dog – Page 22

The Windswept Prairie

When it became clear we were going to get a little bit of snow a week and a half ago, I took the day off work so I could take Ellie out to enjoy it. Normally on weekdays my wife walks her in the morning and I walk her in the evenings, but since I was home I took her on a long walk in the morning and then, when it started snowing, for another walk in the afternoon. I was hoping for large lazy flakes but instead we got a driving wind and biting snow. When we got to Irving Park, the wind had swept the sports fields mostly clear of snow, so I was relieved when we got up to the dog park that not all the snow had blown away.

I didn’t try for many pictures as the wind was blowing the snow almost horizontally and Ellie squinted to keep the small pellets from hitting her eyes. We continued on through the neighborhood where the trees and houses provided relief from the wind and she was delighted, giving me another long walk of an hour and a half after a similar walk in the morning (those are the longest she’s gone in her elderly years). She doesn’t normally do two long walks a day and was a little stiff-legged afterwards so in the evening I took her on a very short one just to make sure she could go to the bathroom if she needed to, besides which the ice was already starting to form, immediately eroding any desire on her part to walk further.

When we got back from the afternoon walk, I toweled off the melting snow and we climbed up into my love seat. She put her head in my lap as she sometimes does, hoping to extend our time together as much as possible before sleep separated us. Her fur was glistening from the melted snow and I wished I could get stuck in that moment for a little while, my sweet pup saying thank you for our day together, hoping to make it last.

She fell asleep almost immediately though, and soon all three cats joined her both in snuggling and in sleeping on me, and all was bliss except I found myself wishing I had thought to make some hot chocolate before the pets climbed all over me.

A Song of Ice and Fur

I took Thursday off since there was a chance of snow and I wanted to let our aging pup enjoy some snow time. The temperature was supposed to rise in the evening so the snow wouldn’t last and I had to seize the moment. I was hoping for big softly falling flakes but there was a strong wind that made pictures difficult, so mostly we just walked around the neighborhood. I did get a few pictures in the dog park, such as this close-up of snow on the black fur of her back.

Thankfully she went on a really long walk in the afternoon snow after a really long walk in the morning, as the evening didn’t warm as expected and instead we got freezing rain. Ellie despises ice as much as she loves snow and refuses to go for even a short walk when it’s icy. At her age I wouldn’t have risked it anyway and I just made a path for her in the backyard, but it did amuse me for the next couple of days while the ice lasted, when I let her out to go to the bathroom, she quickly did her business and then made a beeline back to the door, just in case I was under the delusion I might get her out for a walk.

My Walking Partner, My Delight

Ellie and I start our walks by heading to the nearby dog park, passing one of her greatest admirers on the way, sweet little Yum Yum. As a young pup she’d pretend she had to go to the bathroom so she would get let out and could come running to say hello as we passed. These days we often see her up on her porch, tail wagging furiously, a gate blocking her escape. She must know the jingle of Ellie’s dog tags as she walks as Yum comes out to greet us whenever we approach. If she’s out in the yard I’ll walk Ellie over to see her before crossing the street, she’s always so excited to see us.

Yet for all that Ellie has perhaps an even bigger admirer that lives nearby, a young dog named Noki that gets overjoyed whenever he sees Ellie and can’t stop licking her in the face. Apparently he doesn’t do it to other dogs and we’re not sure what it is about Ellie that delights him so. One time we met him out walking instead of in the dog park, he was in a harness but he was straining so hard to come and meet us that he busted the snaps on his restraints and broke free.

She has other young admirers but none quite so worshipful as these two. She has human fans as well, she’s an easy dog to love, someone came up to us in the dog park recently and commented on how much she loved the relationship I have with her. She’s been with us for over seven years now so our bond is pretty strong. A few days later while we were out in the neighborhood someone came up and said how happy it makes him every time he sees us.

I try to spend the time on our walks in the moment with her, to forget all the pressures and stresses of the regular world and find joy in our time together. I love the quick little glances she gives me from time to time, I know she’s just checking in to see if it’s OK if she lingers a little longer near an interesting smell or if we can head down the next street, but it feels like she’s saying “thanks for being my buddy”. Her face is more gray than black these days but she remains, as always, my great delight.

Ellie’s Top Tips to Beat the Heat

Dog days of summer got you down? Beat the heat with these top tips from a dog who knows!

Stay all day in an air-conditioned room

That’s it! Enjoy your summer!

Lab Tests

Ellie went in on Tuesday for some follow-up tests and thankfully we got some good news. Her blood pressure is finally coming down and an ultrasound showed a spot on her adrenal gland hasn’t gotten any worse in the past few months, so it isn’t cancerous. Her blood work looked pretty good too although her thyroid is still a little off. She was up for another record-tying long walk this morning so she’s doing pretty well for her age.

The Walker

In her elderly years Ellie isn’t able to deal with the heat as well as she used to, so she wants to go on shorter walks in hot weather. After a heat wave had us retreating to the air-conditioned bedroom all week, the weekend dawned with the relief of cooler weather. After we visit the dog park I let Ellie guide me the rest of the way so she’s in control of where and how far we go. She loves our time together so I can generally trust her judgement on when she’s getting too tired and needs to go home – unless she thinks food is waiting at home, then forget it, walks are no longer of interest.

