A Walk In The Dog Park

My apartment complex finally did something that made sense. They set up a real small dog park that has a solid chain link fence around it where the dogs can run around and play without being tethered to a leash. Molly did not know exactly how to act because she has always had a leash on. I don't even think she realized she didn't have one on until we left the dog park area. She is too old to run around like a young pup but she did pick up the pace a time or two to show some unrestrained exuberance. She was more interested in all of the smells in the dogs that had been there before her and of course, she had to leave her mark (which I had to clean up) but it was all good and provided therapy for both of us.

All Problems Can Be Solved

I believe I am in full agreement with Molly now that all problems can be solved with a nap. It seems to work for her so I believe I am going to start trying it. Nothing else has worked and I am not sleeping at night. When I don't sleep at night, Molly doesn't sleep at night and she is all about quality sleep.

Routines

Dogs get into routines just like people do. Going back to work this morning caused just as much hardship on Molly as it did me. For one thing, Molly and I both had to get up a lot earlier meaning that Molly had to change her bathroom schedule. She knew something was up when I got up and took a shower and actually put clothes on. As I was about ready to leave, Molly decided she needed to take a second walk (within 45 minutes) because she knew I was getting ready to leave for the day. She was happy to see me when I got home and we immediately took our normal afternoon walk. She probably slept all day so that much of her routine did not change. I took her on a longer walk than normal so she passed out as soon as we got back in. I wish I could pass out. My body is pretty beat up right now.

The "Vacation" Is Over

I have to return to work tomorrow but I haven't had the heart to tell Molly yet. It has been four fabulous weeks of me and Molly hanging out and taking walks and naps and watching TV. Molly's routine probably won't change much. Naps. Lots and lots of naps. The big difference here is that I will not be able to nap with her and Molly is definitely a dog of routine. Her routine (as well as mine) is about to change a lot and I am trying to figure out a way to be able to afford to be on permanent vacation but my gigantic brain has not conceived a method yet. I don't know if Warren Buffet could figure out a way for me to be able to do this but I can always dream.

The Look

I was getting ready to take a short trip out of town yesterday morning and I was packing an overnight bag just in case when Molly skulked into the room. She flopped down on her pet bed, curled up in it, and gave me a look only a scorned dog can give. The look said "You sack of crap! I know you are getting ready to leave me at home again!" That single look said it all and Molly knows how to throw the guilt trip on me like no one else. That single look had a lot to do with me cutting my trip short and come rolling in at 1:15 in the morning. Molly knows how to get what she wants.

The Tail Wagging The Dog

I have written often about Molly's dreams. Last night she had one of her barking dreams where she barks in her sleep and that one lasted quite a while. This morning she had a dream she rarely, if ever, has and that is a dream where she wags her tail. Of course I was trying to take a nap and she was laying beside me. Her tail starting thumping me on the leg and woke me up but she was still in dreamland as only dogs can be. I know better than to wake her up when she is dreaming so I let her be and had to endure the punishment. At least she got to finish her nap.

I Need A Nap

Molly has been sleeping a lot lately and that is to be expected as she gets deep into her Golden Years. She makes sure she is sleeping beside me and is never far from my side no matter where I am. She always makes herself available for belly rubs and she also makes sure that she takes up more than her share of the bed. Some things never change and I would not want them to. We are about ready to make a big life change and it will probably be bigger for her than it will be for me. She will have to be sharing a whole lot more of her space with much more of the animal kingdom. I am not sure exactly how she will react but I am thinking not too well.

Animal Farm

I went to check out my and Molly's new home yesterday afternoon. I was in for a shock but Molly may be in for a much bigger one but I have all the faith in the world that she can handle it. As I pulled my car into the driveway, I saw chickens in the yard. I got out of the car, a cat walks up to me and starts rubbing up against my legs. I look a little bit further and there are two lambs in a pen, and a chicken coop full of chickens. I start walking around a little bit and a young dog runs up to me. It was a little bit skittish but ultimately seemed friendly. My future roomate shows me around the place and there are goats, exotic breeds of chickens, seven more dogs, goats, and a couple of peacocks for good measure. Dr. Doolittle and Noah's ark references immediately came to my mind. The "animal kingdom" caught me by surprise and my new living arrangements may all hinge on Molly's ability to accept her new housemates. She has always been a "Lone Wolf" so we are going to have an animal "meet and greet" in a couple of weeks to see how she handles it.

Rest In Peace Suki

There is a lady named Emily that lives on the ground floor in my apartment building who had to make the humane decision to put her dog to sleep yesterday. The dog's name is Suki and he is a couple of years older than Molly but his health has really been slipping lately and it is the hardest decision that a pet owner will ever have to make. It it took a lot of courage on Emily's part to come to this decision and i hope I will have that courage, if and when the time comes. I do believe the book title that All Dogs Go To Heaven so Rest In Peace Suki.

The Beatles

Last night as I was helping give Molly a boost onto the bed, I thought of the lyrics from the Beatles song that goes something like "We get by with a little help from our friends." Molly gets a little bit of a running start so she can jump on the bed and I catch her as she jumps and I give her a little boost on to the bed. Molly appreciates the help as she is in the middle of her Golden years and we all need a little help from our friends from time to time. Sometimes it is hard to admit to your friends that you need help and most offer without you asking. Molly never asks but I do knoww that she needs it and I am there for her like she has been there for me.

