Power of patience with your elder dog
The way you treat human senior citizens is probably how you treat elderly dogs
This morning, I walked my dog at a time I usually don’t. It was my fault. I slept through my alarm clock. And judging from the way my dog was turned completely upside down and resting on her dog couch, she couldn’t have cared less and didn’t bother doing what she’ll usually do if she wants to go outside in the middle of the night — squeeze her way between my baseboard heater and my bed frame, stand up on two hind legs, and slap my mattress to get my attention. Groggily getting ready to walk my dog, I headed out on my usual trail but ran into unfamiliar dogs and dog owners. One of them caught my attention the most and made me feel bad for her dog.
If you’ve ever read the book “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” or watched the movie, she was treating her dog about like he was treated by everybody but Dominique Fishback’s character Robyn, as if he was a nuisance solely for having the audacity to live longer than expected.
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I thought it was odd that she was walking at the pace of her younger, more energetic dog and just about dragging her older dog on a harness behind her. When all three got to their house, she flung open the gate, walking next to the younger dog. But the gate closed too fast and slammed into the midsection of the older dog. Instead of her stopping to see if the older dog was OK, she was still walking ahead while the older dog wiggled around to get by the gate, back legs flopped down. I cringed. Everything in me said, “Don’t be a Dog Karen,” but if I see it again, call me Karen L. Vaughn!
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While I’m always elated to see people take on the responsibility of caring for a senior dog, there’s a level of patience that you must have to do it and it reminds me a lot of what it’s like to be a caregiver. Far too often, people who get upset at aging pets or aging adults forget one thing; if you’re tired of them being less agile, did you bother thinking that they’re also dealing with how their bodies have changed too?