Yesterday, was my beloved Madison’s annual check up.

She is one year cancer free which is amazing, but she is 11 and I was cautiously optimistic.

My job is to worry and I do such a good job at it.

I started the day guilt ridden because she had to fast so I needed to hold off on Finnley’s breakfast, as well.

I let Madison out the door sneaking back to feed Finnley.

We strolled over to the vet, pausing to smell every tree, garbage can and grate on the upper west side.

Like mother like daughter….as soon as we walked into the vet, Madison started panting, displaying signs of White Coat Syndrome.

She pulled back on her leash when weigh in was requested…such a girl and once again, mimicking her mother’s reaction.

Madison was down 3 pounds so we started things off on a high note.

How screwed up is my thinking…what treat can I reward her with for losing weight?!

We next entered the exam room and discussed her history and her present physical state.

A well care ultrasound followed.

I told her dog friendly stories (no mention of cats) and soothed her ruffled fur as she laid on her back for 15 minutes.

She was a trooper and she is as good looking on the inside as the outside.

Madison has a bit of arthritis.

I learned that stem-cell therapy was being done on arthritic dogs with great success.

Pet stem cell therapy uses stem-cells from the bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or fat of either your pet or another animal of the same species. A vet injects the stem cells into the diseased area.

Dr. Kaplan is so cutting edge.

Unfortunately, Madison is not a candidate since she has a cancer profile.

$1000 later and we so far have a good bill of health (blood test results to follow).

With a spring in our step we headed home both eager for breakfast.

The depth of love we have for our dogs is stunning.