This was my little dog, Abby. Wasn't she cute? She's gone now. At nine years old, she had multiple health problems, the worst of which was an enlarged heart as a result of congestive heart failure that made her lungs fill with fluid and made her cough a lot. We kept her on medication that kept the coughing at bay.
At the same time, she was going blind. You can see that in the picture, where her hair mostly covered her eyes. But we were able to improve her blindness by trimming the hair hanging from the front of her head.
She also had skin allergies that made us need to feed her special low-allergenic dog food and use medicated shampoo on her.
Then last year, I noticed her nose had something wrong with it. When I asked the vet about it, he said she might have lupus. I said, "That's all she needs, another problem!"
But for all her health problems, Abby was a sweetie pie. Most dogs (like my mom's dog, Scooter) think they're the alpha dog wherever they go, which causes problems with the other alpha dogs. But Abby just figured she was the omega dog, even in her own house. When Scooter came to visit, he ruled the house, and Abby went with the flow. It wasn't that Abby was timid, just that she wasn't very forceful.
At only eleven pounds, Abby was the perfect size for being a lapdog, but she didn't like curling up on laps. She was the kind of dog who liked to curl up next to you. Or on the floor at your feet.
And she didn't bark much, even at cats (which she liked to chase silently). This was an excellent quality for a dog in a neighborhood with dense-pack houses. But she did bark when she wanted us to give her grapes. She barked a lot for grapes.
But like I said, Abby is gone now. I took her to the groomer's for her summer hairdo, and when I went to pick her up, they gave me this strange-looking dog instead. They assured me it's the same Abby, but I don't know. She's so skinny. When she curls up in her dogbed, there's way too much space left around her. When I pick her up, there's nothing to her.
I'll have to watch her for a while and see if she's really my Abby.
3 comments:
The contrast in the pictures is pretty funny. It's amazing what a haircut can do. When I get a haircut my ears look huge. But that may be because my ears [are] huge.
Anyway, when I thought your dog had died I immediately set forward in my chair and started wondering what I could say to comfort you... which of course would be nothing because there is no comfort for the loss of an innocent little life. Abby is a dog that is loved... and a lucky dog indeed.
Chris,
This is the third summer haircut we've had Abby get (we got her from the Humane Society in August of 2003), and each time I pick her up afterwards, I'm sure they must have given me somebody else's dog.
But she doesn't freak out when I hold her, and the coloring is about right, and when I look on her belly, her skin is speckled. Yep. She must be our Abby.
But still...
Are you taking a page out of Chris's (that doesn't look right) book and trying to scare me? I thought your dog had died. Of course, had I not skimmed the post initially and looked mostly at the pictures, I would have figured out that the pictures were of the same dog a little quicker, but still...
Anyhow, glad Abby is still alive and kicking (and can see again!) Her summer hair-do is quite sleek!
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