Getting Up There

My sweet lil dog is getting old. We’ve been taking her to the dog park nearly every day for a number of years. She loves it so much. She is ball focused and never plays with other dogs except when they take her ball, at which point she dogs them around the park until they drop it and then she comes back.

She’s so incredibly feisty that she nearly always gets to the ball first no matter who is going after it. But lately she’s either worn herself out so much that she has to come home to sleep the rest the day or she runs after the ball and a leg will give out and she skids and rolls. And a few days ago she came home with a bad limp that hasn’t let up much. Nothing, and I mean nothing, stops this little dog.

Last week we just realized that it is taking too much of a toll on her old body. We left her home, standing at the back door, which is glass, staring at us with a look of betrayal. We took Scruffy up to the park for her fun and necessary exercise. When I got home, Sophie was on her bed in the living room. She did not get up to greet me with excitement and adulation as she does EVERY other time I walk in. She laid there and looked at me! I walked up, she smelled my hand and she turned her head. The uncomfortable feeling of guilt seeped through me and I can’t tell her it’s for her own good. My sweet little clown.


My old girl warming her bones in the sun 🌞 


Comments

  1. anne marie in phillyMay 21, 2019 at 2:45 AM

    awwwwwwwwwwwww. perhaps take sophie out for a gentle walk and she will forgive you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)May 21, 2019 at 6:05 AM

    oh this broke my heart. I have an old gal myself and it pains me to see her aging and limping after her afternoon swim. What a beauty she is Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marie SmithMay 21, 2019 at 6:35 AM

    And people call animals dumb. It must be heart breaking to see her like this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnnsterwMay 21, 2019 at 9:14 AM

    It is so hard to watch our pets age - too bad it does not happen slower. Glad that you are looking out for what is good for her since she does not know any better :-( Love my pets too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. BillMay 21, 2019 at 1:38 PM

    That's so sad that age has caught up to her. Made me think of my dogs when they got older and slower. Glad you decided to have her stay home but still that decision hangs heavy on your heart. She's a cutie and will most likely enjoy shorter trips out with you if that's possible.
    Give her a pat for me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. MarthaMay 22, 2019 at 5:07 PM

    Awwwww, poor baby. If only they could understand that all this is done with love.

    ReplyDelete
  7. JeanieMay 23, 2019 at 2:59 PM

    Oh, poor sweet thing. Maybe a shorter walk, avoiding the park is in store or if you have a yard, a little ball tossing for a shorter period of time. They do take it out on us, don't they? And with their faces, it breaks the heart.

    ReplyDelete

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