Ellie – Page 14

Silver Linings

I took some time off in November and December but didn’t get out hiking as much as I hoped as my stomach was a bit unsettled in the early going, plus we had some bad weather that I didn’t want to venture out in. The benefit was that I could take Ellie on long walks in the mornings during the week instead of just on the weekends. Sometimes I record our walks in my GPS app, with several overlaid on top of each other you can see how much of the neighborhood we canvas. We always go to the dog park first (upper left corner) and then south towards Broadway before winding our way back, mostly based on where she chooses to go and how much energy she has. Our walks are ringed in by the busy streets that I won’t let her cross, our neighborhood is relatively pedestrian-friendly but there are limits. She’s 13 years old but in pretty good shape all things considered, she typically can go for an hour to an hour and a half on these walks.

I’m off on Monday as well but then it’s back to the normal work, and walk, routine.

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.

Klickitat Street

Ellie poses under the cherry blossoms on Klickitat Street after we went to the dog park (I took her leash off for the picture). The street was made famous by the Beverly Cleary books I read as a child, although her characters live a bit further east than this. The first few blocks east of Irving Park are closed to vehicle traffic (except for the handful of houses with driveways on the street) so you can walk down the street itself.

Our Aging Pup

Age is taking its toll on our sweet pup. Her stamina has been declining and while she still gets around pretty well, she’s not as confident in her footing as she used to be. Her hearing seems to be on the decline and she has a thyroid issue (thankfully it’s responding well to medication). At her last checkup her blood pressure was high as was the protein in her urine, the latter something we’ve been keeping an eye on for a few years, so she’s now on blood pressure medication. She had an ultrasound yesterday and thankfully her kidneys are in good shape, but there is a growth on one of her adrenal glands that might be harmless but could be the early stages of cancer, we’ll recheck in a few months and see if it’s growing.

The hardest part yesterday was that in order for the ultrasound to be effective we couldn’t feed her in the morning, and food is one of Ellie’s great joys. Funnily enough she has lots of little ways of reminding you she hasn’t been fed but she won’t get aggressive or even bark, so gentle is her nature. As I got my breakfast, even though disappointed her owners had forgotten to feed her, she got excited as this is when she gets a dental bone, her favorite treat. But even that had to wait until after her test so I had to watch as her initial excitement turned to confusion and sorrow as she slowly realized her hints weren’t being taken and she wasn’t even going to get her treat.

Perhaps as a side effect of the sedation for the ultrasound, or worry over lost treats, her stomach was upset all night so I stayed up with her to let her out into the yard whenever she started dancing around on the hardwood. She was feeling better by morning but I was so tired from being up most of the night that I’m taking today off.

She goes back in a couple of weeks to recheck her blood pressure and protein levels. One thing that remains unchanged is her bountiful and joyful spirit. She doesn’t mind that in addition to her allergy pills she gets an extra pill in the morning and three in the evening, as we put her pills in hot dog slices that she readily gobbles down. In fact she’s trying to convince us that she also needs to be treated for scurvy, botulism, and space madness.

This picture was taken in early January when we got a nice bit of snow. My wife and I walked with Ellie up to the neighborhood grocery store for a few supplies and Ellie and I waited outside at one of the picnic tables while my wife grabbed the groceries. She’s drooling because I kept bribing her with treats so she wouldn’t greet every single person entering the store and sniff the bags of those walking out. I’m holding the camera down and to my left, she’s watching my eyes for a sign that another treat might be forthcoming.

May you have many happy and healthy days to come, sweet pup.