Slowly slowly ...

A dog's life span is simply shorter than ours

Julian is walking up the road with Lenny, his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Progress is slow. Lenny is a black and tan Cavalier.  I'm not exactly sure how old he is; he’s pretty elderly – and very slow.

As I cook supper in the evening, from about 7pm, they often walk up the road towards our house.  They are on a very short circuit.  I've noticed that things are really slowing down. I admire the fact that Julian is so patient with Lenny. It used to be Julian and Mrs Julian and Lenny.  I've noticed now it's just Julian and Lenny.

I'm making no judgement, it's just an observation; she’s probably making supper, just like me.

It's tough when our beloved dogs get old. Their bodies begin to pack up, of course they do, it's natural.

I've noticed that Lenny swings his tail from side to side. He's a merry little soul. His head tilts to one side, he's had some kind of a stroke.  Most evenings as he potters up the road, he potters from one side of the road to the other, sniffing and cocking his leg - repeatedly.

I remember when Wavey was old like that; I was worried that I wouldn't have the patience for it … yet somehow I did. And somehow Julian does too.

They're our beloveds - as they get old, they need us to adjust our behaviour.

As a Tibetan monk said; “Dog owners are the  most courageous people, because we know our dog’s lives are shorter than ours.  We know that in time, when they die, our hearts will be broken.  Yet we go back and find another dog as our companion and so the cycle begins again.”

 I hope that when Lenny’s time comes, Julian will find another dog.

Dogs really are the most wonderful companions.

AJK