My Weimaraner turned 3 last month. We’ve had her since she was a tiny baby. I’ve potty trained her, taken her to puppy school, and pretty much been with her every day of her life. When people have come up to me and asked to pet her they always ask her name and how old she is. Up until now, I’ve always been able to say, “Oh she’s still a puppy, only one or two,” or some variation thereof. But now, she’s three. She’s an adult dog. I know it seems silly, but that means she’s that much closer to being a senior dog, then a geriatric dog.
Dahlia is our fourth weim. We’ve had Iris, Lily, Violet, and now Dahlia (I like themes). Iris was our rescue weim. We got her when she was 7 and she lived until she was 16. Lily was our first puppy and sadly passed away at 11 after an emergency gall bladder surgery that she didn’t recover from. Violet was a special needs puppy that died at the tender age of two from a very rare heart problem.
If you’re a dog lover and dog owner, you probably understand the fear I have of losing my baby girl. The doggy-mommy in me wants her to stay young and perfect forever. I want to wrap her in bubble wrap and protect her from every accident and disease out there. The veterinary nurse in me knows this is impossible. I can make sure she gets regular check-ups, routinely gets all her vaccines, has dental cleanings when needed, is fed a nutritious diet, gets plenty of exercise, etc. But I can’t stop time. I also can’t prevent every accident that might happen. She’s a dog and wants to play and well, be a dog. And more than anything, I want her to be happy.
I have a plaque on my wall that says, “It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them and every newhttps://alvinalexander.com/unix/edu/examples/grep.shtml dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog and I will become as generous & loving as they are.” The author of this is unknown, but they have perfectly captured the pleasure and heartache of dog ownership.
Recent studies have shown that losing a dog can be just as painful as losing a human member of the family, even as painful as losing a child. For many of us, our pets are our children. With many people today opting to delay or even forgo getting married and having children, a pet provides that love and companionship humans need.
So, when I baked my dog her birthday cake and wrapped her presents, I’ll admit I was a little sad. Sad that I was just a little bit closer to the day I will have to say goodbye. But today is not that day. Today I will cherish her silly antics, the hair on the couch, and even her occasional naughty behavior. Because nothing lasts forever and I have a dog to walk.
Sources:
Archer, John (July 1997). Why do People Love Their Pets? Retrieved from: http://www.ehbonline.org/article/S0162-3095(99)80001-4/abstract
McAndrew, Frank T. (March 9, 2017). Why Losing a Dog Can be Harder than Losing a Relative or Friend. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/why-losing-a-dog-can-be-harder-than-losing-a-relative-or-friend-68207
Bhattarai, Abha. (September 13, 2016). Millennials are Picking Pets over People. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/09/13/millennials-are-picking-pets-over-people/?utm_term=.bb465a15bb54