Saturday, July 28, 2012

OLD DOGS

The trouble with my old dogs is that I'm always staring at them to see if they are breathing. Even if I haven't totally admitted it to myself consciously,
I know that the days they have left with me are numbered.
My senior citizens are Rosie and Griffin. I try to conveniently forget their ages but Rosie is...13?
and Griff? Who knows! When I found him, the vet I took him to said he was probably 3, maybe older
and that was 12/13 years ago?
Rosie always walks around the perimeter of a room, weaving under things and staying out of the line of traffic or maybe she's just staying out of the path of the lumbering giant.
(Blue never tiptoes around anyone. He will be sleeping and then when he gets up he just stomps off to wherever, sending little dogs scurrying out of his way.)
Many times I find Rosie sleeping in a corner, I will continually glance over at her and watch to see if I can see her chest rise and fall.
I can't resist saying her name and she'll open her eyes and look at me as if she's saying -
"Quit bugging me!"

Then there's Griffin.
Griff just lays down wherever.
Sometimes he's bent up against a wall in a weird uncomfortable looking angle
but most times he's laying in the middle of the kitchen.
I'm so used to just stepping over him.
Now even Blue steps over him.
The other day I looked down at him and nudged him with my toe.
Nothing.
I paused and stared.
I took the side of my foot and lightly put it against his side and pushed.
I slowly glided him a few inches across the floor.
I stopped.
He didn't move.
It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing my throat.
Then my thoughts went to Lily, my niece. She has grown up with him.
She adores him. I dreaded making that horrible phone call to her.
She would be heartbroken.
I slowly bent over to pick him up.
As I touched him, he jerked awake and waddled quickly away across the kitchen floor.
"Damn you Griffin!" I yelled after him.
He ignored me and went to lay on his bed in the laundry room.
Yeah, that's the worst part of having old dogs.

7 comments:

An Urban Cottage said...

THAT'S NOT FUNNY!

yoborobo said...

It is. And I do that, too. I watch Gizmo. If he's not snoring, I get nervous. Dang circle of life. xox

Robin Kent said...

Sounds like they lead very secure lives. A good sign. I used to do that with my father. Now I do it with Jim. Dress rehearsal, I always think.

Cindi Myers said...

Yep, it's not funny.
You should have seen me around Christmas time at the kennel.
I was watching a 19yr, yes NINETEEN yr old poodle,
A 15 yr old lab and a blind 13 yr Shih-Tzu that has seizures!
I was a nervous wreck.
:(

Nita Stacy said...

Oh...I've been there. I used to wake in the middle of the night and check for air coming in and out of my old dog Puddin's nostrils. I would lie and watch her sleep. Every morning I was so happy when she'd wake out of her very sound sleep. She was 17 when she went so you've still got some good years with those two. But I know exactly how you feel.

Anonymous said...

I had the same experience with my old Viran :-) She was almost death and totally senile but always happy so I let her stay.
One day she didn't react when I pushed her lightly and she didn't breath either. I got sad of course but thought that she at least was at home when it happened.
So I sat on the floor and patted her on the head when suddenly she just jumped right up as if nothing had happened :-) :-) :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Mary Helen-Art Saves Lives said...

My Rosie is 14 now and she is moving slowly also and likes to sleep whenever she can! Love you and your pups! Mary Helen