My sweet Maggie Pie, my piddle wad, my friend.

So today, I found out that my faithful furry friend of 10 years, has cancer. He has had numerous tumors for some time now. Before they were just fatty tumors, so the vet said if they do not hinder his ability to walk...do not worry about them. But he recently has had one on his leg, grow at a super fast rate. It is now measuring 7 inches. My mom, took him into the vet. Not an easy feat, because Magnum, is SUPER scared of the vet. READ, teeth bared, lips back, looking more like a vicious kenid, rather then the sweet maggie that we know and love. Normally they have to  muzzle him and sedate him. Anyways, they took a sample of the tumors, and some of them are just the fatty tumors that he had before. But the HUGE one on his leg, is cancerous, and so is a smaller one on his neck. So sad. So they are taking him into a surgeon on Friday to find out their options, and see if they can operate and remove the tumor without amputating his leg. The tumor might be too deep however, and it might be inside the tendons etc, so it may not even be a possibility. It is not really worth it to amputate the leg, and put him through that at his age, and I guess he may even have a tumor in his brain at this point, that is causing him to yawn constantly. I am so sad. He is my Magnesium Piddle Wad. So hopefully on Friday, we will have good news.
When we first got Magnum, it was my Freshman year. It was Tolo, and we were on our way to my brothers baseball game. We stopped at Safeway to pick up snacks. Little did we know, that we would be getting more then gatorade and beef jerky (my bros fav). They were giving away black lab/airedale pups in front of Safeway. He was the last one, and my mom and I instantly fell in love with his puppy breath, and sweet brown eyes. We hadn't told my dad, that we were even thinking of getting a puppy, (before this, we were a strictly cats only house). So we decided to come up with a manly name, to make my dad like him more. So since my dad is into guns and hunting, we decided on Magnum. He was the sweetest. Everyone always commented on his HUGE paws. We knew he was going to be a beast. And he was. He is the silliest, craziest, most sweetest dog I know. After I moved out of my house, I would come by to watch him when my mom went out of town. We would go to the lake and he would swim for hours and hours. On our way back, we would always go and grab cheeseburgers, Magnum always taking the other dogs cheeseburgers away, and finishing up any leftovers. He was my teddy bear. I love his old man beard, and eyebrows, and how he does the "lion king" with his toys. I love how he makes "O" Sounds when my mom rubs his back...or if he is rubbing his face on the carpet. He is absolutely 100% devoted to my mom. One of my favorite memories, was when my brother and I would pretend to beat up my mom, my mom would scream for Magnum to help. Knight in Shining armour, he would come and jump up on us and push us down. My mothers hero :)

Sometimes, when his hair is long enough, it looks as though he has dread locks... Giving him the affectionate nickname of  "Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta" from a Bob Marley song.
He is our Marley, and although our time with him is short, he has taught us many things.  He was the best first dog, that anyone could ever have, and although he gave us some troubles in the beginnings. (READ, being an escape artist through the hood of Sultan, getting caught by the police, and ending up being locked in a storm water storage pond. Not once...but like 4 times. There was many times my mother had to go and feed him through the fence, until someone could come and let him out...IN THE MORNING.  He probably has mug shots somewhere...I should ask around). Anyways though, all the trouble was worth it. He was/IS an amazing dog, and I feel, SO LUCKY to have been able to have him in our life. He may have been a "throw-away" pup. But he was the best.
I will miss and love you forever big Galoot.
My buffalo soldier,
Love, your sister
-Boo.