OUR DOG THE HORSE

Scott and I were talking last night...there is very little time in our relationship when we didn't have a dog. We got Sierra when I moved back to Iowa a few months after finishing up my internship at a hospital in Wilmington, Delaware in 1997. A couple years later, Hector (renamed Dakota) was adopted from a shelter when we lived in Colorado Springs, CO.

DAKOTA aka HECTOR FROM PUEBLO

This is the last week with our puppy.

I took him for an evaluation because he seemed to be losing the battle with age. The Vet said he had never seen a dog compensate for weak back legs like Dakota does. His behavior is more like that of a horse. NOT a dog. He gets a very wide base and then drags himself up with his front legs. There is nerve damage...either from age or a tumor on his spinal cord causing weakness & incontinence. There is also pain in his back and possibly his hip. He has almost slipped down stairs due to lack of control in his back legs. He yelps at times trying to get up. He has started to bark warnings at Riggs to stay away. He has also stopped following me around outside. He will lay there and watch me walk to the back of the yard. He normally follows me. Not any more. He lays down most of time just watching. I know it's time.

It will be sad.

But, it's what is needed.

We have 5 more days to love on him and say good-bye.