Three friends of mine have lost their pet dogs lately and they've been grieving deeply. Meanwhile, my dog Flash just turned 13 and is clearly showing his age.
Flash and I have been together since he was eight weeks old, through camping, boyfriends, skunks, raising Henry, a lot of adventures and innumerable cats.
These days his neck vertebrae are shot and starting to affect his back legs. In the morning and night he's slow and stiff and trips on stairs. But then he'll start to act like the silly puppy that he was, jumping around, taunting us with the frisbee and begging to play. But only for a couple of minutes before he lays down again and pants.
Daily steroids seem to be keeping him going. The worst effect is that it makes him crazy hungry all the time. He used to be a dog who ate to live; now he lives to eat. He tries to steal food, begs constantly, and sneaks the cats' food whenever we leave the back hall gate open. It's hard to deny him the one thing he seems to get so much enjoyment from, but it doesn't help his joints to get heavy, so it's a constant source of guilt for us.
He's gradually become a grumpy(er) old man, snapping at those darn kids who run through the house, baring his teeth at me when I grab his collar, growling and barking at neighbors he knows well. He may well be in constant pain, but as the vet says, "his kind are stoic." Probably in his genetic heritage from being kicked by sheep and cows all the time.
We're giving him extra love these days, and Henry takes petting him seriously. They have always loved playing the "table game": Flash grabs the frisbee or balloon and goes around and around the dining room table with Henry in pursuit. The chairs are pulled away so Flash can cut through under the table and reverse direction. Henry lunges and changes course while Flash implacably keeps weaving around and through, staying just ahead of him. They still do it these days but at a walk. It's just as intense in slo-mo.
Each time I contemplate losing a pet I say I'll never lay my heart out to be broken again, but then another furry being works his or her way in. They're all boddhisatvas, here to help us reach enlightenment before they move on. And all they ask for is love and some canned food.
Recent Comments