I have been looking for a dog for a couple of years now. It is a difficult decision because of the commitment that is necessary. One day I picked up the “Ten Commandments For Pet Owners. Commandment One: My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be very painful.” How would we go on vacation? I would have to be there every day to feed and water the dog. I would not want to put my dog into a pain of separation. I really did not know if I am that committed so I have not brought one home.
Dad has never been a pet person either. That I know of, he really did not want a dog. But a couple of years ago, a dog came to live with Dad and Natalie. As mentioned before, my boys call it a “fluff ball on sticks.” As I arrived at Dad’s home to see him this afternoon, the doors were closed to the room he was in. Cheyenne, my niece said that the doors were closed so that Foxy [the Pomeranian] would not bother dad. I was still on the page that Dad was not fond of dogs so I understood why Cheyenne was intent on keeping Foxy the Pomeranian out.
Foxy the Pomeranian strolled into the room and was excited to see Dad. She ran from one side of the bed to the other, up on the chair then back and forth between the sides of the bed. Foxy wanted up. Dad motioned to Foxy to jump up. I now figured that he liked dogs more than I previously understood. Perhaps it is only a Foxy thing. Natalie picked up Foxy to see Dad. Dad petted Foxy on motioned for Natalie to put Foxy on the bed. She did and Foxy found a place to lay down on Dad while Dad stroked her fluff.
A few minutes later, as Foxy was lying on dad, she began to growl in a low rumbly growl. Natalie then said that whenever Foxy was laying with Dad and she did not want to be moved, she growled. If she walked into the bedroom and Foxy was laying with Dad, she would growl at Natalie to indicate, leave us alone. I walked up to Foxy to give her a pet and asked Dad if I could take a picture. She did not growl. I said to dad that I thought she would be growing at me. He told me that because he liked me, Foxy like me also. I took the picture on my BlackBerry. It turned out marginal because the window above dad was being blasted with the sun coming from the West. Tomorrow an aide is coming to give him a bath and possibly shower him. I will get a better picture of him with Foxy when he is cleaned up.
Dad and Foxy
Dad seems to be happy to be home. A couple of nurses were getting him set up and getting the meds ordered for delivery. Eric was there taking care of small details, like putting up a blind to block some of the afternoon sun. I put in his buzzer so that he could hail some help. I called it the Dad Advocacy Button. Because he cannot call for help very well, he has a buzzer to do the work. He pushed the button to try it out. Those on the outside of the French doors said that it could be heard upstairs. You could hear its scream faintly on the inside. I let Dad know that if he was not getting a quick enough response that I could get a bigger buzzer. Of course he grinned at that.
With Dad in a comfy bed at home, with a favorite friend, Foxy, a button to get some attention and the knowledge he will get a shower tomorrow, what more could he want? I left the house grinning at the thought of Dad spending his last days with the “fluff ball on sticks” that loves him and that he loves.
