I lost my sweet, sweet, beautiful boy at the end of July. It has taken me this long to be write about it.
I adopted Simba (Pendleton) from Labrador Friends of the South in March of 2010.
Simba was the sweetest soul. I had never shared such a bond with a dog before. He has so much empathy. He was also the most joyful dog I’d ever met. He smiled all the time. He was such a beautiful boy.
In 2018, my world fell apart: at a routine check up, Simba was diagnosed with high grade aggressive lymphoma. I decided to fight for him as hard as I could. I called and pestered scientists and universities. We never stopped.

He fought many a battle against lymphoma and won the war.

It was no surprise that his nickname at the oncologist was “smiler”.
His journey with lymphoma was remarkable. What a fighter.
His first remission was 14 months. His second remission was 10 months and his last remission was 36 months.
He absolutely won the war, but he could not beat Father Time.
I lost him 5 years to the day that he was diagnosed.

My home is not the same, I will never be the same. I learned so much from him. He was my best friend and my teacher.
He had me from his first smile to the last. I miss him terribly.
Simba was 13.5 years old