TBD on Ning
since you mentioned Louis.....
Old Man Doug: An Ode to Our 17-Year-Old Dog
Doug the Dog is both dignified and befuddled in his 17th year. He has an old man aroma — slightly stale, rotten-toothed and damp from the growths that sprout like mushrooms on his hind legs. He’s completely deaf, partially blind and has taken to standing in front of a random wall and licking it.
We have been told we should get another dog so the transition between now and what is to come will be easier. “We are dog people,” I remind my husband when he declares Doug our last pet. But we don’t speak of it much.
Nobody told me that getting a dog when your kids were little would mean the kids and the dog would age out at the same time. I don’t know how it has come to this — having an empty nest and old man dog named after their favorite cartoon character of the time. Just when we are finally free of the joy of teenagers, we now have to contend with the guilt of leaving behind a confused and slightly daft dog.
We Adjust to Changes
He can’t go to the Pet Hotel anymore because he’s already just an old bag of bones and won’t eat or drink when we leave him. Which is why he was at the New Year’s Eve wedding of our oldest daughter this year.
She wanted to be married at the same beach where Doug once chased waves, barking furiously at their crest and crash, determined to beat back Mother Ocean’s relentlessly tormenting tricks. “He’s not too bright?” commented a spectator, watching the futile, frantic sprints of a younger/spry Doug the Dog as he raced up and down the shoreline, hoarse with the fury and responsibility of his mission.
Of course, I was offended. The man saw a ridiculous effort to catch a wave, but I saw the pursuit of potential, the sweet thrill of possibility.
Once, when Doug was a few years old, an old fellow in a pickup truck pulled up next to me. He leaned out the window, squinting in the sun, and asked me, “How much you want fer that squirrel dog?” I was indignant (and not a little pleased) and told him my dog was not for sale.
Other than treeing squirrels, Doug doesn’t have too many other talents to speak of. He is loving and loyal but not the brightest crayon in the pack.
When the last daughter left for college, Doug waited next to the front door for her return. Nothing we did could dissuade him from his vigil. One night, a few weeks after she left, I heard the pitter-patter of his toenails tapping into our bedroom. He stood at the edge of the bed and looked up at us with eyes filled with sorrow. I patted the mattress on my side, and he jumped up, walked in circles, twirling the blanket into a nest, let out a long and mournful sigh, and went to sleep.
He sleeps with us now, even when the girls return. I think he knows better than to let his heart re-break. I admire him for that.
We Remember The Good Times
On New Year’s Day, I took the old boy down to see his nemesis, the waves. We walked along the water’s edge, but he kept looking back toward the direction of the beach house as if to say, "You took me out of my warm bed for this?"
Finally, with one furtive glance in my direction, he turned and took off at a fast trot back to the house. By the time I caught up with him, he was back in my bed, curled up around the mother of the bride dress.
“What kind of dog do you think you’ll get next?” I am asked. I don’t really know. I didn’t set out to be a rescue dog snob when I plucked him out of a dozen free puppies in a cardboard box.
While it’s trendy now, I contend that there’s plenty of truth to the benefits of a good mutt. They are healthy and live a life of gratitude. Doug is profoundly sweet in his dumbness and good health. He never had an accident, never let us down, chased a car or had the slightest problems with his hips.
We Prepare For The End
I know that 17 is pushing the edges of a dog’s longevity. Even his parents, Rambo and JoJo, died before then. I’ve made my plans. I will bury him in the backyard, where the trees are full of chattering squirrels. I will dig the hole myself, remove the dancing bear collar, wrap him in the Bama blanket he’s worn to soft crimson tatters and then lay him in the ground. Until that bad day comes, I try to spend time with the fellow.
Yesterday I saw a squirrel hanging out in our front lawn. Doug was sleeping in the sun, and I woke him by whispering in his ear, "Squirrel," dragging the “sq” into sqwehhhhh sqwehhhhh. He struggled to understand, looking around with confusion in his milky, cataract-y eyes. I gently turned his face toward the squirrel, now sitting upright, watching us watch him. Doug looked, but he didn’t see. He couldn’t hear my “sqwehhhhh sqwehhhhh,” so he did what he does these days.
