‘What I’m Learning While My Dog is Dying’

My dear, sweet dog is showing the signs of a dog that knows it’s time on Earth is coming to a close.  Confusion, shaking, weakness, behavior changes, loss of ‘control’, and the dreaded signs of not wanting to eat or drink.  Luckily, one of the medications has jump-started her desire to eat, but she hasn’t touched anything to drink in two days.  I’m mixing water into her food, but I know it won’t work forever.  Katie just wants to curl up with either me or Lucy – and be loved.  I’m supremely grateful that we’ve got time to say goodbye while she’s still able to walk outside with us, still able to enjoy a ‘good sniff in the wind’, still able to recognize us, and return our love.

Never in my life have I so wanted to be wrong about something, but I think she’s going to be moving on soon.

Amazingly, I’ve been learning some very interesting things over the last few days. Continue reading

‘My Dog’s Personal Space’

I’ve never had kids, but I am a doting doggie daddy.  We’ve had Katie for a little over two and a half years now, and she’s an absolutely beautiful, sweet-tempered dog.  I spend a lot of time trying to ‘communicate’ with her.  I’m ‘sure’ she loves me, and I’m ‘sure’ she knows I love her – but it would be great to just have a few sentences in a common language to express it directly.  Alas, it’s not to be – it’s not quite the way we were designed.  We just have to ‘know‘ the love is there.

She has various ailments – so I sometimes have to poke, prod, check, and apply ointments.  She just stands there patiently.  She doesn’t understand what I’m doing, but she ‘knows‘ I’m trying to help her.

Just now I was noticing her limp a little, and I felt her shoulders and noticed a significant difference in the warmth over one of her shoulders as compared to the other.  What was she thinking?  Maybe she thought Continue reading