Grandiose dreams

[anahata56]

My Wallace is getting to be an old, old man. He smells funny most of the time, in that way of very old dogs. He's going blind, I think, and doesn't hear very well anymore, and is given to arthritic joint aches from time to time. He has taken to sleeping under the bed rather than on it, because he can no longer make the jump

Comments

[freyas_fire]

Poor Wallace. He's still a sweet old guy.

[anahata56]

He's a September baby. And today I was thinking that, in dog years, he's nearly 80.

No wonder he loves my Dad! ;-)

[freyas_fire]

I need to bring over one of those flaxseed pillows for him.

[anahata56]

Wallace sez....

[ladyblue56]

in his dreams, there was no arthritis, and no dimness of eye or ear. In his dreams, he's not an old dog.

A fine tribute to a dear family member. I have tears in my eyes.

[anahata56]

I realized that I have never written much about him before...

But that often happens, I suppose, to souls who are solid, and quietly kind, and gentle presences.

There's not a lot of excitement around him, to be sure, but there have been few companions in my life who have been quite this reliable, and quite this stable.

Shelties are known for their intelligence, and their loyalty--I can vouch for that.

[snobahr]

I'm all weepy, too. But looking at him, from your photos? I'm not certain he's aware that he's not a puppy, still.

[anahata56]

Oh, there are some times when he knows it. When he's feeling kind of achy, and when he can't run as well as he once did.

But there's still a puppy in him, to be sure.

[tsjafo]

"But in his dreams, the grass is still so green, the sky so blue, the sun so bright and warm."

The Dreaming Time comes to us all someday, if we are fortunate enough. We just walk to the other side and meet the loved ones we haven't seen in awhile and wait for the loved ones who will be along a little later. I hope his spring never ends.

[anahata56]

When I first got him, I was warned by the person who was with me at the time that Shelties, even Sheltie mixes, have a notoriously short lifespan, and that it was possible that I wouldn't have him long.

He's outlived expectation, and every day, now, is a gift.

He's been more than worth it, and would have been had he not lasted as long as he has.

Come November, I will have had 12 good years, where he has been a faithful, attentive and sweet-natured companion.

There is, I think, no better dog on Earth.

And yes--I hope that when his time comes, it will be in his sleep, no more than a moving from one dream to another.

[tsjafo]

*hugs*

[anigo]

No fair making me cry first thing in the morning!

[anahata56]

Aw, don't cry....

He hates it when people cry!