Almost Time To Move

Molly and I are going to be on the move yet again in a couple of months. It has been 2 1/2 years since we moved in to my current apartment and Molly usually moves pretty well. I learned from my last "mistake" when I moved into my second apartment in Gastonia. I took Molly in first and she promptly "christened" my apartment by taking a huge dump in the middle of my soon-to-be bedroom floor. When I moved into my current apartment, I moved in all of my stuff first, and gave it an aura of familiarity so she would immediately feel at home. I finalize the deal (at least I hope) on Thursday and then I will have a little over two months to get ready to go. I think it will be a good move for me and Molly and it is time for the next adventure for me and Molly. It is the next step in the journey.

Molly's Kennel

I found out last Friday afternoon that Molly's favorite kennel is closing throught no fault of the guy that ran the place. If you use a kennel much at all, it is like your dog's second home and Molly has been there almost every weekend for the past three months. That included a thirteen day right after my surgery. She bonded with the owner over that length of time and that is the only kennel she has ever really responded to in a positive fashion. I am moving in a couple of months anyway to a place about 20 miles from here and I was going to have to find another kennel anyway but that pushes up the timetable quite a bit. I felt comfortable with the kennel as much as Molly did and it was in a great location.

Our 500th Post Together

This is mine and Molly's 500th post together. It started out as a lark, something to keep my mind occupied, and a way to express myself. It started out on November 17, 2009 but it actually started out not involving Molly at all. After a few posts, a friend of mine (at the time) talked me into it being about Molly rather than all of my other "extra curricular activities" since it had her name on it. It sounded like a good idea to me because Molly has been a focal point of my life for about 12 years now and will be until one of us finally crosses the Rainbow Bridge. These 500 posts have covered 4 1/2 years of our lives. A lot has gone on in that time and Molly has been my one constant, a lot of the time my lone positive, and the one I could always count on. I would love to say that there will be 500 more posts on Molly's World but as we all know, life can turn on a dime.

An Old T-Shirt

It is a good thing I turned out to be a little bit of slob. I take my clothes off as soon as I walk in the door and usually end up discarding my clothes in the living room. Molly loves curling up on my discarded t-shirts and taking a nap. She usually takes her paw and adjusts the t-shirts just right, fluffs them up, and curls up on top of them. When I take her to the kennel I make sure I include one so she can have a little bit of me there with her. Who knew the smell of my armpits would have a calming effect on anything, especially since Molly is posessed with a "super smeller" of a nose.

Dog Farts

All dogs fart. It is a fact of the canine world. Molly had it bad the other night and I briefly contemplated jumping off my own balcony to escape the smell. Molly never even woke up while she was doing all of this. I almost expected a green, toxic cloud to be rising above her backside, it was that bad. Deep down, I am sure Molly was laughing about it and maybe only pretending to be asleep. I had just gotten her from the kennel that afternoon and I do not know what they have been feeding her, but it was definitely nuclear, whatever it was.

One More Season In The Sun

Whenever a baseball player tries to play one more season past his prime. I have heard it referred to as "one more season in the sun." (Just think of the lyrics to John Fogerty's homage to baseball, "Centerfield".) I think that dogs get this opportunity as well. As Molly gets older, I keep looking for signs that Molly is taking the opportunity to get one more season in the sun. The other morning, a rabbit ran out in front of us while we were on our morning walk. Molly reacted like she did when she was a younger dog and started to bolt after it. I quickly put the brakes on because we were going to be headed straight down a hill but it was still good to see her reaction time. Molly still has a little bit left in the tank.

A Good Dog Spoiled

Almost all pet owners will tell you that they spoil their animals. That is just one of the simple beauties of being a pet owner. Molly is definitely no different. Molly gets away with whatever she wants especially since she has reached the status of "Senior Citizen" in the dog kingdom. She spent all of those years looking after me so it is now my turn to look after her. When I came home last night from watching a ballgame at a friend's house, Molly was all sprawled out on the bed with her head resting on my pillow and I hated to wake her up so could even take her for her nightly walk. If she knew how to work the remote control, I am sure she would have been watching animal planet.

Persistence Pays Off

If Molly is anything, she is persistent. It is one of the qualities about Molly that I have grown to appreciate more and more everyday. Last night, starting at about 2:30 AM, Molly starts trying to wake me up. Evidently she needed to go out bad. It took her about 45 minutes but she finally got me out of bed. I was so out of it, I almost let her out the door without her leash on. Luckily I realized my mistake right as she was about to bolt out the door or I would have had a jailbreak on my hand. She went out did her thing, we staggered back in, and I went back to bed and slept until 8:30. Molly slept right beside so I guess waking me up from a very sound sleep is very stressful on her as well.

All Dogs Need Attention

All dogs need attention. That is just a fact in the canine world. I went over to see my Mom today and she has two indoor dogs- the older one is named Trixie and the younger, much more energetic one, is named Bear. They both immediately demanded attention, but Bear was all over me as soon as I walked in the door. Trixie demanded her attention in a much more subdued way. I ended up taking both of them for walks on a leash because they don't have a chance to get out like that much because my Mom is not in good health so I was more than happy to do it. She has a nice big yard and it was beautiful day outside so everyone got something out of the deal.

Like Any Other

There are times that dogs are like any other creature on the face of the earth and that is they want attention. I would say that dogs probably crave attention more than anything else outside of people. Molly is not as bad as most but last night I finally gave her the attention she deserved. I laid down beside her and gave her a good belly rub and some ear "scratchies" and that is what she had been craving all along. I had been gone two weeks and she just wanted some of my attention.

Sometimes you take those closest to you for granted and last night I realized that also can include your dog or other family pet. She doesn't know why I was gone for so long and she does not recognize the newest scars on my body or the scars on my psyche but she does feel the hurt and the longing of missing someone. She also know the pure joy of seeing her best friend and I know the joy of seeing her.