How Much Do You Love Your Dog?

Man, I love my old dog. She's 10 years old. A Black Lab. When she was young, she was so, "Hyper" we called her, "The METH Lab". Just wouldn't stop. She could burn a hole in the lawn chasing a tennis ball.

Taking her for a walk was getting taken for a drag. This was 70 pounds of coiled muscle. And it was TIGHTLY coiled!

Ten years ago, when we moved back here to Murray, and right by the Parkway, she was in heaven. We would walk the Parkway all the time. Deb and I were younger, and we could control her. Now? Too many back surgery's, and knee surgery's later? Not so much. But, she's no longer the, "Meth Lab". She's old. She can't go up the stairs as fast as I can. And I've had three surgery's since 2008. I'm now on a Cpap machine. She just snores.

Every weekend, when my 15 year old son spends his nights in the basement, playing video games on line, sometimes with his friends who are actually in the SAME room with him, as all his soccer buddies spend the night a lot of the time, the old, "Meth Lab" will come down here, and crawl in between her boys, and spend the night with them. Makes the dog happy. Doesn't seem to bother the boys.

When the old dog was young, every chance she got, like after my wife got up to feed my son and send him to school, since I usually went into work later, as I spent my NIGHTS at work, she would come into the master bedroom, jump up on the bed, and rub her snout and head on me until she woke me up, and demanded attention! I had to wake up, rub her ears, pet her, generally give her, "dog loves" and then she would curl up in a ball between my bent knees, be happy, and sleep until I had to get up and go to work. The time depending on when I had to be in court or out chasing bandits that night.

Now, tonight, it's a school night. No boys in the basement. Just me on the computer. The place the boys crash, on the carpet between the couch I bought for my dad when he was in assisted living (which is PLUSH, and LEATHER for crying out loud, but all they will do is SLEEP on it!) and the TV is empty.

Except for one, very, old, dog.

No blankets. No VISIBLE food scraps. Or as we say in our house no, "Fall out" from humans eating.

Just the old dog.

I have to think, that as much as this gets vacuumed, and cleaned, the dog knows better. She has a Hyper Sensitive sniffer. So, to her, this place smells like, "her boys".

And she's rolling/sleeping in it. Like going to the car wash and asking for an air freshener labeled, "Teenage Man Ass".

When you think about it, many times, these guys hit the video games right after playing a soccer game. And LONG before deciding a SHOWER is a good idea. And I just put in a tank less water heater, after remodeling the bathroom last year, so there was plenty of room for LOTS of towels IN the bathroom, a good vent. They can ALL take a SHOWER, one right after the other! No, real waiting. But do they? No, they lie there and STINK on the carpet for a while!

So does my dog.

So tonight my dog is reveling in the smell of, "teenage man ass", sweaty soccer cleats, ground up Doritos, spilled, Red Bull and, Five Hour Energy Drink, AXE body spray, some perfume from some of the girls they have brought in here in the last few weeks (yes, I'm in THIS room on the computer making sure nothing happens, while THAT happens. Why did you ask?) . Now, she's under my feet, here on the computer.

I have to ask. All things considered, when she gets up on the bed in the morning like she used to. Is she rubbing up against me to get me to give her attention, and make me give her, "Dog loves" and rub her ears? Or is she just trying to rub off of her snout, what she slept in last night?

I think I might need to go shopping for a bedspread today. Just on principle.

Shedding would be another issue. And summer IS coming up for all you folks who own dogs that do when it gets warm. Just get a new furnace filter EVERY month, and sweep a lot.