By Rosie Preston
I sometimes lie in bed at night and allow my mind to take me back to certain events. I often think of how old I was at a certain point in my life or the grade I was in at school or the friends I had, and it just doesn’t seem that long ago! The last few weeks have brought many unwanted situations, but I have handled them and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
My senior dog, Layla, who is around 13 years of age and is a mixed breed, recently had two red and raised lesions appear on her back. They look painful to me, but she doesn’t seem to be in any pain. Phil took Layla to our veterinarian, who sent her home with antibiotics and steroids to take twice a day.
I, being the caretaker, started putting a healing salve on Layla. We can’t let her go outside without being on a leash. Phil is the one who takes Layla on walks because she is so strong. So when she has to go out, she stands in front of me and gives me a look. I then ask Phil to walk her, and he thankfully takes her out.
Reading online every night is a hobby of mine. I recently was looking up information about dogs, who are indeed man’s best friend. Each one of our three dogs has a different personality. We can’t have our mid-size mixed terrier Dexter and Layla in the same room together. We can put Layla or Dexter with the smaller Dixie, but if Dexter has the chance, he will attack Layla and start a fight. Even though we try hard, those two animals have tangled twice, and Phil was right in the middle of it both times. I picked Phil up, which was a miracle in itself, and lifted him straight up and out of the fight!
I told Phil that I’m too old for this foolishness, and he agreed. Thankfully, all of the dogs are in their senior years, as well. Phil and I have already had that talk about what we want to happen with them if one of us goes first. We promised each other to always take care of our pets!
The other day, people were criticizing a lady online who was trying to re-home her dog because her illness would not let her take care for it as she had before. I couldn’t believe how mean some of these people were in their responses. I wrote something like, “I will not judge anyone for their decision, I give that person the right to do whatever he or she thinks is best with their own lives. That includes taking care of themselves, their children and their pets for as long as they have the mental capacity to do so.”
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
Keep smiling, Rosie
Contact Rosie Preston at prestonrose.m@gmail.com.