Living

The couch has been my spot since having minor surgery last Thursday.  Armed with a pile of books and a couple of good movies, I’ve been bundled up under a warm afghan and resigned to the required rest for a week – having cancelled all appointments and activities.

Therapy dogs will be therapy dogs wherever they are and – for this week – James’ role has switched from heading out to his usual facilities to cuddling along side me on the couch.  Our regular routine of early morning walks, grooming, and play-fun-training are all on hold – but James knows instinctively, as do Trudi and Annie, that this is a necessary quiet time and they’re content to settling down around me; keeping me company.  I feel badly when they can’t have the level of activity they love and look forward to each day – but they get it, they’re simply in sync with the situation at hand.  Wonderful bedside manner!  People should be so patient…  

Last Sunday we were in the middle of a blizzard.  The howling winds lasted three days – and it was biting cold.  Today, the 2nd day of 2011, it’s 49 degrees and seems like a heat wave has hit.  All the snow has melted, leaving plenty of mud puddles.  This combination makes for some messy dogs after they’ve spent about an hour outside having fun.          

At times like this, I can just pop each dog quickly in the tub, soap up their paws and feathering, give a rinse, and they’re done.  And, if this weather keeps up, I’ll probably be doing the same thing tomorrow afternoon!  I’m so glad I have this dog tub (waist-high; no bending; all done in 10 minutes)!

My dogs don’t really care much for chew toys.  In fact, I’ve spent quite a bit of money on all types of special toys for chewing; to prevent tartar build-up.  I’ll go on a binge trying out different ones – read the labels; choose those that sound perfect for the job – and, according to the labeling are indestructible.  Sure, either the dogs will chew on them vigorously for 10-15 minutes, then never bother with them again or they’ll destroy them within the first half hour.  Money down the drain!

Annabelle was a little hellion as a puppy.  I was trying every toy I could get my hands on to keep her occupied.  Once, I carefully selected one at a local dog store – marked indestructible – and it was expensive.  I thought, Expensive, well it must really be good! Right!!!  It was summertime.  The doors were open to the porch… Annie took the new toy from me and excitedly took it out to the porch.  I was busy in the kitchen; kind of forgot about her for a while…  suddenly I thought, Wow, she’s so quiet out there, enjoying her new toy.  It really works. Ho, ho…  I went out and she was surrounded by the shreaded toy, bits of it hanging out of her mouth!  This one was guaranteed…  I did something I’d never done before – I returned the toy and got my money back.

I began to contemplate the fact that the dogs we had when I was growing up all had sparkling white teeth.  They were never taken to have their teeth cleaned – they didn’t need it.  What was it that my mother was doing for the dogs?  A-huh!  Yes…  she’d get large marrow bones from the butcher and give them raw to the dogs.  They would chew on those things for hours.

I now make a point of giving the dogs a fresh marrow bone each week.  I put the bones into the freezer first… then serve them to the dogs.  This prevents them from getting grease all over the carpeting.  A  couple of dollars spent – and the job of keeping the dogs’ teeth tartar-free is accomplished.  No fancy – or expensive – toys necessary!

Caution:  If you have more then one dog, don’t leave them unattended with their bones.  If you’re not around, pick up the bones.  The sweetest dog can get very edgy around his bone (or food bowl – for that matter).

English Setters are quite content to be couch potatoes.  Very happy on a cold winter’s day to stay settled in a round ball on a cozy dog bed by the fire.

Exercise is a must – even on days with whipping winds – just a short outing to move around and get some air.  Good for both people and dogs!  The blizzard managed to drop about 5 inches in our area of western Massachusetts…  a lot less than the eastern part of the state.  The wind is whipping around so strongly, moving the snow as it goes, that there actually are many bare spots of grass.

Out we went – the 3 dogs and me – armed with snowshoes.  The snowshoes blaze trails for our senior girl Trudi, making it possible for her to get around.  She follows right behind me.

Annabelle – our 3 year old pup – raced out the door, James following, creating trails ahead of me.  Around the 2 raced.  Trudi waited while I mounted the snowshoes and took off.  She loved it;  we all loved it!  Wind whipping, air crispy cold.  They love to play the snowshoe game.

I have no idea how cold the wind chill is making the air…  but the game was a short one.  James was the first at the door, signalling time to go in; to lie back down by the fire.

It was a good break; an important break.  Yesterday, with the start of the storm coming early, I made the mistake of letting our senior girl Trudi lie on her bed by the fire all day…  when she did get up for a time out before her dinner, it was hard for her to move her old joints.  Important for all, especially the seniors, to have regular exercise during the day. Winter weather is challenging.

Our precious Trudi, now over the 15 1/2 year mark, has reached the distinction of being our oldest living dog.  Al and I had an Afghan Hound years ago that lived to be 15 1/2 – and when I was a child, my Standard Poodle lived to be 15.  But in the last several years, sadly our last two dogs, Phoebe and Julia, have died much too young.

Trudi is like the Energizer Bunny – she keeps on going.  About 4 years ago, it appeared that she might not have much time left, but, like the cat with nine lives, she’s still with us!  She has mostly good days, with a few bad days sprinkled in.  During these periods, I watch her very closely, so far – she’s bounced back to having her good days.  I’ve learned through the years (the hard way) to realize that when the bad days out-number the good days by a long-shot, then it’s time to make a decision.  Again, I keep a careful eye on her. I’ve come to understand that prolonging a dog’s life because I can’t bear to lose her, is for me, and me only – I’m not helping my beloved dog by doing this.

