Going to the Dogs

Since we are owned by four dogs, I might as well introduce them. This is Sassy, our oldest, a 15-year-old Maltese. The picture was taken a few years ago, and she is now rapidly deteriorating. She is totally blind, and nearly deaf, but still gets around surprisingly well.

We installed a dog door in the wall of our new house, and she goes in and out as if she can still see, but if we move anything on the patio, she gets confused, and has a hard time finding her way around.

At times, she will get too far away from the patio and get lost out on the lawn. One night, I woke up and checked on her, as I usually do. She wasn't in her bed, so I went outside to look for her. She was in the middle of the lawn going in circles. It was a cold night, with lots of dew on the grass, and she had apparently been out there for some time. She was soaking wet, exhausted and shaking with cold.

She was one happy puppy to get dried off with a towel and tucked into her bed.