Friday Dog-Blogging

Sweetie (an old photo from Halloween)

I posted this photo on Friday, then on the very next day, I was the worst pet owner ever. You see, my dog is 16 years old and blind as a bat, and she's pretty much deaf also. Well, somehow on Saturday afternoon, my husband and I got home from a bike ride, and then out was outside on the front porch doing something, then I went in the house and left the front door open. Ten minutes later, my husband walked into the living room and closed the front door...five minutes after that he started calling to me upstairs, "Where's the dog?!"...and..."Why was the front door open?"

A minor heart attack ensued as we couldn't find her anywhere in the house...I couldn't imagine that she had walked out the front door and down the street, but we couldn't find her in the front yard either! And this is a dog who rarely wanted to leave the front porch alone, even when she could see.

We looked frantically in the all of the nearby neighbors' front and back yards, then finally we saw her several houses down, walking around like Mr. Magoo, and right out in front of a moving car. Thank the forces that the car saw her, and was able to stop. I felt horrible enough about what happened, and then for the next 30 minutes I had to listen to my husband tell me what an irresponsible parent I would make if we had children, and what if we had a toddler and I just let him/her wander out the front door and out into the street?

By that evening I was fairly convinced that, yes, I would make a horrible parent...but then one thought occurred to me. I've owned this dog since I was in High School for cryin' out loud! This dog is is friggin' 16 years old! If she were a person, she'd be in High School by now! I've known this dog for longer than I've known my husband. Most dogs don't live to be 16 years old, so I must be doing something right!...I am NOT the worst pet owner in the world (on most days), not even close.