sad news from the States

My brother Sean just wrote to say that he and Jeff will be putting Sean's chihuahua Maqz down via in-home euthanasia around 6 p.m. on the 15th, Chicago time. Maqz was, as I wrote in my reply to Sean, a naughty little booger when I met him, but he grew on me. It's hard to believe we'll shortly be living in a world without that stout-hearted little dog, but time and life are always grinding mercilessly forward. It's a bit premature to be offering condolences since the euthanasia hasn't happened yet, but I do offer my sympathies. This can't be easy, not after all those years of faithful companionship.