Seventeen years ago, I
wondered what it’d be like if David and I had had a kid together. We talked
about it, but after a new marriage, 5 kids between us, a new house, and a whole
new life as a blended family, we didn’t really need to push the envelope.
Plus, I’d have been in
my mid-40s by the time that would’ve come to be, and even though my mom was 43
when I was born, I didn’t know if I’d muster the energy to have a 4th with
all that other stuff going on.
When SheaDoggy came
along, I was 50, and even though life was chaotic and he added to it, he also
brought a sense of calm that I hadn’t anticipated.
He became the baby we
adored, bringing us all together as we marveled at his every move, and we
impatiently took turns holding him. Overnight, he became the center of our
lives. I did my mommy thing, which was to make sure his basic needs were met;
David chased him around to play and snuggled with him every chance he
had.
Fast forward 11 years
and 4 months…he’s now the only “kid” living at home, he’s become “Uncle Shea”
to our grandkids and he's still the perfect housemate for us.
No matter what is going
on, he always greets us with excitement, wants to hang out with us, doesn’t
complain about what he’s having for dinner, doesn’t stay up past his bedtime
and get into any kind of trouble; and so on.
Since we are aware that
he is aging (he eats “senior” food now), I wasn’t completely surprised when he
appeared reluctant to race up the stairs. I just assumed for some reason that
he was either tired – as I was, close to his age in people years – or was
developing doggy dementia, which obviously was quite disturbing to contemplate. Rather
than fight it, however, I decided as his mom that I’d just carry him when he
didn’t seem up to the task.
We also started to see
him limp and appear unable to jump up on to the couch or chair as he always had, thereby preventing him from doing what he loved so much: to
look out the window and bark at all the doggies and delivery trucks that passed
our house.
I took him to the vet to
get checked out and was told after the second visit that he had a torn ACL on
top of the first diagnosis of arthritis. After a consult with an orthopedic
specialist, we decided that surgery offered the best chance to get Shea back to
living the good life.
On the car ride to the
hospital the morning of the surgery, I had a heart-to-heart with my little guy
to explain that the doctor is going to fix the pain in his leg. I let him know
that we’d pick him up the next day, but that once he gets home, he’ll have
limited ability to move around. I prepared him for wearing a cone much of the
day and taking a lot of medication, but I assured him that we’d be with him
every step of the way.
When we got to the
animal hospital and I was handing him off to the woman there, I felt so sad
when Shea looked longingly at me like he was trying to say, Mommy where
am I going? Why aren’t you following? Are you coming back for me? Are you
giving me away?
It’s been 2 weeks
since he had a plate and 6 screws inserted around his tiny knee, and little old
SheaDoggy has been a real trooper. We are proud of how well he has taken the
whole ordeal in stride, seemingly unfazed by the surgery.
In the meantime, we
are at our boy’s beck and call.
Fortunately, he
doesn’t realize how much he could be taking advantage of us.
Judy, as I was reading this I was getting a sick feeling that you were going to tell us that Shea doggy had crossed the rainbow bridge. I was sad to see that he needed to have surgery, but happy that it was something that could be remedied. Our pets are really just like our children, although I would not venture to say my bird, Buddy, is in the same league as Shea Doggy LOL!
ReplyDeleteFunny enough, Dave and I have been discussing what will become of Buddy when we have to put the house up for sale and eventually down size. We can't have him in the house when people are looking at it, and he is not easily sent out for the day. I am not having separation anxiety about possibly having to give him away or return him to the pet store (not sure if we could do that). Are there bird rescues😁? I think I would want to make sure he went to a good, loving home, but other than that, the "connection" just isn't there that people get with their dogs and cats.
I would definitely let Shea Doggy take advantage of me if he were mine. Hope he is feeling back to normal real soon.
There have to be bird rescues. What kind of birdie is he?
DeleteMaybe if you post on Facebook / in a neighborhood group, you'll find a taker for Buddy. I'd think a young child/teen would enjoy him.
DeleteSadly, my lovely Leo pooch died a few days before your blog. Had him for 13 years; he suddenly had all sort of issues. We're still sad but know, in time, we'll get another pup for us and as companion to Jessi, our other dog. Judy, your writing is always so timely and relevant, never more than now.
ReplyDeleteTita, I am so, so sorry about Leo!
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