Life with an Old Dog

Two nights ago, Dakota got in big trouble.

Beautiful Old Dog

Often when we go to sleep, she just stays out in the living room. We've never had trouble with her doing that, and so we don't worry about it.

However, the other night we had fried chicken. Evidently the smells coming from the trashcan were too much for the old girl. I woke up at about 1:30 a.m. to the sounds of her stressed panting coming from the living room. Thinking she needed to go outside, I asked Grig (which I shouldn't have done, but I don't always think well when I first wake up) to go let her outside. He got up, and Dakota came scrambling into the room and immediately laid down. Then I heard Grig make an angry sound.

Dakota had gotten into the trash, and after eating chicken bones and moldy meatballs, and suddenly needed to use the bathroom. Who knows why (said with sarcasm).

So, when Grig walked out, he found to puddles and one pile of poop. I got up to clean it up so Grig could go back to bed and Dakota slept the rest of the night outside. It's been fairly warm and she has a good coat on her, so she did just fine.

Then, yesterday we decided to go on a walk. I wasn't going to bring Dakota because she's so old and sore, but she refused to be left behind. So, we brought her with us. We weren't intending to walk very far, but two blocks away from our home we found a wallet on the ground. We looked through it to find some information about the owner, and though we found a driver's license and address, it was too far away for us to return (walking) and so we decided to take it to the police station that I had seen the other day. I knew it was within ten blocks, so we decided to find it.

It turned out to be exactly 1.3 miles away. She did okay on the way there, but on the way back, she was really struggling. I felt bad, but we only had only one way to get home.

She made it, but she was super-tired when we got there. She drank and then collapsed on the floor and said she was never moving again.

What a trooper. She reminded me of the scripture (Mark 14:38) "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

She a little sore today, but doing pretty well. Hopefully the guy got his wallet back from the police department.

Sometimes it's a bit of a struggle to have an older dog. She can't hear as well and she can be a bit of a stinker (quite literally sometimes), but I wouldn't give her away for the world. She been with me through a lot. She doesn't have long probably, but we're going to cherish the time we have. Even when it isn't always a good time, it's still time, and we get to spend it with her.

Preparation for a Dog

Kevin and what will become his new dog

In the year 2000, I got a puppy.  She was an adorable little ball of fluff.  I loved her and trained her to the best of my abilities.  She turned into a pretty good dog, with one or two minor quirks.  She is terrified of thunderstorms, and turns destructive when they are around.  She also was taught by our other dog to run away from home.

This dog of mine grew older with me, but when I had to leave home for college she remained there.  She has been cared for by my younger siblings and they've done a good job.

However, her last caretakers are getting ready to leave on missions, and so Grig and I, after some thought and prayer, have decided to have my ancient 13-year-old dog come and live the rest of her life with us.

She's in really good shape for her age.  She's a border collie/Australian shepherd cross.  We expect her to live a few more years.

Last night, we went out and purchased a dog crate for her to live in.  I'm going to have to crate train her for when we are gone so that she doesn't ruin our apartment.  I'm not expecting too many problems, because I know her, and I know how good of a dog she is.

However, she's never been an inside dog before.  This will be a new and wonderful experience for her.  I think she will especially like not being out in the winter.  She's getting too old for the extreme cold.

The nice thing about bringing an adult dog into our home is that I get a chance to experience having an mature dog before I try to house train a puppy.  My dog is unlikely to chew on the furniture or have accidents in the house.  She has grown up around kids and is a wonderful kid-dog.  She also already has a lot of things, is up-to-date on shots, and comes with dog food.  That will certainly help the expenses. 

I'm looking forward to her coming.  Actually that's a bit of an understatement.  I'm STOKED about her coming.  However, I'm also a bit nervous.  I know it's going to be more work for me, but I'm up for it.  Change, in general, always kind of scares me at first.  It doesn't matter what it is, any big change makes me kind of nervous.  Even when I'm looking forward to it.

So, we're finally getting a dog.  It's just one that's already mine.  Isn't life whacked?

And wonderful?