CavDog's 8th Birthday and a New Face Around Peabody Hall

As CavDog's 8th birthday was approaching, I remember thinking that he seemed to have more fun at this year's Days on the Lawn events than in previous years. CavDog's been coming to DOTL days since he was about 10 months old and always enjoys them, but something was different this year. Meeting students is probably one of his favorite things and more students than ever stopped to say hello to him.

If you saw one of his fetch sessions on the lawn in front of Peabody Hall, you know that CavDog LOVES chasing his tennis ball. One day a few weeks ago, his heart didn't seem into his usual afternoon fetch session. He wasn't too excited about his dinner, either. We took him to the vet, fully expecting them to laugh at me for being overly sensitive.

Unfortunately, things did not go well.

 CavDog had a mass on his spleen that had ruptured. He had an emergency splenectomy and the resulting biopsy revealed that he has hemangiosarcoma. The bad news is that there is no cure for this kind of cancer and it is aggressive. The good news is that we have fantastic vets in Charlottesville and his post-surgery treatment plan hasn't impacted his quality of life. CavDog actually seems to be enjoying the attention he's getting from all of his extra office visits.

We decided that CavDog's 8th birthday was the time to give him something we've been talking about for a long time.

If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, this might not be news to you. I posted about CavDog's canine little brother last week. I asked for UVa-inspired name suggestions on Instagram and Facebook and there seems to be a lot of support for Rugby, TJ, or Peabody.

I'll be posting plenty of admission-related content this summer, but I'll include an occasional update for those interested in how CavDog is doing. Rest assured that CavDog, who was pretty spoiled before, is enjoying royal treatment now and his little puppy friend is keeping him active.

A very special thanks to all of the students from the Class of 2019 who gave CavDog the most exciting DOTL season of his life. I have never seen him so happy.