Circle of (a Dog's) Life

As I stood at the door to my backyard at 6:00 a.m. this morning waiting for my 13 year old Sheltie to do her business and head back inside, it occured to me that--much like what happens with humans--dogs have a circle of life that is ironic in that the end of their life is much like the beginning. Bailey was a gift to me; she was a mere 6 weeks old when I got her. I had no children so this was my "baby." As much as I love animals, this was the first time I was personally responsible for a new puppy. I'm a big believer in crate training so that's what I did with her. She had "her" space that contained a comfy pillow and toys. It's where she could go to get away, it was a happy place for her. And it's where she slept throughout the night.

Except a 6 week old puppy doesn't exactly sleep throughout the night. Like an infant, her belly could only hold so much food which meant once it was depleted, hunger made her sick of that crate and fast. And her bladder could only hold so much, so at about 6:00 each morning, the whining began. Up I got, out she went, in the bowl went some food and I attempted to put her back in that crate so I could hit the hay again. This girl doesn't see 6:00 a.m. if there's anyway out of it. But as you might guess if you're also a dog owner who's gone the puppy route, she wasn't having any part of that crate after being in it all night. She'd whine so that there was no going back to sleep for me. She wanted out; crank up the kazoo's and whistles! It was playtime.

I hated it. Loved her but hated the 6:00 Saturday morning wake-up call. I determined right then and there that if there weren't already 1000 good reasons to adopt an older dog, now I had 1001. I'd never stroll the puppy route again.

In no time, she outgrew the 6:00 mornings. Her belly and bladder could last longer and her anxiousness to get out and play at the first peek of the sun waned. Time crept by and now, here we are, 13 years later and back to 6:00 wake-ups because her now-old-girl bladder can't hold it any longer. Bless her heart. She can't hear well anymore so she doesn't whine (strange but because she can't hear herself, I guess she doesn't think she's making any sound so she doesn't bother) but she plods around my bedroom, unsettled, and I hear her every time. Down the steps we go, out the door and back again in 5 minutes time.

Like humans who can regress to childhood as we age, it's interesting that dogs apparently do the same. One major difference now though: after getting up at 6:00, my old girl is as eager to go back to bed as I am!