This is where I mention "Fear"...

I started this blog as a place to put into words what I feel for The Old Dog..


But I haven't really, I mean a couple mentions about how he is isn't saying a damned thing, now is it?


I'm scared now, The Old Dog isn't moving around much now, he isn't arguing with the other dogs about WHO owns the food bowl nor is he wanting to go outside and "guard" the house the way he did just a few short month or so ago..


He's old, I get that, I mean I understand about dogs getting old and everything (I have out-lived any number of my four footed friends) BUT this time I want to say NO!


No, you can't be laying around in front of the heater under the blanket in the middle of the day, you MUST want to go outside, snap at the other dogs when they get to close to YOUR bowl of food or water, YOU must snap at them when they try (I say TRY) to steal the bone from under your foot or take the ball away in a game of chase...


You must get up and go nose to nose with the cat and back down when he flicks your nose with his tail with that doggy smirk I know so well, the one that says, "I always let you win because I KNOW you are smaller than me and you are as old as me but we have been playing this game for years and we are "The Ones In Charge" but let's NOT tell the humans, ok?", THAT doggy smirk.....


No, you must get up and teach the children the proper way to pet a nose and to scratch your ears and that pulling fur is NOT OK....


No, you can't put your nose on the edge of the couch and look at me with the quiet dignity of one who knows his time is coming & that it's ok with you, BECAUSE IT'S NOT OK WITH ME!


But at 3a.m. I know and I can cry now because when the time comes tears won't be acceptable, I'll have to teach the children how to remember you with kindness and joy and when the cat comes looking I'll have to scoop him up and try to explain in my clumsy human way that HE is the only BOSS left......


And then I'll have to fold up your blankets and get all the bones and find the last unchewed ball and one last time I'll have to cover the Old Dog and make sure he's comfortable for his last nap......


And at 3a.m. I'll reach out and you won't be there and all I'll have is the sensory impression that you are staring at me in the dark waiting for me to flick the blanket over you and pet you and whisper, "We'll be ok? Won't we, boy?"


And I know even now, your answer will be


"Yes , we will because I am here for you"......

It's getting cooler...

I know because the dog woke me up trying to get under his blanket...


He's still with me & I give thanks every day for that...

So now it's almost summer

and still I turn on the portable heater at night for the dog and cover him with his blanket. His hips are bugging him and the weather has been weird so 
I've become used to no blankets at night....


I was discussing my habit of treating the dog as though he was a pampered child with a friend the other day and curiously enough they didn't laugh at me, but asked me what treatment the Vet recommended for my old dog...


I haven't taken him to a vet since he came to live with me, so after we had discussed the Osteo-Biflex (taken 2x a day) and the Flexall (rubbed in 2x a day) and the Senior Vitamin (1/2 a capsule daily) and the fact that he goes on walkabout by himself at least 6 times a day + the walks he takes with the boys on their 2x daily trips, my friend asked why I didn't take him to a vet because "surely the vet would recommend something more for my old friend"  thereby giving him (and me) more time together.....I considered about my answer for quite a long time (friends who take you seriously are deserving of careful, thoughtful answers I have found) and gave them this answer, "When he came to live with us all those years ago, I took him to the vet for a check-up, you know to make sure he was healthy and all of that, and the dog was quite displeased with the way he was treated so anytime since I have said the "V" word in his presence, he has lowered his ears and firmed his mouth and sat down quite definately, so as long as he is content with the way I take care of him, I do believe I will continue to do so"....


My friend just shook their head and changed the subject..


But when I got home I asked the old dog what he thought about visiting a Vet and if he thought it something he would like to do, which earned me the honour of having to bribe him for the next 3 days into doing anything I asked......

Wondering about the title?

Well, it's what I do a couple times a night,

I check the dog's blanket.

He's old, my house is older & its been a cold winter,

so I check his blankets, 

make sure he's comfortable, 

breathing 

   & 
there.....


Because he's an old friend & 
we've been through 
alot together ...