I'm still here

Lots of things have happened since the last time my Mom had a chance to write in my blog. Mom's back was hurting her alot and we weren't able to have as much fun as we used to have. We did spend some time camping in the woods and a big bear ripped up our tent while we were gone for a couple days! Oh well, at least we weren't in it when it happened. But I would have protected my Mom, cause that's my job!
When Mom didn't get better after seeing the chiropractor she had to go to another place to have an MRI. After having the MRI and seeing another kind of doctor, Mom found out she has cancer. The kind of cancer she has is very serious and has spread throughout her body, she had to spend alot of time in the hospital and nursing home and I had to go stay with Aunt Barbara and her family for awhile. I liked living with Aunt Barbara at first because I got to play with Max and Stella and Hunter and we would go for rides and get ice cream. Aunt Barbara likes me with short hair so I went to the hair cutting lady several times, too. But I missed my Mom and after a while I didn't like sharing Aunt Barbara with anyone, even Uncle Tim. Even though they let me visit Mom in the hospitals, I just wasn't happy without her. Aunt Barbara had to take me back to our town and I stayed with Uncle Gordon until Mom was able to come home.
We finally got back to our house, just me, Mom and the birds. At last I was happy again. We had lots of visitors, especially my Nana Ruthie and her family, the visiting nurses and lots of other people who came to check on Mom and help her do stuff and take her shopping and that kind of people stuff. Mom had to walk using a funny thing with broken tennis balls on its legs, but I was just happy that we were home again.
Things are mostly back to normal now. We are using Uncle Freds jeep for the winter so I get to go for rides with Mom in that, now that she can drive again. Mom doesn't work anymore so we spend almost all of our time together. She helps with a kids skiing program and I even get to go watch the kids playing in the snow. I even go to the hospital with Mom when she has her treatments and appointments. I heard some of the people say that Mom is doing great and has been through alot. She acts like Mom to me, only a little slower, and we're spending alot more time together than ever before, so that makes me happy.
A while back I realized that I couldn't hear Mom calling me unless she yelled really loudly or whistled to me. At first I was always in trouble for not coming when she called. She didn't realize that I couldn't hear her. These days I can't hear much of anything at all. I can't hear people close the door when they come in and most of the time I can't hear the train go by our house. Mom gives me hand signals like she did when I was first learning to hunt birds and I can read her lips, too. I always know when she says "I love you" along with the other things she says to me all the time. It's not that bad being deaf, although I do miss the sounds of the squirrels chirping away in the woods. Mom says she's going to buy a whistle so that maybe I can hear her better when we're out in the woods. I'm not allowed to go anywhere by myself anymore. She says she's afraid I won't hear something thats going to harm me if I'm out running alone.
Spring is coming and hopefully me and Mom will have a very fun summer playing in the woods. Mom is happy that she doesn't have to see the doctor again until the end of May. We're both hoping that Uncle Randy will buy a boat so we can go out for boat rides in the evening, that would be good fun for all of us.