| Annointed Zephyr Wind |
| Cumin |
| Born in March of 1994, Cumin's father was a Briard, a type French Sheepdog, and her mother was a mutt, or a "sooner" as we like to call them . (That's short for, "sooner one kind as another"). Her mother was part Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Chow Chow, and Collie. Needless to say, she is a BIG dog. She stands 24 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 45-70 pounds depending upon the season. She weighs less in the summer 'cause she loses most of her coat. She has three different layers in her coat: a soft downy undercoat, a stiff mid-length coat, and a long overcoat. In the summer she loses the undercoat and the overcoat, and therefore drops 15-20 pounds of weight. Cumin has a pink and purple pok-a-dotted tongue, thanks to the Chow influence, webbed toes from the Lab, large fangs from the German Shepherd, and a natural instinct to herd anything from the Briard, Collie and Shepherd. She also has an extra toe on her hind feet from the Briard. Cumin is also extremely fast and can jump enormous distances. I take her with me when I go trail riding, and she literally will run circles around my horse when Flicka or Piedie and I are running as fast as we can go. I have also seen here leap spans of 12 feet or more. She is an amazing athlete. She's a good dog, and very protective of me. Unfortunately, she bites strangers and children. She was tormented unwittingly by some young neighborhood children when she was young, and has come to fear all strangers and children. Though she obviously would like to be friendly with them, her first response it to bite. She is neurotic. It is unfortunate, cause Cumin is such a lovable dog that everyone wants to hug and pet her. I have to keep a close eye on her when we are out in the public for fear that she will bite someone. I am very grateful for my "Haltie Dog Collar". Best buy I ever made for her. It gives me complete control over her, acts like a muzzle when needed, yet allows her freedom of movement. I cannot say enough good things about this "collar". Cumin is my other "Baby", and I love her dearly |
 |
| Here is a drawing I made of my dog, Cumin, on the computer. Since I've had a hard time getting good shots of her, I figured I take advantage of a good drawing program and make an image of her myself. She really does look like this. She is blond when she is clean, but since we live in the South, and she loves to wallow in the mud like a pig, she usually stays and odd shade of orange. The soil of the South Eastern United states is the color of rust. It stains everything it touches orange. Even gray horses that are pasture boarded will turn a lovely shade of orange if they are not bathed often. My dog Cumin is a prime example of the staining capabilities of the South's red dirt. |
| "Cumin with Ball" By Mellinda "Mel" G. Hansen, Copyright 2000 |
 |
 |
| Here's a picture of Cumin taken Christmas of 1999 by my friend, Gene Keenum.. Look! You can see her eye! |
| Cumin is no longer with us in fleash and blood, but she is well remembered and loved. Below you'll find two essays. The first was written before her death. The second was a letter written to celebrate her life. I'll miss you, girl. Cumin Hansen 3/3/1994 - 9/12/2000 |
| September 12, 2000 Today is a sad day in my household. My dog of six years, Cumin, the "Big Hairy Monster", is being put down this evening. Over the course of this weekend it has been discovered that she has cancer in her neck. This cancer is systemic, invasive and is slowly choking her to death. I had no clue how ill she has been as she has been relatively asymptomatic during the course of her illness. As near as we can figure, she has probably had the cancer for at least six months. She has had a nagging, intermittent cough for that length of time, but no other symptoms. I attributed the symptoms to her known allergies. It was not until the second weekend of August that there was any indication that there might be anything more present. At that time Cumin developed massive swelling around her neck and into her face. Since she had an obvious bug/insect bite on her nose, it was assumed by me that the swelling was only an allergic reaction. She was treated appropriately with aspirin and bynadril. She was taken to see the vet after one week of this treatment when we realized that the swelling was not dramatically improving. The vet concurred with my understanding of the situation and said that Cumin probably also had some kind of infection. So we were sent home with more antihystamines and some antibiotics and told to call back in a week if she didn't improve. She didn't really improve. So we brought her back in, she was sedated, and the vet took a biopsy of the neck. What she found were symptoms indicative of a ruptured salivary gland. Again there was no indication that anything more was wrong. However, since so much time had passed since the gland had ruptured, we decided not to try to remove the gland as the vet's prior experience had shown that the swelling due to the ruptured gland would eventually subside as the gland figured out that there was no reason to continue producing fluid. We didn't do a biopsy on the tissue sample she took as the physical appearance of the tissue sample looked typical of the tissue found in these situations. I took Cumin home after she'd received a shot of steroids to help with the swelling and to wait out the next couple of months with her while her body would get around to healing herself. Unfortunately, about 10 days after that vet visit, it was obvious that Cumin was not drinking very much, she was not eating very much, and any attempt to do either caused her to cough a lot. She was also losing a lot of weight. So she was taken into the vet again on Saturday morning. The vet decided that whatever was wrong with Cumin was beyond her purview, and that it would take a specialist to figure it out. Cumin was taken to the specialist, had x-rays taken, put on a strong, broad-spectrum antibiotic, and given about 4 liters of IV fluids over the course of 24 hours. She was also given a thorough mouth and throat exam, a needle biopsy of the growths in her neck, and the her lungs were checked for fluid. What was found was that she had pneumonia in her lungs, that she has what appeared to be cancer growing among the tissues in her neck which was pressing against her windpipe and that her asophogus was no longer working properly. Basically, she was dying slowly. Since I hated the idea of her last memory being of that clinic where they poked and prodded her, I took her home last night so that she could spend one last night at ease in the home with me my very supportive boyfriend, Rondell, and the new pup, Tarragon. She's rested peacefully, and seems to be very much at ease, though she is very tired. But this is to be expected. Hopefully the vet will be willing to do a house call, and Cumin can be put down in comfortable surroundings, and not at the clinic, which she hates. Cumin has been a good dog, a good guardian, and a good companion for me for the past six years. We have been through a lot... Graduate school, several jobs, nine moves, living on the ocean, in the "Big Apple", and out in the country. She has romped in the ocean surf, played in mountain streams, wallowed in muddy ice puddles, buried her nose in the snow, and literally ran circles around many a horses. She's also leaped 12 foot ravines, chased deer and cats, and eaten a few crickets, (and unfortunately, tried to eat a few human fingers along the way) She, like her hair that seems to be EVERYWHERE, has woven herself well into the fabric of my life. I will miss her terribly, though I don't think I'll miss her neurosis. :-) I am comforted by the knowledge that she has not suffered greatly, nor has she been ill long. These are both good things. I am also very glad that Tarragon is around to help ease the sorrow of losing Cumin. Tarragon cannot replace Cumin, there is only one dog like Cumin in the world, but Tarragon is young and full of life, and offers a good visual reminder that life goes on. I would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts you wish to send our way today as a few close friends and I wish her well on her way home... I am certain that soon Cumin will be romping with all of my other dearly departed dogs, and the other critters that meant a lot to my friends a family. I am sure she'll also have a grand time getting to meet my dad and all of the other dearly departed ones in my life. I am sorry to bring this sad news to you today, though I thank you all for your well wishes, prayers and love. God bless. Mel Hansen Cumin Hansen 3/3/1994 - 9/12/2000 |
| Sad News |
| Table of Contents Home About Mel Art in the Church Short Stories Mel's Horses Mel's Dog Mel's Resume Non-Profits 2001 Wedding Links Cercle De La Croix |
 |