I haven’t posted about the pets recently. They are no longer my kids, but have been relegated the backseat status of family pets now that we have a real kid. It’s sad for them.

I just got a reminder phone call about Annie’s vet appointment for tomorrow. She needs her bordatella updated since she’s going into the kennel during our long weekend in South Carolina in a couple of weeks. It is not her regular check up, which should be due in the next couple of months, but I do wonder if the vet will recommend teeth cleaning as they always do. My answer is always no - not because she doesn’t need her teeth cleaned, but because she’s 18 years old and I don’t want to put her through the stress at her age.

Yes, she is an incredibly healthy 18 year old dog, but she’s starting to really show her age. She’s completely deaf at this point. And we think she’s losing her sight as well - she definitely does not have the depth perception that she used to. Case in point from a few weeks ago was when she was outside for her final “go” of the night. Beau went out to take trash the can and left the door open. Annie came up to the doorway and stopped, waiting for one of us to open the already opened door. Because she can’t hear, she couldn’t hear me call her - or that I was laughing hysterically when Beau tapped her on the behind to encourage her to go through the door and she went into full on brake mode. It took several tries for him to convince her that the door was open and even when she decided to brave it, she ran through as if she was being chased and looked behind to make sure she was safe. Poor girl.

She also misses the last couple of steps on her way down the stairs. This is the more worrying thing; I dread finding her in a pile at the bottom of the stairs with a terrible back injury. So far she gets right up and prances away like she never fell down 2-3 steps and landed on her face.

Other than those minor things, she’s still the feisty, if a bit slower and mellower, Annie. She’s a great dog.

I was nursing Jesse before bedtime the other night and looked up to see Annie and Mr. Kitty both laying on Annie’s pallet in the living room. They weren’t snuggled, but reluctantly sharing the space with their heads turned away from each other. I couldn’t get to the camera before one of them moved, sadly. It was a cute picture.

Jesse has taken notice of the animals when they walk by him when he’s in his bouncy seat. They completely ignore him.

And that’s the pet update for today.

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1. Poor Annie!  We had a dog who lived to be quite old also, she lost her hearing too.  So, she didn’t hear me calling her.  We discovered that she could still hear hands clapping (I guess the percussion?), so we used that as a way to get her attention.  Maybe that would work for Miss Annie too.

   Posted by  on  04/27/07  at  01:43 PM

2. We’ve been clapping for a while now, but even that isn’t catching her attention as well. I’ve taken to stomping my feet, but if I’m not near enough for her to feel that, then it’s pointless. Mainly, we just try to get into her line of sight and use hand signals that she’s seeming to understand. I don’t know what we’ll do when she loses her eyesight totally, especially if she’s healthy otherwise. I plan to ask the vet about it tomorrow. It’s a sad thought.

   Posted by jen  on  04/27/07  at  03:34 PM

3. I don’t know how Jaynee feels about it, but you are welcome to bring Annie when you come to visit next month. It’s only for a few days.

   Posted by  on  04/28/07  at  08:26 AM

4. Thanks for the offer. It’ll be better to have her in the kennel - too many pets and kids!

   Posted by  on  04/29/07  at  08:12 AM

5. Poor Annie. I wonder if it’s as frustrating for dogs to lose their senses as I think it would be for humans? I like to think that they’ve got some sixth sense that kicks in, but that’s probably just fantasy. OTOH, Abbye’s blindness hasn’t really slowed her down in terms of being willing to strike out and explore her surroundings via her remaining senses. And I’d never before considered how sensitive those whiskers are as “curb-feelers”!

   Posted by Eric  on  04/29/07  at  02:45 PM

6. Sounds like Annie has a great attitude!

   Posted by Janie  on  04/29/07  at  08:34 PM

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