December 04, 2020 / µ

Youth picture taken behind the Petit Palais in Paris

Peeing Away in the Dark

One of the best things about having a dog is watching it grow. The worst part is knowing that it will grow old and die before you. My dog, Gavroche, is closing in on 13 ½ years, and even though he is fit and healthy, he is still old now.

Letting my dog out into the garden last night was another reminder. Standing watching him from inside, watching him take a sniffing-tour of his domain, waving at him, a kind of thumbs up between the two of us, it is easy to tell when he turns around after having peed on one of my mom's flower pots – we don't tell her that - that his eyes are not what they used to be, as he is very focused and careful getting up 3 small steps to get back inside the house.

He has cataracts. He does not see very well in the dark. Even if the terrace is well-lit, Denmark's darkness at 5:30 pm is enough to make him focus very carefully on these steps, which are a shade of grey, a color hard to deal with when you have cataracts. He moves swiftly until he reaches the 3 steps, then he slows down and focuses on where he places his paws. And then he is inside again. Happy and proud of himself.

Thumbs Up, Old Friend!

When you have had a dog for 13 years , you develop all kinds of little habits, just between the two of you; some weird, some not so weird. Me and my dog got this waving thing going on, a kind of thumbs up between the two of us. I do it. My dog does it.

When he was a puppy, he used to stand on his hind legs and wave his front paws when you got home. And if you told him you were leaving, he would do the same thing. I mean, he literally waved, like this air-biking movement with his little paws. Adorable.

Now, he lights up when you wave at him. So I wave at him when he has peed on my mom's flower pots in the garden at night, and he heads for the door, looking as happy and proud as only a dog can. Waving in our little world means:

Thumbs up, old friend, good job!

We Got a Little World of Our Own

It's a fascinating little world you create with a dog. It is a world that has its own gestures, words, and habits. It is a world where this little guy or gal lives to make you happy. If you are happy, he is happy. If you praise him, you have made his day. Grateful does not begin to cover how I feel and how every dog owner in this world should feel. Your dog is a part of your life. But you are his whole life.

Life With A Senior Dog

The older your dog gets to be, the closer you get to each other because the little furball is now a senior 'citizen' dependent on you in more ways than he used to be.

My dog does not do stairs anymore, nor does he jump into bed or onto the couch. These days I lift him. We go to the vet often to take good care of his teeth. And he is more and more set in his ways. He does not handle change that well anymore. You have to remember to say goodbye to him when you leave. Otherwise, he will feel ill at ease until you are back. And he will not go to sleep at night if he does not get a biscuit… in bed. And he snores louder and louder as the years pass.

He is still very alert, though. His hearing is impeccable. He still wakes me up at night if he hears something, anything, really. A cat walking by, a leaf falling…

These days, I cherish every moment with my senior dog and fear the day I will have to wave goodbye to him for the very last time…

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