Growing Old Together, a Child and His Dog.



Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

by Kevin Schmidt
Pet Door Express

The signs of aging in our pet dog seems to have snuck up on us in these past few months. From the pup who continually "herded" my boys to the dog who is content to lay and watch the world pass her by. Our dog, Klink, had untold energy when she joined our family at the age of nine weeks. The hours upon hours of training that we have invested in her as a small, energetic and headstrong pup have rewarded us with a pet who is loyal beyond words. She has aged well along side my boys. As I look back over the years, the time line of Klink has matched the growth of my children. When she joined our family, my boys were young with plenty of time and energy to spend playing in the yard, swimming at the lake and having Klink join us on numerous camping trips. Klink was always by their side participating in whatever activity they were doing at the moment. As my sons have aged and their activities have broadened, I look back and see that Klink's interests have also changed. Instead of the constant companion that she was, she is content to join in the festivities for shorter periods of time. When the boys head out to the shop to work on various projects, Klink too will head out and find an area close by to lay and wait until their task is finished. Then she will follow them back into the house always keeping her eye on their location.

My oldest son headed off to college and I saw a definite change in Klink. The numerous trips to his empty room became a common sight. She bonded closer with my youngest son who had the time to spend with her. On the occasions when my college scholar returned home for weekends, this little dog could hear his truck in the driveway and wiggle out of her skin. The anticipation was about all she could handle. To witness the bond between an animal and a child is beyond words. Klink would shadow my son during his few day's at home anxious for any interaction whatsoever. It has been three years since my oldest moved out and here I am counting the short months that my youngest too will head off to college. Klink is closely bonded with my youngest and the highlight of her day is when he walks in the front door. This dog has taught my children numerous life lessons. The responsibility of putting Klink's needs before their own at times, to be held accountable for someone besides themselves, to love something unconditionally and the last lesson that I have seen is for them to show compassion.

Klink, at the age of eleven, is slowing down. Her face is covered with gray, her walk is slower and she needs help with simple tasks. No longer is she able to jump in or out of the car without assistance. What use to be a simple command for her to "up" is not given anymore. Now a softer command is used to coax Klink to come so we can gently lift her body up.

Klink heads to bed early in the evening and sleeps late in the morning. Two years ago she would have been up at the crack of dawn to join us as our day began. She has taken to sleeping with my youngest son, sprawled out on his bed, both fighting for the majority of the room. Now I take notice that my husband has long been gone and my youngest has been up and showered and ready to head out the door before the sight of Klink can be seen. The energetic pup has slowed and seems content to sleep her day away. I have found that I have placed beds for her all over this house. She still continues to follow me wherever I may be working and is content to sleep in my company.

Upon returning home from work today I take note that she has not greeted me in her usual manner. In fact, she is nowhere to be seen. I head outside thinking she may be asleep in the sun or possibly on her favorite bed in the family room. Glancing around I see no site of her and a panic starts to set in. Quietly I walk upstairs and I find her sound asleep at the foot of my son's bed. She has not heard my arrival or my whistle to which she has always responded. She opened her eyes to acknowledge my presence and then laid her head back down to continue her afternoon sleep. Is this just another sign of her aging process that I will need to accept? This is one more step in her life that I am struggling to accept. To witness a pet age has been a heartbreaking procedure. I had no idea, eleven years ago, what an impact she would make on our young family. What a wonderful pet she is and I will be forever grateful for all of life's lesson's that she has taught us.

Kevin Schmidt, owner of www.petdoorexpress.com which offers pet doors and patio pet doors

This Article has been viewed 127 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.