Please Bear With Me ... (Patreon)

There's not going to be a public facing YouTube video this week, and I wanted to let you all know what's going on behinds the scenes because I think it's important to communicate with all of you that make my career possible, as well as set expectations.

Jake, my 15.5 year old catte dog x, is not doing well. Two weeks ago his senior blood panel came back with some concerning numbers and last week we found out he is in kidney failure. As much as I knew he wasn't going to live forever, and the logical part of my brain understands that this was inevitable, knowing I only have a little time left with him has been devastating. Unfortunately, he seems to be going downhill rather quickly and ultimately, I am likely going to be tasked with eventually making the difficult decision of freeing him from his failing body. His care is also taking quite a bit of time and emotional bandwidth, as he is now on five medications, and only eats if I hand feed him individual pieces of his prescription kibble in small frequent meals (with some little extra yummy flairs added in for good measure). Fortunately he is still in decent spirits, despite his lack of appetite and failing mobility.

Jake doesn't appear on here as much as CoolWhip and Denver, but Jake is my OG, my ride or die. I got him when I was 22 as an adult rescue, and have walked this road with him my entire adult life. He has taught me everything, and without him, I don't think there would be a DOGGY•U. He shows up for me every day, gives me his all, has saved me in very real, and also in intangible ones. He's the goodest boy.

My job is obviously public facing, and requires me to be "on" to be able to do the harder tasks. And between my puffy eyes, and my emotional disregulation/grief, I haven't been able to film. I'm trying to give the best I have every day to my best friend, and that's not leaving much left for the harder tasks that make up the bulk of my job.

I expect my public facing videos will likely be spotty over the next few months? Weeks? Whatever time I have left with Jake. His comfort and care is my priority.

Fortunately, I have been able to edit and prepare videos for Patreon, so even though I may not be able to answer your questions in a timely manner, I do have videos that will be posted every week all the way through end of June, so you won't miss out on training videos as I take a bit of a break or slow down in my own training.

Thank you for reading this through and I appreciate your patience with me during this difficult time as I focus on my family. We all know, they are never "just a dog".