Old Dogs Don't Need New Tricks

I am a dog lover. Small, big, fat, skin and bones, smelly and prissy. I really like them all. I am a sucker for smushed faced dogs and if retailers slap a Boston Terrier image on anything, I'm pretty much going to want to buy it. Poor Henry has more pictures taken of him than some children in the first five years of their lives. Seriously. But I can't get enough.

In addition to taking lots of pictures of Henry, I also take pictures of pretty much any one's adorable pooch if they will let me. This pretty girl is Shelby, my parents' golden retriever. She turned 14 this August and is going through her second round of cancer treatment as we speak. Like all cancer survivors, she is one tough cookie!

Shelby has been around for nearly half of my entire life and was our first dog our family had. (She is such a great dog, we didn't want to get another one, because we thought it would never measure up!) She loves to roll in the grass, eat, and like many people of a certain age, is pretty much set in her ways about everything she does! She gets along with our cats and tolerates Henry and likes things to STAY THE SAME. Not a big fan of change. Shelby and my mom have a special relationship, as in, Shelby listens to mom and no one else! My mom takes care of her just like she would one of her children, which is always excellent quality of care.

It's been 21 months since she was first diagnosed with cancer and we had to decide, on the day of my Grandfather's funeral, whether to amputate her leg with the cancer or go through radiation and chemo or put her to sleep. Not a good day in the Gilbert/McNair house. But, we talked through it as a family and voted to have her go through radiation as long as her quality of life was still good. Now, I know there are people that don't believe in this, can't afford it or just don't want to go through the hassle and I try really hard not to judge these people. But, in our family, pets ARE family. They just are. Not in a weird, I take my animal to JCPenny to get it's picture taken with an Easter basket kind of way, but in a way that we love them and will take care of them the best we can for as long as we can. That is what they have done for us and there is something about dogs that makes me want to do the right thing, because it's the right thing, if for no other reason.

In a society that has become obsessed with bigger and bolder and richer, I think that dogs remind us that we don't need to do all of those things to achieve happiness. As animals that will on occasion, eat poop for fun, I think they are above all that "other" stuff that we, as humans begin to think is important.

There is something about an old dog that makes me believe in the good things in life. Maybe because you know they do too. So, thank you to Shelby and all of our dog friends out there. You make our lives better.