Y’all are probably tired of hearing about my old dog, Dockers, but here’s another one about her. As I’ve told you previously, she is fifteen and a half years old, nearly blind, all but deaf, and I think her sniffer might be getting weak. But somehow, she knows—even when she appears to be sound asleep—the minute I leave the room.
I spend most of my time in my office, and she has a bed right beside my desk, so she is content to sleep the day away at my side. I’m not kidding, though, if I get up and leave the room for any reason, nine times out of ten, I’ll turn around and she’s right behind me.
And if I leave the house, I know for a fact she goes back into my office and barks at my chair. I’ve caught her doing it a couple of times when I left, forgot something, and came back in. She would be standing looking at my chair and doing this low guttural, angry sounding bark. I call it her angry-old-lady-smoker’s-bark. If you’ve ever heard an elderly lady who has smoked all her life talk, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Think Phyllis Diller and your getting close.
Our friend, Faye, stayed with Dockers while we went to the Odessa book signing event this past weekend, and she said Dockers went into my office and barked at my chair on both Saturday and Sunday morning.
It’s kind of funny, but kind of sad, too. Poor old dog
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Sherry Mashburn said
I do believe she has a form of canine dementia (what Charlie calls Dawgsheimers), but we still love her. Faye said that Dockers would calm down once Faye petted her. She just wants reassurance that she’s not alone.
alexvonfox said
I really enjoyed this. I used to own a 3 lb brindle chihuahua. When i would leave for work he would hide some where in the house and my roommates wouln’t see him until I came home. The moment I opened the door he was there waiting for me to pick him up bouncing off the walls as if he had eaten some jumping beans.
charlesmashburn said
I don’t think Dockers hides, but she is the same way when we get home. Not bouncing off the walls, but going crazy because she’s so glad to see us. After about five minutes though, she goes and lays down for a nap. I tend to think she paces the whole time we are gone, if no one is here taking care of her.
Faye said
Charlie:
Your description of the angry-old-lady-smoker’s-bark is accurate! She does sound like that. Even though it was funny, I knew she missed you being there. I did not tell you the before but the one thing that would appease her is a good petting. This time, I realized that would calm her more than anything. After all, touch is a great thing for everyone.
charlesmashburn said
Yes, she likes her petting. It’s funny though, as soon as she’s sure we are here, she ignores us. Comes looking for us now and then, just to make sure we are still there.