Our beloved dog Lola passed away. Mike and I were both taken by such surprise, it has left us incredibly sad and empty. Lola was diagnosed with lymphoma in early October. We came back from a wedding in Los Angeles and our dog sitter informed us that she had stopped eating the day prior. Lola was a Labrador mix and anyone who has owned a lab knows, they don't stop eating, even when they are sick. So naturally I was extremely worried. Her entire life she had a voracious appetite, to the point where I almost had to have stitches on my hand from her over-zealously chomping at a dog treat. To see her not interested in food was the worst feeling. After a week of back-to-back-to-back vet appointments, an ultrasound finally revealed what was causing her loss of appetite. She had an enlarged node above her stomach, the biopsy revealed it was lymphoma.
We tried chemotherapy for three weeks, she tolerated it well at first, but then never regained her desire to eat. She was on a steroid that made her have to pee constantly and her general quality of life was poor. We were extremely optimistic in the beginning. Lymphoma is a very treatable type of cancer in dogs and cats. We were told that most pets who start chemotherapy get up to a year of life after diagnosis. Lola's case was much worse than anticipated. I suspect she had been ill much longer than she lead on and it wasn't until she was in excruciating pain that she stopped eating. Pets are funny, they hide things like illness so well. Mike and I never suspected she was sick, the week and half prior to her diagnosis she crushed a six mile hike. She was eating, pooping, running - everything was normal to us.
I am still processing all that has happened. As you can tell from this blog, my life is very dog-centric. Rita and Lola have been my best friends going on 10 years now. To no longer have Lola in our lives is just weird. It hurts. Everyday. I'm not sure I'll ever have a dog that was as goofy and loving as her, but I am extremely thankful I got 9.5 good years with her.
On this day in early May we combined two classic Columbia Gorge hikes into one. First we started with Wind Mountain. The baby mountain forever living in Dog Mountain's shadow. The thing I like about Wind Mountain is 1) it's short (3 miles rountrip, 1,000 ft of elevation gain) 2) it is not crowded and 3) you get amazing views.
To access this hike take I-84 to Cascade Locks, cross over to Washington via the Bridge of the Gods. Travel East, turning right on Route 14 - take a left on Wind Mountain Road at milepost 51. After 1.5 miles take a right on Girl Scour Road - follow this for .4 miles until you see the unmarked parking area to the right. The trailhead is a few hundred feet from this parking area.
Following this quick hike - we drove to Hood River to check out Memaloose State Park. This is an in-out hike covering 5-7 miles depending on any side trails you take. I highly recommend going in the spring (May-June) to see the wildflowers in this area. The hike itself is very easy, mostly flat with an option to do an uphill climb if you want to see some views. To get to this hike take I-84 east, exiting at Exit 69 for Mosier. Bear right at the exit and follow the Historic Columbia River Highway. Drive 3.1 miles, passing through Mosier, on to the Memaloose Overlook where there is parking alongside the road.
