Old Dogs

     Old dogs can be very exciting or very boring. Lizzie (12) is an exciting type of old dog. She'll run around and play with you or talk to you. Nikita (14) is one of the less active old dogs. She pretty much sleeps all day but she does enjoy short walks and her dinner. Sometimes we try and sneak out with Hoover and Lizzie but somehow Nikita always finds out. Then we take her on a short walk before we go for a longer walk with the other two. 
     Old dogs can surprise you sometimes. Sometimes we find Nikita play bowing to no one. We think she has an imaginary friend. Her friend must be pretty playful. Nikita will spin around as best she can, she'll woof and then she bows to her friend. 
     Nikita has really slowed down over the years. Sometimes she gets stuck in a corner or she wants to change direction. Because she can't turn around very well, she backs up like a truck. We should get her a beeper. Nikita also can't go up steps very well. We've learned that to get her up two steps, we have to give her a standing ovation or she waits for us to come outside and help her up. Except, she doesn't really want our help. As soon as we try to help her, she hops up the steps on her own. She snickers at us on her way up.
     Nikita seems to have lost a lot of her hearing. Now when we call her name, she doesn't respond. However, she could just be ignoring us. After all, she is a husky. Her smelling hasn't diminished at all. Nikita will haul herself to the kitchen when she smells something delicious. 

     All the hardwood floors in our house can be hazardous to Nikita. She slips and slides on the surfaces because her legs are not as strong as they use to be. One night Nikita would not go to the water bowl because it was on the kitchen floor, which is also slick to Nikita. So mum had to put down a small rug to get Nikita moving. Nikita walked to the end of the rug and stopped. Mum had to get another rug, Nikita walked across that rug and stopped again. Mum decided to get what remained of the rugs. Nikita finally reached the water. 
     Even though Nikita may not be as fast or as cognitive as she used to be, she still is a good girl with lots of love to give. Hoover looks up to Nikita as a mother and shows concern when she falls down. Even though some of the time he causes her to fall down. 
     Many people don't adopt old dogs or they give them up because they think they are too hard to take care of. Old dogs can be a wonderful treat. Old dogs are nice and mellow. They can still snuggle up to you and warm your heart.   

  We decided to do a New Year's day hike. We thought about sneaking off but Nikita was there by the door. We didn't want to disappoint Nikita so we took her for a short walk. After we took her back to the house, we explored a path in the woods by our house. The path lead to a small waterfall and creek. The creek led to Cascades Park. The waterfall was partially frozen so I climbed the hill beside it. Hoover tried to follow me up the incline. The hill was slippery from the ice. Hoover got stuck trying to climb up it. He was having a good time trying to climb at first, then he realized he wasn't the best climber. It is all fun and games until your dog gets stuck. Fortunately, mum had his leash and talked him down. I'm glad we found that nice spot in the woods. I look forward to going back to explore.