Old Man Bourbon, the newfoundland, struggles to climb stairs nowadays, but lately, he has been coming upstairs each night to sleep in my room. I try to get him to come up when I go up, so I can help him and he wont budge. He waits until the house is all quiet and dark, and then I hear the old body slowly, painfully, climb each step, with labored breathing. He meets me at the door of the upstairs living area, (I climb out of bed to get to him) and I bend down and wrap my arms around his furry neck and love on him. I dont understand why he waits...or why he even climbs...when its obviously so hard for him to do. But I feel the love and give him love back...
He cannot lay on the bed...I have tried to lift him up and he refuses to stay.I worry about him jumping down as his bones are so fragile now. So he lays next to me on the floor. Moon Baby dog sleeps on the bed and is insanely jealous of him..she tries to get between us when he comes to me for pets. I refuse to allow her to do so. She gets LOTS of attention from me so she must wait when he requests it.
He is 12, almost 13. Newfs usually live about 10 years. My longest term one was 14 when she passed. We are heading closer to the end than I want. He is in good health for his age, other than his body having arthritis and congestive heart. So as long as he wants to climb the stairs, I will be waiting for him...
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Pole bachit, a lis chuye.
The field sees, the forest hears
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