Lucy To The Rescue

Lucy is 8 years old now, but she still loves to catch the frisbee from me out in the back yard. I’ve thrown it to her so many times every throw is pretty much perfect, just like she likes it, up high coming in from right to left at a 45 degree angle. She always times her leap so she can catch it as far from the ground as her springy back legs will launch her. It is a very graceful thing to behold. But…she’s 8 years old now. A few days ago she leapt athletically into the air, grabbed hold of the frisbee tight in her teeth, but landed awkwardly. When running back to me she stopped half way and let the frisbee drop to the ground, signaling that she was through. Later that evening she developed a noticeable limp. She has been limping ever since. I have felt every inch of the leg from her paw pads to her shoulder and she never winces, never offers any protest, and yet I have to carry her down the stairs, the limp getting worse almost each day. My worthless vet can’t see her until this coming Tuesday, although I am on the cancellation list. 

Then this afternoon we began to notice an improvement in her limp, not as pronounced as before. Unfortunately she has developed a very rare case of diarrhea. Poor girl had an even more rare inside accident, thankfully on one of the cheap rugs, while Pam and I were working at Hope Thrift. Lucy is a dog who rarely gets sick with anything. Compared to Molly, she’s Super Dog. And yet, 5 days before we are scheduled to fly to Cozumel she has the runs.

…Oh…and our Refrigerator is busted again. New ones cost north of $2000, I’m told.

So Pam and I settled down tonight after dinner and watched the American movie adaptation of the Swedish novel, A Man Called Ove. We both read the book while we were in Maine, then watched the Swedish movie made a couple years ago a while back. We were worried when we heard that Hollywood was doing an Americanized version of the book, even with Tom Hanks playing the lead. We weren’t sure he was right for the part. Once again, Tom Hanks proved me wrong. He was great, the movie was wonderful. We both loved it. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of the book first, then watch the movie. You’ll be glad you did.

Of course in the last fifteen minutes of the film, Otto has several heart-related health scares, exactly the kind of thing I didn’t need to watch. I kept telling myself that the character of Otto is a much older man than I am, so its apples and oranges. Then towards the end, the screen fills with a shot of his tombstone and I see “Otto Anderson 1955-2022”. Two years older than me. HA!!

Actually I’m getting better. I still worry, but less and less each day. So many of you have offered kind words and wise advice. One of the things that has helped honestly is Lucy coming up lame. Its amazing how your outlook changes when you find someone else to care for and worry about. Watching my sweet girl limp around the house has helped take my mind off my own problems. Funny how that works…thinking about the problems of others helps you forget yours. There’s probably a lesson there.