It has been many days…

I’ve got a very sick dog, and just about the time I sit down to write anything or in fact do much of anything I’m needed to either walk the poor thing down the stairs or to clean up a mess.

This is not likely to be an illness the poor pup gets over, it’s probably end of life so it’s about making him comfortable and happy. There have been many drugs tried but all of them have made him feel much worse or plugged him up or made him pee constantly. 

He’s a sensitive dog and waking up in a pool of his own urine really harshes his self respect.

So simplicity reigns. Pain killers for the soreness in his hips and taking it slow up & down the stairs. We live day by day, enjoy each others’ company and he “works me” for well above the normal daily supply of treats.

I’m a little rambly today

I don’t want to see the electricity bill either. In order for him to be comfortable I’ve been running the air conditioning a whole lot.

Maybe those were local things that the builders of subdivisions in central FL came up with to say “we’re building the most modern homes”Thus far this Summer has been a lot like the Summers at my Dad’s place before he Moved to TN. Remember the “All Electric House” how about that funky little medallion that was sometimes built into the doorbell that announced the fact to all who came to visit you?

I can tell you this… It’s probably not the great buying incentive today that it was then. On the other hand we all figured all our power would be coming from nuclear reactors and that it would be cheap. Boy is that a laugh!

I remember my Dads house being like a meat locker. The transition from being inside to being outside could literally take your breath away. 68F zero humidity to 95F 80% humidity was a shocker even for my young body. As a result, once we went outside we tended to stay outside because it was easier on us. Not to mention that Dad would tell us to get outside even if we’d come in to use the bathroom. 

Believe me, we reveled in being boys and living in a rural area with plenty of palmetto bushes most of the day.

Simpler times.

We’d take the family Weimaraner with us and run, swim, hike all over the territory around Dads house.

Parents today would be freaking out. There were at least three varieties of poisonous snakes in my childhood environment.

Alligators, wild boar (I’m much more afraid of them than a gator), and at least a dozen species of stinging /biting insects.

Hilda (The family dog) was our faithful protector and on more than one occasion she spooked critters that could have hurt us into running away before we kids got in range.

Which brings me back to dogs. When I first got to California I lived for a long time without a dog. Then in 1990 I had an opportunity to move to a place where I could have dogs. I can’t see myself in a situation where I don’t have them in my life ever again.

I’m not talking about little yappy dogs.

I’m talking big dogs with personality and senses of humor. 

The kind of dog that will decide to mess with you because THEY need a laugh. 

My sick guy, has a great sense of humor and I’m going to be sad to see him pass on.

I personally believe dogs go to heaven, I can’t imagine a heaven without our pets.

Talk about a boring place. 

A bunch of folks sitting around on clouds playing harps?

NAHHH not my kind of place, my heaven will be a sweet place with big fields of grass and forests. With dogs to play with and treats aplenty.

At least that’s what I hope for my friend