A new year

There is a scene in an old movie where there is a race to reach something.... I don't remember what the prize was... In that scene one of the characters gets into the driver's seat of a sports car, and as he is ripping off the rear view mirror, he says to his passenger, in an Italian accent, "what isa behinda ... isa nota important." I don't really agree with him, but there are some years we would like to forget. 2015 was the year I lost my last two Great Danes, both to cancer. Bud was only 6 years old, and Josey was 11. Why is cancer so prevalent in dogs these days? I wish researchers would find out. Wally, my Aussie Shepherd mix boy will be 11 years old this summer of 2016. Seems as if it were yesterday when I first saw him, just a tiny pup running along a busy road screaming his lungs out. He was covered in fleas and dehydrated. I'd planned to get him healthy and rehome him... hahaha! Jack is the new kid on the block here. He will be 2 years old in 2016; a hunting griffon, Airedale, and who knows what else, mixture of a dog. He is a character and keeps me smiling through the tears. He is an inspiration. In spite of having severe hip dysplasia, he enjoys life. This past 2015, one of my best clients who became a friend, lost her battle against emphysema. She had become a friend over the years of painting her dogs, and her daughter. She was such a fine human being, and she understood the time it could take for a painting to be finished. I miss seeing her on Facebook and reading her posts. She dearly loved God, her family, and her pets. Miss you Ann! I won't make any new year's resolutions for 2016. I usually don't keep them anyway. But if I can be half the person Ann was, I'll be doing good.