Old Dog

She snores.  She sheds.  When you let her out late at night, and you have to, she wanders around the lawn, and sometimes just lays down in the grass for WAY too long, until you go out and find her.

She is turning gray, and she's already turned slow.  She spends most of her day on her bed, or on the carpet in front of the fireplace when there is one in there.

She parks herself in front of the vent in the bathroom in the hallway sometimes when it's really cold, cause there is a vent there and a fuzzy rug.  Spends the the night in there sometimes in the winter.  Likes it better than her bed in the dinning room.

She's slow, and old and we love her so much.

I miss sleeping with my dog.  When she was younger, we, well, MOSTLY, Deb, would get up with the kids, cause I worked nights.  And let, Solstice out and then Deb would come back to bed.  And, Solly would come into bed with us.

The, "Meth Lab" would jump up on to the bed, and cuddle down between us.  She loved being close to her, "human units".

The problem with this, not in MY mind, but in Deb's is that the Large Black Dog would sleep with us with her BACK up against her, "Doggie Daddy", and her paws next to her, Mom.  And when she had dog dreams?  She kicked the SHIT out of Deb! If you have a dog, you know what I'm saying is true.

We used to buy tennis balls by the case at Costco.  We don't play tennis, never did.  But the, "Meth Lab" would go through them like crazy when younger.  Now?  Not so much.

It's all she can to to pick on up, let alone chase it.  She's old.

She's now on her bed, and I covered her up with one of the old dogs, "blank-ies" we bought for her years ago.

Last night, I brushed her in the living room between periods of a Red Wings game, and took enough hair off this dog to make another one.  And it's only going to get worse.  Come May and June?  We have a fur lined house.  She sheds like crazy.

And all things considered?  I'm going to miss her SO much.  She's been part of the family for 13 years now.  But the truth is, she's not going to be around much longer.

The first Lab lasted 14 years.  And when we lost Samantha, I lasted TWO days before I got another one.  I don't know what I'll do when we lose this one.

But she's awesome.  And she will be missed.  And I think my kids will both miss HER a lot more then they will miss ME when I go.  As well they should.  Solstice was a better, "Person" than I ever was.

Sleep tight, old, black, dog.  We'll do our best to take care of you as long as you stick around.