Senior Moments

Like a huge, out of control freight train, the unstoppable passage of time is bearing down on us. Artie is turning seven this week. SEVEN!!! "The magic number" as one veterinary website puts it. Meaning, the year dogs are officially considered OLD.

I like to keep up on my dog's health. He's pretty important to me and it's the least I can do to study up on the latest news pertaining to dog care and maintenance. A few months back, I took Artie to get all his shots updated and get him a check up. The vet was new to us and was a wealth of knowledge, as well as socially awkward and a little strange. He told me that due to Artie's age, I should start thinking about Senior dog food and Glucosamine supplements. WHAT???!!! "No way", I convinced myself. "Artie is still just a puppy, he's not old until I say he is. Old dogs are like TEN years old, Artie is no where near that."

Denial aside, the cookalizoo Veterinarian was right.

My heart sank a little bit yesterday as I wheeled a shopping cart out of the front door of PetSmart. The sky was grey and forboding, my cart weighted down with a forty pound bag of Iams, Active Maturity dry dog food. "For dogs ages seven and up", the front of the bag boasted.



I proceeded to whine to Bruce about my sadness and insecurity that Artie is getting older. After all, I have clearly explained that Artie is to live forever and if he doesn't I'm going to need someone to blame. After listening to my complaints and laughing at my despair, Bruce calmly prepared me that "Artie has only minutes to live." I had to laugh at myself too. Seven is not that much of a catastrophy... I think.

So now I'm referring to Artie as "my little senior citizen" and am trying to figure out how I can use him to get a sweet deal on a Dennys Grand Slam breakfast or order off the senior menu at Sheri's. I'm totally eyeballing those handicapped parking spots at the grocery store too. Hmmm, I wonder if I could teach Artie how to act decrepid and feeble on command? That could come in really useful.