Hershey...life lessons from an old dog

I’ve experienced a lot of loss over the last 10 years.  In the last five years, I’ve probably experienced more deaths of people and pets that were important to me than I have in the rest of the years of my life combined.  I’ve dealt with old age and caregiving, and ultimately saying goodbye enough that I almost feel like an expert at it…so when the opportunity arose to take on Hershey as my hospice foster, I thought “who is better prepared than I am to take this on right now?”  I’m sure there are plenty of other people with the rescue who would have been totally capable, but it just seemed like it was something I needed to do. 

I had doubts about my sanity taking on an old boy with merely months to live, especially so soon after losing Maddie.  But I also have a wealth of knowledge that I gained caring for her with her kidney disease which I knew would serve me well caring for Hershey too.  After all he has heart issues, stomach issues, and kidney disease…three things I’ve dealt with in one way or another with Jake, Imke, and Maddie, so it’s like they all sent him here to me-one last old dog to care for before starting my life with a puppy.

When he came to me, I thought I was getting a sickly old man who would probably not be very active, and, I assumed, would only be with me a very short time before his time was up.  Honestly, I never expected him to make it to the end of April.  What I got was a tiny, feisty old man with some life left to live and lots of spunk.  Not at all what I expected. 

While he napped a lot when he first arrived, he slowly grew into a routine here.  He still loved his naps, but they were a little shorter and less frequent.  He was happy to demand his meals and follow me around the house as I moved from room to room.  He also figured out very quickly that when I put on shoes, that generally leads to a car ride and an adventure. 

I learned quickly that he loves a good meal and riding in the car, and he really enjoys our nightly walks.  He’s not much of a geocacher because he prefers to stay on the path rather than bushwhack through the weeds, but he still seems to enjoy every outing we take.  There were many times in late April and early May that I was convinced he was feeling better every day and was going to outlast the 6 months the vet gave him to live during his initial appointment with the rescue’s vet in February.

Hershey has now been with me almost 100 days, just over three months, and the feisty old man with lots of spunk and a tail that never stops wagging is starting to slow down.  This week I really noticed a change in him.  He is sleeping more, and his eating habits have changed from enthusiastic beggar to very picky, sometimes nothing I try seems to interest him.  But at his age, with his activity level, I know he doesn’t have the need for a high caloric intake.  He’s still eating, he still loves his treats, and he is drinking well, so I’m not worried yet, but I’ve been here before, and I know where this ultimately will lead us. 

Last night we went to visit Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona(and Picasso).  I left Peaches at home, but knew I couldn’t leave Hershey for that long, so I brought him along for the visit.  He was happy to be there with me and was very curious about the little person making some very loud noises.  He enjoyed following Tyler around and his tail never stopped wagging, and eventually he relaxed and settled in for the visit.  That short visit with Hershey really made me stop and think about all of the life lessons I’ve learned over the years from my old dogs.

Today I woke up with big plans for a productive day.  I still have projects that I am working on that I’d like to complete before the puppy arrives, but instead, I looked outside at this perfectly beautiful late Spring day and decided that projects can wait…we were going to just enjoy the day.

I brought some dog beds outside so Hershey could relax comfortably and decided I’d sit down and write for a bit.  The sun is shining, there is a beautiful breeze, and we don’t get many days like this in our lives, so I’m going to enjoy it, because in the end who really cares if there are dishes that need to be washed or painting that needs to be done.  Who cares if there is a little dog fur on the floor or if the couch is a little older than you’d like?  Who cares if there are a few weeds in the yard or the mulch doesn’t look perfect?  If the best someone can say about me when I’m dead is that my house was clean, have I really lived?  

And while all the chores and tasks and projects will eventually need to be completed, they don’t need to be done today.  Today we just need to enjoy being together on this perfect day. 

So I’ll sit outside in the shade of the flowering cherry while Peaches hunts birdies and Hershey naps in the sun.  And I’ll smile knowing that today we did just what we needed to do.