Long known as a dragon-friend, Ellie helps out by looking after one of the babies while the mother was away.
Tag: dog
The Happy Pup
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
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.
The Miles We Have Walked
This Game of Thrones Reboot Is Looking Pretty Sweet
My Heart
One of my favorite portraits of the pup, taken as the sun set and a day or two before the snow finally melted.
I Didn’t Mean It as a Challenge, Pup
“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.
Look What I Found, Can I Keep It?
I don’t think so pup.
An Act of Worship
Ellie and I meander on our walks around our neighborhood, within limits I let her choose which streets we walk down. There’s only one place she always wants to visit on her long walks, without fail, and that is the house of Steve (I think his name is Steve, I asked once but I forget names as soon as I hear them). He lives on 8th Avenue at the southern end of Irvington, almost as far south as we go, and is frequently sitting on his stoop. He’s an animal lover at heart, feeding not just his cat but the neighborhood crows and squirrels. And he always has dog treats in his pockets and eagerly hands them out to pups who wander up to say hello.
Our pup always wanders up to say hello. His house is her pilgrimage.
She starts looking for him the moment his steps come into view and starts pulling on the leash as soon as she sees him. On days he’s not there she just stares at the steps, trying to work out how to summon the giver of treats. On this winter day with the neighborhood still buried in snow and ice, Ellie took an unusual path south and I thought she was having so much fun in the snow that she was going to forget about Steve. But as we walked further south she suddenly veered back to the west and I knew where we were headed. I warned her that he wouldn’t be out on such a cold day but doubts do not pass the ears of the faithful. Her faith was rewarded for there he was and they spent a moment in mutual worship.
I don’t know if they’ll cross paths again, Ellie has rarely been up for walks long enough to visit Steve the past few months, but it’s hard to say how much of that is from advancing age and how much from hot weather. Should they never meet again I’m thankful for all the times they did, a neighbor’s love and a dog’s devotion.
An Enthusiastic Greeting
Yum Yum has adored Ellie since her family first adopted her and always wants to meet us when we walk past. As a pup when she knew Ellie was coming she’d pretend she had to go the bathroom so she’d be let out and could come say hi but you can see how eagerly her tail is wagging even after several minutes of affection. The light was a little odd on this evening from the smoke of distant forest fires. The picture below from a different evening was taken with a wider angle lens so her head seems unusually large, but it does help convey how enthusiastically she greets us every time we meet, no matter that we have met many times.
Boolie 