I don't recall offhand if I really ever mentioned anything about our family pet. I guess the word "pet" doesn't really cover it, as she has been a part of our household for 17 years almost - almost as old as my daughter. Her name is Spunky. She has a black fur coat with white belly, and now, quite a bit of gray around her muzzle. She is a mixed breed of Chihuahua and Daschound.
Yeah, I can see you trying to picture this dog. Imagine a chihuahua, then grab its hips and stretch them back about 7-8 inches, and you have Spunky. She is chihuahua in seemingly everything, except body length - fur type, bark, excitability. I remember back when she was around 6 months, and we took her in to be spayed. The Vet explained she had a heart murmur, and that we should not get her excited at all for any reason. Yeah right. A chihuahua NOT getting excited at something? Hell, someone knocks on the door there goes 5 minutes of extensive barking and charging at the entrance!
Anyways, over the past several years, Spunk and I have seen differently. She thinks she is queen bitch, and I think she is just a bitch. We take it out on each other in whatever way we can, she and I. Nothing better than first thing in the morning getting out of bed and stepping into a WARM puddle of dog pee, on the way to the bathroom. Or snapping her jaws at me if I roughhouse with the kids. Well, it's been a while since she has done that one. The Wife and kids love her to death though, and she is always underfoot with the Wife.
Bottom line is, age has finally caught up with her, and last night it really started to show. For months now, the Wife and I had been noticing her sight tended to be getting worse, plus her hearing. Some of her teeth had started falling out, and we had to change her diet a bit from just dry foods. Each time we would be sure the older kids were aware that signs of aging were catching up. Last night Spunky ended up having some sort of seizure, or attack. The Daughter came screaming for me (I actually thought one of the boys had finally killed one of the others). I saw the attack had pretty much subsided and Spunk couldn't move - seemed very disoriented.
I had the Wife get a couple old towels to get under her (in case of bowel/bladder failure) and explained that Spunk was probably dying, and I had no idea how long she would last. That brought on the tear fest. The Wife and daughter won Academy Awards, Emmys, and Golden Globes for their portrayals of grief. The oldest son was a bit misty eyed, the middle son wasn't sure how to react, and the youngest - heck, he kept right on playing with his toys. I made sure the Wife knew to have the kids say goodbye (just in case) before bed, and we would see how Spunk was doing in the morning.
This morning, she is doing better. Back to walking seemingly okay, control of bodily functions, eating good, and just giving me bitchy looks. All most as if she is saying "Fooled you asshole. I ain't going on yet and making you happy." Bitch. The Wife and I decided we would wait the next few days and see if Spunky retains her normal self, or if we need to finally put her to sleep. I would rather do that than see her become some floppy floor mat in front of the kids.
So, once she does finally go, be it sooner or later, people always ask me if I would get another dog to have around the house. I usually say hell no, the kids are getting a pet rock - one for each of them to take care of on their own. But after last night, I don't know. Maybe if we got another dog, it and I would get along. I'll just have to think about it, and see how things go.
So, now we can change the subject from dying family pets, to - OH! It's my sister's 40th Bday!!! What a segue in topics! I have already called her and wished her a good day. Though our convo was filled with many "Huh? What was that? I couldn't hear you..." jokes. And she has hearing aids... If she wore them...
I think that is it for today. It is Hump Day, but I couldn't find any decent pics to place here. Well, I did find some, just too lazy to do it right this instant. Maybe later I will put them up. In the meantime, it is getting close to time for the pub to open, and I think I may go down and have a few.
PeacE
No comments:
Post a Comment