Eleven!

I’m eleven now. I turned eleven on May 8th. It was a big day for me. Special friends from out of town came to celebrate with me, well actually they came to see Mom but I was the star of the party.

Me and Finn got doggie ice cream. We laid on the grass in the back yard and enjoyed every lick. I’m still on restriction because of my torn ACL, but Mom let me have a couple easy romps around the backyard with Finn. I got to bark at the eagles even though I wasn’t allowed to chase them.

While the people were chattering about all sorts of things, I slipped away with Finn for a long overdue conversation. Finn wanted to know if turning eleven was a big deal. I knew eventually he would ask me something like that, and I knew what was on his mind. It was on my mind too, I just never wanted to talk about it.

We dogs don’t dwell on death. We live each day like we have forever. We don’t look at the calendar and think, ‘I’m getting old and I’m going to die soon’. But both Finn and I know that Ash died from cancer when he was ten. He died way too soon and left a hole so big it can never be filled.

It didn’t help that I was awful sick for months and then tore my ACL. There were times when Mom was afraid I wasn’t going to make it. She did everything to keep me going. She never gave up on me, ever.

So many trips to the hospital and urgent care. So many appointments with different vets. I was poked and prodded and hooked up to IVs. I was scanned and X-rayed. They even poked my bladder to extract pee to analyze.

Finn was such a good boy during the dark days. He would settle in close to keep me company. Every time I had to go outside in the middle of the night, he went with me. Sometimes I’d catch him looking at me with tears in his beautiful honey colored eyes. I tried my best to reassure him that I was going to be just fine, but I wasn’t sure I believed that.

Slowly the days got longer and I got better. Spring was coming and the daylight returned. My health improved. I got rid of the horrible gut infection and the stinky UTI. My knee began to heal and I was able to walk longer distances.

One day Mom called me and Finn together. We sat in a circle on the floor and she told us how much she loves us and how proud she is of the way we came through the dark tunnel of illness and injury. Mom told me she is incredibly grateful that I survived my sickness and that I have more good years ahead of me. She told Finn that he is a special soul and his calm presence helped her and me through a really dark time.

After all this serious talk, it was time to celebrate life and each other. Me and Finn got another taste of doggie ice cream. Mom poured something bubbly in a glass and declared all is well at Asherpark and new adventures await us. I like that. Me and Finn are all about adventure!