wish is to see the end of animal abuse. End it forever. Finished. Kaput. Done. To stop any and all animal suffering. To end the agony that these majestic friends far too frequently feel when people choose to do bad things.

May we someday find a way to educate those that bring harm so that they too can learn what they have done is wrong. So that someday they too can celebrate and enjoy the unconditional love of an animal friend.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

For my birthday this is my wish. Because the animals deserve that wish. For each and every one of them. Whatever they are. Wherever they are. They deserve better.

Especially for those already gone at the hands of abuse. That have suffered. That have known pain. Because they deserved better. May they rest in peace. Running on rainbows. Sleeping in clouds.

May they know the smiles they brought. May they know they were loved. May they know. May they know. May they know.

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” ~ Mother Teresa.

Every wish that I wish for the animals I wish the same wish for the people as well. Adults and kids alike. Because we share this fine earth together. Even for those that bring harm and may not seemingly deserve that wish, I still wish it. Because that wish brings hope.

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

And with that wish I wish that today will bring a better day for all. For all animals. For all creatures. For all people. For all beings. For all living things great and small. That is my birthday wish.

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

On my birthday I thank every single person that makes Team Pongo purr. Getting up and showing up time and time and time again to make a difference for those less fortunate. There are far too many names to mention here, but please know that you are important and appreciated and loved.

You give with heart and you give with joy and you are the core group of dedicated souls that have defied the odds and proven that impossible is possible.

And I thank you.

“Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

On my birthday I thank Pongo for being who he was. The grand spirit of life that knew it was all about love, kindness and joy. And great food. He lived large and he lived long and against all the impossible odds he thrived. Outliving his years many times over Always with zest and gusto and love.

He blessed my life for many years. But the 19 years we had together were still not enough. And I miss him.

And I thank Scooby, my 20 ½ year-old beagle-basset buddy, for the love and friendship he brings me every day. He is kind and patient and filled with love and grace. He is my compass. My Dalai Lama. My Mother Teresa. My Gandhi. He has lived long enough to know what’s important and what’s not.

He is an inspiration. His soul is pure. His heart is full. And I am lucky to have him as a mentor.

“Never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well being of a person or an animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

This message is far longer than I had hoped. Yet it does not even begin to come close to conveying the sincere gratitude that I have for each and every one of you. You are held dearly. Because we are all in this together.

“Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

For my next year and each one of the many thereafter my wish for myself is that I will ring more bells. That I will be more understanding. More compassionate. More patient. More forgiving.

And that I will always err on the side of kindness.

If nothing else I hope that I will bring the same kind of love and kindness that our animal friends bring. Because if I can do that, I will have done well.

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, I can do or any kindness that I can show… let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.” ~ Stephen Grillet

And this is why I Pongo.

~ Larry Chusid, Founder, The Pongo Fund. March 20, 2015.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

That gnarly dark purple mass on Scooby’s stomach was the primary focus of our attention yesterday. And it needed to come off ASAP because it had doubled in size in just a short time. Thankfully it came off as cleanly as we could have hoped. Now we’ll wait for results to learn more about what it was and what it means.

But I ask you to please not speculate or critique or judge that tumor. And most of all please don’t post those comments here. Because this is neither the time nor the place for that.

Yes, you may have seen a tumor like that before. Or you may know someone that has. But for now we’re continuing to focus good energy for The Scoobs and not get mired down in the speculation of maybes and what ifs.

You and I both know that putting any of our animals through surgery is always stressful. Because the truth is, it’s scary. For Scooby, even a bit more so due to his age and a heart murmur.

But I fully intend on Scooby living forever. And that’s why he spent the day that he spent yesterday. Despite the fear and the risks.

Thankfully his veterinarian knows how I feel and invited me to join her in the surgery suite for the full procedure. That way I’m also close by to quickly discuss anything else that comes up. For example, because he was already sedated we elected to do a few more things too, including some dental work.

And the best news is that Scooby should be good to go for another 100,000 miles!

We’ll know more when the results come back and we’ll plan our next move then. And I’ll keep you posted. Because I know that Scooby is your dog too. And that you join me in only wanting the very best for him. And I thank you for that. He does too.

Because it’s good to be loved by people like you. It really is!

I’m pleased to report that Scooby slept well and woke up happy and smiling and was the same Scooby he always is. Happy to greet the morning and happy to greet the day.

As he does every morning he went outside and stood completely still and smelled the air. And then he turned his body in a circle, like a radar, sniffing this way and that, making sure to capture every message passing in the breeze.

Because who needs the New York Times or cable news when you’ve got Scooby’s nose?

Back inside he enjoyed his typical multi-course breakfast. Today it included a scrambled egg on soft toast. And he licked his bowl sparkling clean,

And then he did exactly the sort of unpredictable thing that Scooby does.

After I put his bowl in the dishwasher I turned away for just a moment but left the dishwasher open. And there he went, up on his hind-legs and climbing forward like at ATV right into the dishwasher to get in a few more licks.

Yes. The dog that was in surgery less than 24 hours earlier was now powering his way inside the dishwasher. Just because he could. Just because he’s Scooby.

When I turned back around and saw him I said “SCOOBY” and he froze. He does that when I catch him doing something he’s not supposed to be doing. And in those moments I know that he thinks he makes himself invisible. Just like we all did as kids when we got caught doing something.

And at moments like that one of my greatest joys is letting Scooby win. But having 50 pound Scooby inside my dishwasher is not good for either him or the dishwasher.

So I picked him up and put him back on the floor. And I got his bowl out and let him have a few more licks so he could be sure it was truly empty.

As he dejectedly walked away after licking it again I called his name and got him to turn around. And he saw his bowl on the ground, right where he left it.

But when he looked again he saw that a secret friend had put some more scrambled egg and goat yogurt inside. And it was ready for another round of licking.

Which he happily did.

This sweet boy is now taking his post breakfast siesta and we’ll be out for a short walk in a bit. Not too much because we don’t want to pop those stictches. But just enough to let him greet the birds and the bees and the trees and tell them about his Scooby Tuesday adventure.

Because I know they love Scooby too. How could they not?

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. Scooby On! thepongofund.org

That’s Scooby on the table in surgery today. Because even Superheroes like Scooby need extra help sometimes. Thank you to Meg, Heather, Matt and Lesley for surrounding him with love.

My 20 ½ year-old mix of Beagle, Basset, Gandhi, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama did his job well. He is resting now, surrounded by pillows and covered in heated blankets.

Every animal that I help hits close to my heart. But with Scooby it hits even closer. He is my heart. And I love him.

And I thank you for loving him too 🙂

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. Long Live the Scoobster.
thepongofund.org

In honor of St. Patrick, today let’s remember Patrick. The dog that beat death. The dog that changed us forever. Cheers to you always, Patrick. Here’s to a long and happy life!

With love, from all your friends at The Pongo Fund.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. Patrick Forever. thepongofund.org