That cool Saturday morning we started off in the dog park then ventured out into the neighborhood like normal, but instead of eventually turning for home she just wanted to keep going and going. We meandered up and down streets but at each intersection she said she wanted to go further. I finally made her head home after an hour and fifteen minutes as she was slowing down and visibly tired, even though she kept asking for one more block, and by the time we reached home it was a new record for her elderly years of 1 hour 20 minutes.

That evening it was warmer but still not hot and she gave me a 45 minute walk. The next morning was also lovely but after going half a block she suggested going back home. I figured she might be a little sore after yesterday’s marathon but asked her to go another two blocks to the park. She agreed and must have limbered up as not only did she not ask to go back but put in another 1 hour 20 minute walk, again with me having to point her back towards home when she was getting too tired.

That evening she again balked after going half a block but started again when I suggested we at least make it to the park, but a few yards later she again asked to go home, so I relented and we headed back home for some head scratches and belly rubs. She had more than earned the time off.

That Monday morning I woke as I often do these days, to Ellie “accidentally” waking me by repeatedly bumping into the mattress with her head. In her younger years she preferred to accidentally wake me by jumping up on the bed and dancing around but that’s a bit much these days, long walks or no. She looks at me with the greatest joy when I climb out of bed so I can’t help but give her a hug, even if I know that part of her excitement is that she is about to get a white dental bone, her favorite treat, while I have breakfast.

This picture is from an unusually hot June when we were at the dog park, I was hoping she’d run towards me but in the heat a saunter was as much as she could muster. I was holding out a treat so I knew she wasn’t faking and I put the camera away and we continued on our walk.

The Opportunist

When we adopted Trixie early last year, we kept her in isolation at first, both so she could have time to build up her confidence in her new home and to give the other pets a chance to adapt to her arrival. Ellie hated being kept on the other side of the door while I sat with Trixie so it was a big relief for everyone when Trixie and Ellie hit it off early in the process. It was soon clear that I could trust Ellie with the increasingly active kitten, even if I were to leave the room, with one expected exception: Trixie’s food.

I was delighted to catch Ellie looking wistfully at Trixie’s bowl of cat food just off camera. I knew from past experience that if I were to walk out of the room, Ellie would wait until the moment I was out of sight and then jump down and devour any and all food in the vicinity. It was a struggle to get Trixie to eat so we left her food out all the time, but I’d pick it up if I needed to leave the room for a moment or when we went to bed at night.

But otherwise she was, as she always is, the perfect companion.

Is That It?

My wife and I wanted to see the new Star Wars movie so a couple of days after Christmas we drove up to a neighborhood movie theater. When we came out a good bit of snow was coming down, a rarity for this area, but I knew it wasn’t supposed to last long. And it didn’t, slowing down even during the short drive home.

I took Ellie to the dog park as soon as we got home, both because she loves the snow and because it reminds me of the day we decided to adopt a dog and later found the perfect one. Sadly though the snow had all but stopped and it was too warm and wet for it to stick to the ground. I couldn’t resist a picture of her looking up at me with a light dusting of snow on her back as she stood in the muddy dog park.

But she wasn’t lamenting the lack of snow but rather watching me to see when I would start running, as her favorite game is to run beside me and match my every move. This field used to be grass and clay which turned into a soupy mess the entire winter. Ellie would dance around, giving me her famous chop chop, encouraging me to run. I could never convince her that only one of us was built to run in that slop. But now that there is sand in the main part of the dog park, it not only drains much faster but also compacts nicely under your feet, so while you may get a bit dirty when it’s soaking wet you’ll maintain good footing while you run. My thanks to the parks department for that, it’s made a big difference in our winter walks.

Thanksgiving

We had a sunny day on the weekend after Thanksgiving so I brought my camera along on Ellie’s morning walk to take some pictures in Irving Park. I had in previous weeks hoped to take some fall pictures with her but the groundskeepers had been too efficient at removing the fallen leaves (not to mention Ellie’s beloved acorns). I noticed a clump of leaves under the canopy of this old tree so I took Ellie’s leash off and made her pose for me.

I’m extremely thankful for this sweet pup who has blessed our lives for seven years, and also for this nice little park just a few blocks from our house where we can walk her (the dog park is a little ways over to the left). And I’m thankful too for people many decades ago who decided not to chop down some of the old trees in the park, I never get tired of seeing them on our walks.

Ellie of the North(west)

Snow is not common in Portland so when we got some unexpected snow we took Ellie on an extra walk in the afternoon so she could enjoy it. It was snowing on our morning walk and continued during her annual checkup at the vet but had stopped by the time we took her on her second walk. The freezing rain had just started by the time of her evening walk, which by the next morning left everything coated in ice and Ellie refused to go on any more walks until it melted. She hates ice as much as she loves snow.

Her vet visit showed that her thyroid levels are really low, which might account for some things we had chalked up to aging like her reduced stamina. She’s taking medicine now but it’s too soon to see any improvements. I was thankful for my little Subaru while taking her to the vet, as given the rarity of snow we only have all-season tires, and the car handled the snowy streets without complaint. I left it parked the next day as our streets were solid ice, even snow tires wouldn’t have helped then. Thankfully warmer weather returned the next day and the streets cleared up, although the yards and sidewalks took a bit longer.

This picture is taken at the edge of the dog park at Irving Park, one of our stops on our walks in the neighborhood.