Today is Tasha’s 15th birthday. When she came to live with me in October 2001, her former people said she was about 14 months old. So I made the first Saturday in August her official day.
Everybody, including vets, says that she looks really good for her age. Her skin and coat are still nice and bright. But she’s lost most of her hearing and all of her eyesight. She walks slowly, except when I’m trying to keep her from bumping into things, and she’s pretty wobbly on her feet. When she gets tired, she sits down. Which makes sense.
Tasha likes to get up and move around now and then. She prefers to choose her own place to rest, thank you. But she gets confused, bumps into walls and furniture … and she has this distressing habit of getting into corners and tight places, and not wanting to back out. It’s a sad thing to watch. Insomnia and wandering are a problem at night recently — and if you really want to stress me out, get up and start bumping into my bedroom walls and furniture at 3am — but we’re working on an herbal treatment for that.
Tasha’s under a lot of stress, sometimes gets exasperated and pants and wants to run away from her failing body. Or take a hunk out of me, I suspect. We’re using Rescue Rememdy for that. It seems to be helping.
Her kidneys are functioning good with the treatment she’s getting for renal failure, and other lab results were very good this week. She has a little heart murmur, but it’s not getting any worse. She still has a good appetite, and chowed down on some natural birthday cookies this afternoon. I’ll post pictures later.
I’ll be honest with you. There are times in any given day, especially in the last week or so, when she seems to be winding down; like she can see the lights of the Bridge in the distance. Other times, like when she was munching those cookies, that feeling receeds. The bottom line is that she’s still here with me, willing to go on and keep up the fight. We’re treating her distress and she’s not in any evident pain. And as long as that’s the case, I’ll stand with her. That’s the promise we keep. Well, it’s half of it. And when the time comes, I’ll stand with her and hold her tight. You understand?
Semper Fi … aw woof.
Happy happy birthday, my little best and true friend. May we have more cookies and cuddles along the road. I love you.
Metaphor 