Fiona Apple treated North American crowds to a number of tour dates last summer, but the Idler Wheel artist is postponing her upcoming South American trek to stay at home with her ailing 14-year-old pitbull, Janet.
Apple announced her plans to reschedule the trip in a long and heartfelt, handwritten note she posted on her website and Facebook. The letter goes into detail about the bond she's developed with the dog over the years, from spending time in the houses they've shared, to the pup being around during songwriting and studio sessions.
"She's my best friend and my mother and my daughter, and my benefactor, and she's the one who taught me what love is," Apple wrote.
Noting that Janet suffers from adrenal gland disorder Addison's disease, Apple says the pet isn't able to head out on the road with her. The singer-songwriter maintains that she can't leave the aging dog at home, and fears that it might pass away while she's on tour.
"I can't come to South America. Not now," she wrote. "When I got back from the last leg of the U.S. tour, there was a big, big difference. She doesn't even want to go for walks anymore. I know that she's not sad about aging or dying. Animals may well have a survival instinct, but a sense of mortality and vanity, they do not. That's why they are so much more present then most people. But I know that she is coming close to point where she will stop being a dog, and instead, be part of everything. She'll be in the wind, and in the soil, and the snow, and in me, wherever I go. I can't leave her now, please understand."
The letter has Apple admitting she's a bit of a waffler when making decisions, but this choice was immediate. A detailed schedule of affected dates has yet to pop up, but the singer was supposed to play a handful of shows in Brazil and Argentina at the end of the month.
You can read Apple's entire, poetic letter over here.
Aside from the critical acclaim behind The Idlers Wheel, Apple has had a trouble-stricken 2012, having been arrested in Houston this summer over hash possession.
Apple announced her plans to reschedule the trip in a long and heartfelt, handwritten note she posted on her website and Facebook. The letter goes into detail about the bond she's developed with the dog over the years, from spending time in the houses they've shared, to the pup being around during songwriting and studio sessions.
"She's my best friend and my mother and my daughter, and my benefactor, and she's the one who taught me what love is," Apple wrote.
Noting that Janet suffers from adrenal gland disorder Addison's disease, Apple says the pet isn't able to head out on the road with her. The singer-songwriter maintains that she can't leave the aging dog at home, and fears that it might pass away while she's on tour.
"I can't come to South America. Not now," she wrote. "When I got back from the last leg of the U.S. tour, there was a big, big difference. She doesn't even want to go for walks anymore. I know that she's not sad about aging or dying. Animals may well have a survival instinct, but a sense of mortality and vanity, they do not. That's why they are so much more present then most people. But I know that she is coming close to point where she will stop being a dog, and instead, be part of everything. She'll be in the wind, and in the soil, and the snow, and in me, wherever I go. I can't leave her now, please understand."
The letter has Apple admitting she's a bit of a waffler when making decisions, but this choice was immediate. A detailed schedule of affected dates has yet to pop up, but the singer was supposed to play a handful of shows in Brazil and Argentina at the end of the month.
You can read Apple's entire, poetic letter over here.
Aside from the critical acclaim behind The Idlers Wheel, Apple has had a trouble-stricken 2012, having been arrested in Houston this summer over hash possession.