As my dog Leo continues to battle lymphoma, he has taught me several lessons through his journey thus far. And I do believe this God’s way of teaching me and others by His grace.

Sickness/Tragedy Does Not Need to Define You
Since the beginning of this deadly prognosis, Leo has not changed his behavior. Through the worst days he has had, he has not moped or felt sorry for himself and always have strives to do everything he has always done, including being ultra-obedient. When every part of him tells him not to, he somehow finds a way to be normal to me and to the people around him.

Patience is a Virtue
Patience truly is a blessing from God and Leo displays this each day. There are times he needs to wait, and is always patient, never restless or complaining. He just takes each moment and goes with the flow. I said this before, but God created waiting rooms, traffic jams, long holds on the phone, for impatient people like me. But He also created Leo to teach me patience by how he reacts. Leo is naturally patient, he doesn’t need to be taught or told to be patient.

The Last Days Do Not Need to be Sad
I believe there were times Leo was really close to death. But he never once made these days sad for me. When he saw that I was down, he would try to cheer me up. At times he has been in tremendous pain, TREMENDOUS pain, yet he always found moments to comfort me. He knows it makes me sad when he did not eat, and although he probably didn’t want to eat, did it for me.

Finding Something Good and Be Thankful
Each day I have owned Leo, he has found something good in life. Even in this unbearable sickness. He searches for the good in life, never letting anything getting in his way of this. The simple things, he enjoys old torn up things for example, that seems to make him happy. And I guess when I look back, I was that old torn up thing he found as well. Leo is thankful for each day he gets, for the food and care he receives, for the roof over his head and for ALL the support he has received during this time.