Intellectually I always knew the day would come when my faithful companion, Saffron, would get old, but I wasn't ready emotionally when it actually happened. After all, 13 years in dog years is about 80 or so years in people years(for a dog her size). A couple of weeks ago she needed to have a bad tooth pulled, and thankfully, came through the anesthesia just fine. But since then she hasn't wanted to eat and what we thought was just hard of hearing has become toally deaf. And now she needs help getting up into the back seat of the car. At least the sniffer still works!
I think she has been depressed since her hearing went. She sleeps alot and still doesn't really want to eat or play with her toys. My solution is to make her rice and broth, take her rides in the car, and try to engage her in everyday life even if it involves a new sign language. Today we took her for a long walk on the beach and her old smile was back as she romped across the sand checking out everything that was new and different. Another lesson in living in the moment.