He trotted up to a wall and gave it a good, wet lick.
Carolyn Mason is a freelance writer living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You can follow Doug the Dog on Twitter at @dougdog3.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ProblemAgain on
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"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in".
-Mark Twain- -
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Permalink Reply by crestofwaves on
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Beautiful! Thanks for this. And Twain was right, as he was about most things.
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it made me think of you and louis.....
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Permalink Reply by Lifesighs on
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Beautiful story with that sad ending we know will happen. I've thought about that, my current dogs may outlive me I hope if they do someone will give them lots of love.
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That's my problem, Life. I have a dog. She is seven ( or eight, not sure). If I got her a companion and it lived for fifteen years, it could outlive me. I know for sure my kids would take it, but still, it give me pause.
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Permalink Reply by frenchy on
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get the dog anyway .. even if you can only have it for 5 years thats 5 years more then he'd have if they put him to sleep .. don't worry about later on .. later will take care of itself .. if you can love him now then thats all that matters ..
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check the shelters ...there are tons of older dogs and everyone wants a puppy. the older dogs are usually slowed down a bit, housetrained and great companions. (heck that sounds like some of us!) when i was doing the rescue stuff, i generally tried to steer older people toward the older dogs. after all, if we don't have a long time left, then give the time you have to one who doesn't have a long time left either
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Great idea. It would be where I would go to find a pet anyway. I have to stay away from those places now or I would have 50 dogs.
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Permalink Reply by Karin M Fichtner on
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Me, too! My Rocky is 12-1/2. He has arthritis, and we both climb stairs the same :-) I don't know what I will do when he goes. This isn't my house; it belongs to my son and his wife doesn't like dogs. She had to accept Rocky because he was here before she was, but I doubt she'll want another one in the house. I wouldn't want to start training a new puppy at this point. If I could talk my son into it, I'd adopt an older dog, so I wouldn't leave him to my son when I'm gone. Thinking of losing my friend breaks my heart. I have to go find a Kleenex.
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well as someone who has been thru it .. and more than once .. when i moved where i am now i had 2 dogs that were older and one died after bein here for 2 days .. i'm still not sure what happened there .. a long sad story tho .. and he was my first dog that i ever had die on me .. had him since he was a little puppy and sometimes when i think about him i still cry .. but i got another dog .. and the one i had when i moved here that was still alive died ..and so i got another one .. that one was fluffy .. and she just died .. the one i got before her died in 2007 .. almost all the dogs i got were pretty much full grown and 2 and three years old when i got em except for my first .. i can say this much .. older dogs are calmer and easier to let into your home .. the old adage you can't teach an old dog new tricks is false .. but either way once you let them in they get into your heart . i've always had two dogs since i got ralphie in 1990 .. somethin about two dogs that become part of the pack that i call home is a soothin thing .. one dog is good too .. but dogs are always better when they get to play with other dogs .. and to just sit and watch them play has the same effect on me as it does for some who like to sit by the ocean .. or sleep in the forest .. so anyway what i'm tryin to say in a roundabout way is so far i've burried 4 dogs on my side yard since i've been here .. and i've cried over every one of them .. and if i live long enougn i'll bury another one or two and i'll cry over them too .. but i'll get another one .. and somehow if i can save just one at a time i've done what i can .. and maybe along the way for as long as they're here .. they can save me too ..
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Two dogs playing is better than wine! Once mine knocked me right off the seat at the computer because even though they had the whole house to play in, they always played within a few feet of me. Why? I think they knew I liked it. I call those days the days with built in joy. I never had to seek it.
I have to go back to work for a few weeks because one of the teachers got sick and I'm helping out. After that, the weather should be nice and warm, so I will head out to the shelters again. I always got my dogs from shelters, too, but always managed to get pups. I will bring my dog and see who she likes best.
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