Tag: dog

In Memory of Sari

My sister's dog Sari rests on my mom's bed underneath a picture of my sister

In memory of my sister’s sweet pup Sari, who had to be euthanized today after a long illness. These pictures are from 2009, Sari was sleeping on my mom’s bed. In the first picture I angled the camera so the picture of my sister hanging on the wall was looking over her pup. The picture below is my favorite of her, she seems so happy in her sleep, and look at those wonderful ears. She was a real sweetheart, she even got to meet Ellie one time when my sister came to visit us in Portland, I saw her for the last time this summer when I was in Atlanta.

Rest in peace little one.

My sister's dog Sari sleeps on my mom's bed

My sister's dog Sari sleeps on my mom's bed

My sister's dog Sari rests on my mom's bed

Two Good Pups

Our dog Ellie sits beside a mural containing a dog named Pepper in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon in November 2017

With the cooler weather of fall, Ellie doesn’t tire so easily and has been up for longer walks. Anti-inflammatory medicine and pain pills help with her advancing arthritis too. Since I’ve been home most mornings after getting laid off a few weeks ago, I’ve been able to take her on lots of long walks, a real treat since who knows how many more we’ll get together. She still enjoys going to see if her buddy Steve is out on his porch, as he gives her treats, but he’s only been out once. He mentioned that he was the caretaker of a man who just died and they weren’t sure if they were going to move someone else in for him to look after, or move him somewhere else and do some renovations on the house. Fortunately Ellie can’t hear well and thus is unaware her buddy might be moving.

Not far from Steve’s house is this mural on the side of a dialysis center that I frequently walked past on the way home from the train, so I was pleased to be able to get a picture of Ellie next to the perpetually smiling Pepper. I wasn’t sure if I’d get the picture even though she wanted to come down this way on multiple days (mostly I think to double back to give him Steve a second chance to be on his porch), as the blinds in the window above Pepper were open and I didn’t want the people inside getting treatment to worry about why someone outside was taking pictures. On this day though the blinds were drawn and I got my picture of the two good pups.

The Happy Pup

Our dog Ellie lays on the hardwood floor in the dining room

A happy Ellie on the day after I got back from a long trip in August. Her blood pressure is up again as is the protein in her urine so we’re upping her blood pressure meds and switching her to a kidney-friendly dog food. We’ve also added some pills to help with her arthritis as that’s been getting worse, they seem to be helping and with the aid of the cooler (and much, much wetter) weather she even made it all the way to Steve’s on our walk this morning, a rarity these days. He wasn’t out but she pooped in his yard to say hello, despite my telling her that’s not how people communicate. Age is taking its toll on her body but not her joyful spirit.

A couple of the new pills she only gets for a few weeks, and thank goodness, because they aren’t coated and she hates the taste. She even spits out the hotdogs we normally put her pills in, and even when I hid them in her beloved cat food, well, the sweetest dog you ever met can be surprisingly stubborn. She doesn’t hold a grudge after the battle is over, however, because she’s Ellie.

The Aging Pup

Our elderly dog Ellie sleeps on her dog bed

When I got back from a two day trip to the coast you would have thought I had been gone two months by the warm welcome I got from our aging pup. Ellie shadowed me everywhere I went, brushing up against me, even following me up and down the stairs on her arthritic legs. I took some time to shower her with affection to let her know I was happy to be reunited too. Time continues to take its toll on her, her blood pressure is up again and so is the protein in her urine, so she’s getting more medicine and a kidney-friendly dog food. She’s also getting anti-inflammatory pills since the arthritis is getting worse, so there’s now a whole army of pills she gets each morning and evening. She gets tired easily and takes a lot longer to recover after a walk, but she still gave me a 45-minute walk today on a sunny but cool fall morning.

She’s probably about fourteen years old, so all things considered she’s doing rather well, and I’m thankful for every day we get with her.

I Didn’t Mean It as a Challenge, Pup

Our dog Ellie stands on our sidewalk on a sunny day

“It’s about the journey, not the destination, unless the destination is Steve’s house as he gives out treats.”
Ellie

After the hottest August ever recorded, and the hottest start to September ever recorded, the heat finally broke and we’ve had lovely temperatures this weekend (and even a little bit of rain last night). It was in the mid 60’s yesterday when Ellie and I took our morning walk, I was pleased to see that she wanted to go further south than what has become normal this summer. She wanted to turn around a few blocks before Steve’s house, which I was also pleased to see as when she is worn out her footwork gets a little sloppy and I don’t want her to hurt herself. She was panting heavily once we got back home and it took a while for her breathing to return to normal, but she then took a well-deserved nap for the rest of the morning and afternoon.

It was in the low 60’s this morning on our walk, and just two days after I said I wasn’t sure she’d ever see Steve again, she was up for a walk to his house even after spending some time in the dog park. Sadly he wasn’t out but she did her normal inspection of his front yard, trying her best to summon the treat giver. She was up for an hour and fifteen minute walk (!) — she even asked for an extra walk around the block before going in the house — so after plenty of fresh water she again slept off the late morning and early afternoon, snoring quietly on her dog bed while the cats and I watched football.

You amaze me in so many ways, pup, what a blessing you are.