Ollie the Wonder Puppy: Family Portraits

Hey! Look at that! It's me! Mommy got my picture up on the blog! Now we can look at my adorable self all the time! This picture is just one of oh, I don't know, like 300 photos our friend took of me and my family last Tuesday night. Mommy and Daddy love this picture of me because I look strong and happy in the picture.

So after my collapse last Tuesday morning, Mommy and Daddy didn't think I was going to make it much longer. They spent a lot of the day preparing to say goodbye to me- until I did a 180 degree turn around and got better again. But they still weren't really sure how much longer they would have with me, and so we did family portraits. Our good friends - the Man with the Camera and the Lady with the Cheese (that's their names, really!) came over to take some pictures for us. The Man with the Camera loves to do photography for fun. The Lady with the Cheese, well I'm not really sure if she always carries American cheese in her pockets, or if that was just for me. If she does carry it in her pockets that's a little weird. Someone ought to tell her American cheese belongs in the cheese drawer in the refrigerator. Then I will run to the kitchen when I hear the sound of the drawer opening and the cheese coming out. I'm conditioned like Pavlov! Except with cheese...but anyways.

The Man with the Camera and the Lady with the Cheese came over and Mommy and Daddy and my Sister and Brother got cleaned up to try and look as cute as me. They don't, of course, look as cute as me, but I appreciate their effort. I have to say, I'd just collapsed that morning, I'd had and IV in my arm that day, lots of medicine and chemo the day before. I was feeling like a steamy pile of poo-poo. And what do we have to do? Take my picture. A lot. You'll notice that I look kind of sad or tired in the pictures. I was exhausted. But I knew it was really, really, really important to my Mommy and Daddy to capture the photos of our family while we are still, well, a family. I mean they'll always be my family, but once I'm chewing on the pearly gates and chasing my tail every time the doorbell to Heaven rings, it'll be a little hard to take my picture. So we did it that night. And by the way- it's important to note that every day since last Tuesday I've become perkier and perkier and even the Nice Man with the needles and the treats thinks I may be able to stick around for quite some time. See- I really am a Wonder Puppy!!!

Okay, so anyways, here's the funniest part about our family portraits. When the Man with the Camera was taking my picture, I was not a fan of the lens in my face. I have my personal boundaries, and Man with the Camera was crossing them. To get even with him, I'd turn my face. It was pretty funny. Lady with the Cheese, now she was harder to ignore. I mean I LOVE cheese. Hello, I'm a dog. She would rustle the cheese wrapper behind the camera lens, and like a sucker I looked almost every time. At least she fed me the cheese after I cooperated. But guess what? After that evening was over I decided I didn't care much for cheese anymore. Mommy cannot put my pills in cheese. No sir-ee! I'm above things like cheese these days, because I'm afraid if I eat it that lens will be back in my face again! Now all my pills come in deli turkey and peanut butter. I'm thinking I may ask Mommy for caviar next.

In all seriousness- a huge thank you to the Man with the Camera and Lady with the Cheese for coming and taking such beautiful pictures of me and my family. I know they will be cherished for always. Here's some of the favorites. Hope you all enjoy too!