Several media outlets reported today that singer Fiona Apple cancelled her South American tour to stay with her dying dog Janet, a 14-year-old pit bull Apple adopted when the dog was 4 months old.
Fiona Apple and Janet. Credit: drownouturmind.tumblr.com
The tour was set to kick off on November 27 in Porto Alegre.
Apple said that Janet suffers fromAddison's disease, a rare endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient steroid hormones, and needs frequent Cortisol injections to deal with the condition.
Janet had been coping for years, but when Apple returned from the most recent leg of her U.S. tour she noticed a marked difference in the dog's health and now fears she can't leave her "best friend's side."
Apple made the announcement in an incredibly heartfelt, four page hand-written letter on her Facebook page.Here are some exerpts:
"She is a pitbull, and was found in Echo Park, with a rope around her neck, and bites all over her ears and face. She was the one the dogfighters use to puff up the confidence of the contenders. She's almost 14 and I've never seen her start a fight, or bite, or even growl, so I can understand why they chose her for that awful role. She's a pacifist."
"If I go away again, I’m afraid she'll die and I won't have the honor of singing her to sleep, of escorting her out. Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes to pick which socks to wear to bed. But this decision is instant. These are the choices we make, which define us."
"These are the choices we make, which define us. "I will not be the woman who puts her career ahead of love and friendship. I am the woman who stays home and bakes Tilapia for my dearest, oldest friend. And helps her be comfortable, and comforted, and safe, and important."
