We've always doubted what we were told about Lizzie's age. At 11 years old, she seemed more active than Hoover, who was five at the time. Now that she is at 14, she has started to slow down the past couple of months. She use to lead the walks, but now she is at the back of the pack. We wonder sometimes if she is going to finish the walk. My dad has made it clear it is not a good idea to take Lizzie for a walk in the heat. She still gets excited when we pull the leashes out. When she sees the leashes, she starts prancing and woo-wooing. We tell her not to expend all her energy on those prances.
We joke that the "ghost of Nikita" lives in Lizzie. Lizzie is starting to have the same problems as Nikita. Like Nikita, her hips are starting to bother her. She goes up the stairs a lot slower now. She sits down very slowly as well. Lizzie is starting to take residence in some of Nikita's favorite spots. Lizzie, we believe has started to lose her hearing, just like Nikita. When Lizzie is outside and barks to come in, and we open the door, she doesn't hear the door open. She is usually facing the yard and not our door. If we call her name, she won't respond. We usually end up having to touch her to get her to respond. Sometimes we startle her.
Lizzie still has a spunky personality. When my mum is going downstairs to get their dinner, Lizzie will try to beat her down. She will then bark at my mum and spin around until she gets her food. I'm not sure why she gets so excited, she often only eats a few bites of food.
We give Lizzie glucosamine tablets twice a day to help with her sore joints. This is where she differs from Nikita, she refuses to take the tablets. Sometimes she doesn't even take it with peanut butter or ice cream. She is a very stubborn husky. Mum has found lunch meat to be an effective bribe. Though she has to be careful Lizzie doesn't get a finger.
We are coming up on Lizzie's three year anniversary of her adoption. She started off as our foster dog, but we decided it was best for her to join our pack. I would say she has had some enjoyable years with us. She has been on plenty of walks, slammed down lots of treats and has tricked Hoover plenty of times. On January 28th Lizzie will turn 15.
