Guess what picture of a half Labrador/half Irish Setter ranks as the most popular picture of a half Labrador/half Irish Setter in all of the google kingdom?
This one:
It’s my dog, Hershey.
If you don’t believe me about Hershey’s popularity, go to google images and type in “half Lab half Irish Setter” and see for yourself. I’ll wait here.
While you were gone, I just googled it again. This picture of Hershey has dropped to the second page. Guess what picture is first now?
This one:
Still Hershey.
These two dog pictures provide lots of google traffic to my blog. I get hits every day for searches like “Lab Irish Setter mix” or “black dog” or “broccoli smoothie.”
(Okay, the broccoli smoothie hits aren’t coming from any of the dog pictures, but from this post. Which makes me wonder, why are people looking for a broccoli smoothie recipe? Is it to power their bio-fuel car? Because, seriously, they shouldn’t be drinking that stuff.)
I’m not sure for the reason behind Hershey’s googlecular popularity. Maybe it’s because I write so much about my dogs that google views me as a dog expert.
Maybe it’s because I post lots of dog pictures.
Or, maybe it’s because people keep clicking on that first picture of Hershey to find out what the red thing is.
(It’s just a kong, people. A dog chew toy.)
And because the pictures rank so high, I’m sure there are children around the world pasting those pictures of Hershey into their school reports or onto their Facebook pages or even emailing them to their parents with the notation “I wish I had a dog like this.”
And I’m sure there are people all over the world who are printing out Hershey’s pictures and hanging them up on their walls, or, better yet, writing funny captions on her photos and submitting them to Loldogs.
Thanks to the power of google, Hershey is famous. And slightly immortal.
Which makes me happy. Because the other day, I realized that Hershey is not going to live forever.
At least, that’s what I inferred when I was in the vet’s office and the vet said, “Hershey is not going to live forever.”
He didn’t say it quite like that. But Hershey, a dog who has always understood that there are some things one doesn’t do in the house, started leaving gifts of the yucky kind in my bedroom and in the family room.
I figured something must be physically wrong with her.
I took Hershey to the vet and found out that a pinched nerve in Hershey’s back is causing the “fecal incontinence.” The vet prescribed steroids for her. There is a 50/50 chance that the steroids will reduce the swelling and she will once again regain control.
If not, we either let her live with the incontinence, or she has surgery, or we put her to that great big sleep, which isn’t really sleep at all.
Making her live with the incontinence seems cruel. Surgery on a 14 year old dog–equally heartless and probably futile. And putting her to sleep for a pinched nerve when she is still otherwise quite healthy? Unconscionable.
All options are bad. I might have choked up a little bit in the vets office. Or, I might have choked up a lot in the vets office.
I am hoping the steroids work.
But whatever happens, I realize this is the beginning of the end. Hershey won’t be around much longer to guard our sandbox from the evil cats who threaten to turn it into a litter box.
And she soon will completely relinquish her title as personal trainer to the backyard birds, whom she used to lead daily in an aerobic workout by chasing them to the highest parts of the trees.
After Hershey is gone, those sandals left outside by the trampoline aren’t going to dig their own holes in the garden and bury themselves.
But the good news is that someday Heshey will regain her agility, perfect vision, and superhuman hearing. Then, all those birds and cats and sandals in heaven had better run for their eternal lives.
As for me and my family? Well, we’ll always have google.
My bio-fuel car is powered by spinach pudding. Do you have a recipe for that?
And I hope Hershey gets better.
Someone found my blog by searching for “belly button punishment”
Weirdo.
Congratulations on your dogs stardom!
Stopping by from MMB to say hi!
I hope the steroids help Hershey! We’ve been looking at a very similar situation and know that feeling. (((HUGS)))
Oh my goodness. This is so exciting! I can’t believe your sweet doggie is on google! I love how you wrote about Hershey. I hope you will have your dog for a very long time : ) I can tell how much you love Hershey!
Thanks everyone for your comments and good wishes. We are going to need them–Hershey does not seem to be getting any better on the steroids, poor dog.
I’m so sorry about your dog – I hope the steroids start to help soon.
Thanks, Sue. That means a lot to me.