But, as I said, Trudi keeps on going.  She’s become quite thin, her eyes are clouded by cataracts, and she’s a bit arthritic.  English Setters are a breed that require a certain amount of grooming to keep their coats looking as they should.  Well, Trudi is now exempt from all that…  she’s growing a long fluffy coat and gets a good weekly brushing and nail trimming while lying comfortably on her soft dog bed.  Even this can be hard on her, at times.  But keeping up their hygiene is important to their continued good health.  I take care to be sure rooms that she’s in or entering are well-lit.  She sees well enough in a bright room.  Her daily walks consist of a morning walk to the mailbox at the side of the road to pick up the newspaper and an afternoon walk back to the box to get the mail.  She gets a couple of good romps in the back field with James and Annabelle – often leading the pack – perhaps heading to check out a flock of wild turkeys in the back field.  I try not to leave her in the house for more then 3 or 4 hours at a stretch when I go out.  She needs to eliminate more frequently now and it’s harder for her to hold it in.

New England winters can be especially difficult on a senior dog.  Getting around in more then a few inches of snow is tough.  I go out on my snowshoes and make paths all over the field for her.   After packing it down a couple of times – she’ll run around on the pathways following me on my snowshoes.  It’s a fun game we play and the other dogs love it, too.  For Trudi’s sake, I’m hoping it’s a mild winter.

Trudi has given so much to us since she came here to live at the age of 7 years.  In return, we owe her the same… love, comfort, and kindness – and that she will most definitely receive from us.

Living in the hills of western Massachusetts, I have the luxury of being able to walk right out the door into the woods or onto the country road for a pleasant walk with the dogs.  We do this early in the morning around 6:30 AM – it’s so quiet and peaceful then… my favorite time of the day.  At this time of the year, the air is crisp and the sun is shiny and bright.  Occasionally, we’ll run into a flock of wide turkeys.  They’re so tame around here (and plentiful), they don’t fly off when they see the dogs approaching.  We’ll often run into a neighbor or two and stop for a chat. Later in the day, the dogs love it, too, when I pop them in the car and head to a section of the bike path.  In our area, we have miles and miles of contiguous bike paths connecting several area towns.  Here the dogs get to meet people and other dogs along the way, stop and socialize for a few minutes, and move along.  It’s a great place to socialize a puppy or dog in training to be a therapy dog.  Sometimes we’ll meet up with a friend and take the walk together.  The dogs love their special walking time – and so do I – wherever we go.

My first visit back to Julia’s nursing home…  the place she visited every week and reveled in the attention she received from both residents and staff.  James did a terrific job – he always does.  But, everyone asked, “Where’s Julia?”  There were many tears…  Today we took the first step.  We’ll go back now, week after week.  The visits are so important to everyone there.

Three weeks ago, I found myself rushing to our Vet with Julia.  I was getting ready to head to my office… I was in the midst of rallying the pack (then four) to head to their room.  I noticed Julia having trouble – she was coughing up blood, once, then again, then four times within five minutes.  I’m not one to call on the Vet for every little thing, but I knew this wasn’t a good sign… something was wrong.  They had me bring her right in.  Driving there, I kept trying to convince myself that it was something minor – something had caught in her throat, her stomach had been irritated by something she picked up in the woods.  The Vet, too, chatted with me about minor things that could have happened – but then mentioned the dreaded word cancer.  X-rays were needed.  And, that’s what revealed the answer:  a primary lung tumor that had spread throughout her entire body.  Nothing could be done.  Julia came home to spend the afternoon with her family – both human and canine.  Then, at 6:00 that night, with her brother James and buddies Trudi and Annabelle encircling her, our Vet administered the injection that would send her into a peaceful, eternal sleep.

Julia was our dear canine family member, playmate of the pack, and a superb therapy dog.  For several years, she soothed the lives of patients in a mental health unit at an area hospital.  She could calm many a restless and unsettled patient with her exuberant, non-treatening, non-judgmental manner.  The staff often mentioned that Julia’s weekly visits served to brighten the day for both patients and staff.  The past two years, Julia has spent her time with rehab patients and residents at a local nursing home.  She would first take a tour through the physical therapy room where she worked the room, stopping to visit with each of the ten or so patients there receiving service.  At times, the physical therapists would have her assist in movement therapy.  On down the hall she’d go making stops at rooms and residents sitting out in the hallways.  Her last stop was always at her friend Nelly’s room.  Nelly always had Julia jump up on her bed, she’d hug her and give her a special treat of pretzels.

This past Thursday, I made my first visit back to Linda Manor with Julia’s brother James.  This wasn’t the first time I’ve had to do this…  going to the facility and having to tell folks that their canine friend had died.  This is a very hard part of the work I do.  For years, the dogs visit, week after week, bringing comfort and caring to many who often receive limited contact from the outside world.  And, then they are gone.  Very hard, it doesn’t get any easier no matter how often it happens.

We are slowly adjusting to a pack of three – but a little piece of our heart broke off and went with Julia.