Old Dog at rest
Today our dog, fourteen years old, snapped at a kid at the park who dared to pet him. The other day he snapped at the vet who was only, after all, attempting to remove some blood from his body.
I don’t want to talk out of school, but let’s just say his housebroken habits have themselves broken down of late.
When I commented to the vet that the old guy was “getting up there,” the vet responded with a snort, “He’s not getting anywhere. He’s already there.” Dr. Wohlfeiler proceeded to eliminate several of his usual vaccinations. After fourteen consecutive shots, he has enough immunity to last him.Â
He’s still our dear dog, of course, but he’s almost a new dog, in some respects. I’m resolved to keep the kids at the park away from him…but most of his problems, so far, are benign. He just requires a little more help and a little more patience on our part.
I don’t want to get too sappy, but when I boost him into the car or wait patiently for him to climb the steps (which he can still do, barely) or watch him trying so hard to listen at the door to see if someone’s home (his hearing’s shot), I feel honored and lucky to be the young(ish) person on hand to assist him in his declining years.
I think I remember your talking about Angel. It’s amazing how much we love them!
Hi Kathy: I would pick our dog, Angel up and carry her up and down the stairs so she could go outside. She didn’t snap at people but we knew she was in a lot of pain. I also tried everything to try and get her to eat…anything….we finally had her put to sleep about 14 months ago. Having to drive her to the vet and waiting in the car for a half an hour before the Dr. was ready to do it, was in a way harder than watching mom go last Sunday. Probably because we had to make the decision to put her down and with mom we had no choice…My Angel was a great dog!