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Malcolm, my forever foster for over 4 yrs, died in my arms last night. For those of you who didn't know him, Malcolm came to us probably 5 yrs, ago as "Beavis", was adopted out and became Malcolm by his new owner and after knee surgery for a supposed floating knee cap. He was not a young dog and I think we aged him at 6 yrs?? At any rate, the new owner complained that Malcolm was not putting weight on that leg and gave him back to us....he kept another cocker he adopted at the same time.

We took Malcolm to Dr. Powell who couldn't understand Malcolm's reason for not bearing weight on that leg. He decided to sent a tissue biopsy to A&M (and he didn't charge us) and it came back cancer.

We put out a plea for funds to pay for his amputation ($700) and we raised the money in a very short time. Malcolm recovered quickly after the amputation and never missed that leg, I swear. He could jump on the sofa and we lifted him up to the bed to sleep with us.

Malcolm really was the "top dog" around here. Stubborn and ornery at times, he was really "Daddy's boy" who was first in line for any of Mike's food scraps or special treats. He started going downhill a few months ago when what seemed like a sinus infection took over which we could not cure with multiple antibiotics until recently. A few weeks ago, he started into congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema and I knew the end was near.

Although a "forever foster", Mike and I were "Dad" and "Mom" and will always feel that way. My daughter Megan and I cried together on the phone last night. He was truly "family".

Pat