Dog news Senior style

Yes Lacy is a Senior and I hate to admit it, my status as such will be official in two more years. The question "how to cope with the ageing process" I’m able to answer about the senior "me". That is, simply ignore it. Do what you've done all your life; exercise, eat right, laugh, create, love family and friends, enjoy a glass or two of wine, be kind and hurt no one. The senior Lacy is another prospect altogether. I watch her and worry when she stumbles, I call her and worry when she doesn't respond, I touch her and worry when she jumps as if startled. It's harder to watch her slow down than it is for me to deal with my torn meniscus, thinning hair, acid reflux and gnarly hands. I wear a knee brace, put my hair in a pony tail, take prilosec and play my fiddle....all to stem the flow of an ageing body and mind. I can do these things. But my little girl (can't help still calling her that) is sometimes confused, sometimes skittish, always ready for a nap and stubbornly resistant to taking walks. For over a year,  I've cooked her chicken and rice, shredding it in the food processor to compensate for her missing teeth. It was after she suffered from an intestinal infection last February that had me wringing my hands in anticipation of the dreaded words " she won't make it". She did.

But today, as she does every now and then, she reverts to her puppy-like state and plays hide and seek with me at the top of the stairs (which she refuses to walk down unless I'm behind her).  Her mighty bark , sort of a gurgling "raou raou" sound, leads me to believe that she's getting annoyed with me laughing at her as she peeks from behind the wall to see if I'm still there, then bolts away only do it again and again... always refusing my request to come down the carpeted steps with me.
She makes me laugh at how smart she is, looking at the door, then at me, than at the door again, until I take her out.   I delight in her ability to curl up on the tiniest fragment of something that belongs to me,a sock, a skein of yarn,  and take a nap. On our excursions to the back yard, she becomes a fierce protector at the sight of deer in the back woods, and charges after them as they run at the sound of her shrill bark.  But always stopping short of catching up with them, she turns to see if I'm still there to step in if necessary. It's as if to say, "you pests stay OUT of MY back yard, if you know what's good for you"  And they obey, (temporarily)
She stays with me in my studio all day as I work, and follows me out for my frequent bathroom breaks.  When she informs me of her equally frequent need to pee, I patiently oblige.

Lacy and I are growing old together and I have realized over the years, that she's added more to my life than I ever imagined she would when she was my daughter's puppy. When my daughter went off to college, Lacy stayed with me and has been my best friend ever since ( I never even thought to give her back).  
Mostly though, Lacy is my canine soul mate. I have my husband (soul mate #1) and my two daughters (my love for them is beyond description). But my "little girl" and I have a relationship I share with no one. As we grow old together, I sense her frailties along with my own. We talk like two old broads on a squeaky rocker (or I talk and she graciously listens with her head on my lap) or we sit silently together in the back yard, feeling the warmth of the sun on our faces.   But mostly, she surprises me with her occasional agility and its similarity to my own (now and then) as if she and I are completely simpatico like best friends are.  I read that to keep a senior dog healthy one must continually stimulate them both mentally and physically.  Teach an old dog new tricks, so to speak. I try to do something each day…. a physical command, a tossed toy to fetch, it lasts for about three minutes, then we both grow tired and take a rest. I guess that’s better than nothing.