My little Soozzee turned 15 years old last month. She's been with us since she was a tiny pup. To say that she owns my heart is both accurate and an understatement. She's the sweetest little dog that was ever born. Yes, I know, yours is too, but I'm absolutely certain that Soozzee is the queen.
But she's getting old and I'm acutely aware that her time with us is limited. Over the past year, especially, her age is dragging her down. Her walks are a bit shorter these days and much slower than they were a year ago. Her hearing is pretty much gone. She's totally blind in one eye and almost blind in the other. She bumps into things around the house. Her hair has gone from thick and honey-colored to thin and white. She has old-dog skin bumps, bad skin flakes, and dry eye in both eyes. Often when she stands in one place, one or more of her legs shake. The dog formerly known as "Piglet" has to be hand-fed. She's gone from a hefty 20 pounds to a thinner 16.8 and may not be done yet. She used to chase The Light (a laser pointer) around the house every single evening. Now, I'm not sure she can see it anymore, and she only does about a half lap around the house anyway. She has always been a world-class nap-taker, but her nap times have increased to where she's only awake maybe two or three hours a day, spread over a 12-hour period.
Still, Soozzee is hanging in there. She still has control of her bowels, thank God, so unlike some other older dogs, she doesn't need diapers. When she hits her favorite field on her afternoon walk, she still likes to run. True, what once was one long run is now a series of short and slow runs broken up with rest stops, but she runs. She likes to go for her daily ride in the car. She still pounces on The Light when she can see it. She can rattle the windows with her snoring. Occasionally we'll get a good tail wag, and every once in a while, the dog that rarely gave us slurps during her whole life will give us one.
I was an emotional wreck when we had to put her sister Indy down shortly after Christmas. I know I'm going to be an even worse wreck when Soozzee goes. It may not be that much longer. But I'm going to treasure every moment I have with this little dog.
I know the feeling. Our Monte just turned 15 too. Sounds like he's doing a little better than Soozzee but he's losing hearing, vision and most of his marbles. He's always been an eager eater but now he's obsessed and doesn't remember he's eaten 10 minutes later. But he's sweet as ever and we are treasuring having him. He's given us a couple of scares so to have him enjoying an Indian Summer is a real bonus. We are lucky to have our fur babies for as long as we do.
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