b'We have a gated community in our home, so that we canwork things out pretty well with everyone, said Joey.Nanji was to be their last dog for awhile, until theyheard of another dog in need of fostering. Obi was the cou-ples Zen dog. Obi means heart in Swahili, Patti said.WewereallclosetoObi,addedJoey.IwenttoOrlandobymyselftopickhimupafterhearinghewasgoing to be walking the Green Mile. All he needed to savehis life was a foster home. So thats what Patti and I agreedon.Hewasonlygoingtobeourfoster.ItookhimtoLettuce Lake Park before bringing him home. He laid hishead on my lap almost the entire trip. By the time theyarrived home, Obi became the couples first foster failure.Obi was a stoic dog and everyones protector. Nothingbothered him. Then, he was diagnosed with hemangiosarco-ma, a rapidly growing, highly invasive cancer that occursalmost exclusively in dogs. A frequent cause of death is therupturing of the tumor. Ateleven oclock we took him tothe vet. By one in the morning, we had to put him to sleep,said Joey.It was an exhausting 24 hours, but nobody could sleep.Michelle,Pattissisterwasstayingoverwiththem,andcommented to Joey that one side of his face was starting todroop. At first, everyone thought hed had a stroke. It turnsout he had Bells Palsy, they suspect as a result of the stressfrom Obis illness and the grief over losing him. I picked up my guitar to test my motor skills. It didntaffectmysingingorguitarplaying.ThecouplecreditsJoeys acupuncturist and their chiropractor for improving hiscondition. He still notices symptoms on occasion, whichaffectionately reminds him of Obi.Joey doesnt play the Kitomaster at gigs very often. Ivehad most of my guitars since the early 80s, he said. Thepickup configuration on the Kitomaster takes me an extramoment to get the sound I want.He does play it for special occasions, like the annualScratchMyBack concertatSkippersSmokehouse,afundraiserforFriendsofHillsboroughCountyAnimalServices. The brainchild of Scott Peterson in memory of hisbeloved black Labrador, Molly, it is also a reminder for dogowners to never leave their dogs in an unattended vehicle.On a warm day, the temperature in a car can exceed 120degrees in a matter of minutes, even with the windows par-tially open. In Florida, it is against the law and consideredanimal cruelty and negligence. Violators will receive a $500fine,andcouldbechargedwithasecond-degreemisde-meanor.Scott passed away before he could preside over last yearsevent.MarkPeterson(Scottsbrother)presidedoverthe26th annual event which took place this past July. There, onstagewithhisbandTheLintRollers, wasJoeyandtheKitomaster.Our dogs are our lives, Patti added. And anyone whoknows us knows that about us. I cannot imagine my lifewithout dogs. Uwww.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 53'