Old Dogs

In the last two weeks both Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey have lost their pet dogs.  Oprah's long time companion Sophie and Martha's dog Paw Paw have both passed away after living good lives and while I'm not a huge fan of either woman I do understand what it's like to have an old friend in the house.  Living with a dog can be a lot of work but there is such a reward for the effort that it really doesn't seem like you're putting much effort in.  Sure there's the mess.  My backyard right now literally looks like a pile of crap.  I often refer to our dog as the Play Doh Fun Factory that only churns out brown Play Doh.  However the happiness that a dog brings to a home is almost immeasurable.  Studies have been done showing they lower blood pressure and they can help lift depression.  It's that innocent unconditional love that even your mother doesn't completely give you anymore because you've done too many things to tick her off.  The other thing is, living with a dog is a reminder of the fragility of life.  They are a microcosm of our own lives and because theirs is so much shorter, we watch it play out in fast forward.  You get a puppy that's all happy and full of life but doesn't know a thing.  You try to reign in some of that exuberance and teach them some basic manners.  Some people have more luck with this than others.  Sadly, if there was a dog version of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, our dog wouldn't pass.  So as your young dog tears through the arms of Barbies and chews up slippers you're witnessing youth.  Then, in what seems like the blink of an eye they start to slow down just a little.  They still have lots of energy for walks and still can wag a tail like nobody's business but they're also starting to pick up a little weight and spend a little more time resting.  You can see with your very own eyes middle age settling in.  That's the time you should cherish because before you can say "who peed on the floor?" your dog has slipped into old age without even giving you a heads up.  It seems like only yesterday you walked the puppy in the door or rather, they walked you in the door and now you know your time with her is fleeting.  The first time I really noticed our dog had hit old age was when she started doing a dance at the foot of our bed in the middle of the night because she had to pee.  She used to get through the night without needing to wake us up and sadly, her needing to pee has a cascading effect.  I let her out and then I need to pee and the next thing you know my wife needs to pee and she's already up so she can let the dog back in.  Our dog has started grunting a lot more than she used to.  Just like old people.  They start to let out sounds and gasps that they never did before.  You can see the age wearing on her as she sleeps a lot more and doesn't move around nearly as much.  The wagging tail has become but a mild swing back and forth.  Our dog has become more set in her ways in her old age.  She doesn't suffer fools gladly anymore.  I can start to see some of that in myself as well.  She doesn't wish to be disturbed and spends more time in her den.  Finally her age really started to show when she couldn't jump up on the bed anymore.  Now we have to lift her up so she can get a nice belly rub.  Luckily I can still get up on the bed so I guess I'm not that far gone yet.  Despite the advancing years our dog is still in pretty good shape and we hope to have her around for awhile yet.  However it's time that we all start preparing for the end.  There's no doubt it will be hard and there's no doubt that we'd do it all again.  Start right back at the beginning and bring in a new puppy because I don't think we can live in a house without a dog again.  So I feel for Oprah and Martha.  It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, famous or not, losing a best friend is losing a best friend.  Although we all end up richer for having had them in our lives and poorer for having them leave it. Until We Type Again, Take It Ease !