brandon's blog

Aimee found a marker.

It's washable.

TJ wasn't much to look at when we found him at the Turlock animal shelter in 2005. Scrawny, shaggy and unkempt, he was found by a commuter along a Sonora roadside. Nobody was sure about how long he was out there own his own. But there was something about the twinkle in that eight-pound dachshund's eyes. He was highlighted as a "pet of the week" in the Turlock Journal, where I worked at the time. We adopted him the next day.

TJ was clearly out of place at the animal shelter. His cellmates were rambunctious and loud, but TJ was happy to sit quietly in a blue tub, waiting for his new family to find him.

He bonded with Amanda instantly, always insisting on sitting with her -- or on her -- and always at her heels. He liked me, but he made it clear that he belonged to Amanda.

Our first trip to the vet told us that TJ was not, as the animal control staff told us, "a year or two old." He was closer to 10. It wasn't long before we noticed the health problems. TJ suffered occasional tremors. Nearly two years ago, they became full seizures. After many sleepless nights and dollars spent, a veterinarian isolated the seizures to some sort of calcium deficiency. Adding Tums to his diet seemed to help, but TJ was never quite the same.

He took a turn for the worst this week, and this morning I found him lying still and stiff in his crate.

We'll miss you, TJ.

This is a painting of Aimee sent to us by my Great Aunt Marilyn. We love it.

We took Aimee to the Bear Creek Pumpkin Patch in Planada.

Aimee's latest portrait from daycare:

We spent four days in Southern California, including two at Disneyland, with Amanda's mom.