Scenes from a Dog Walk

During some recent performance review conversations, a colleague and I were talking about the need to get out for exercise on a regular basis in order to take a break from work and recharge.  I mentioned that in the past I'd found that difficult, even though I knew it would be good for me.  Eventually, that was one of the reasons we adopted Tessie, because I remembered how much I had enjoyed taking walks with Gracie and Sofie in the old days.

By the time we started going to Hawksbill Cabin, those two were too old for the walks I take with Tessie now.  One of our favorites is a figure 8 route that winds around the nearby Hawksbill Recreation Park in Stanley, where there is a nature trail back in the woods and some open grounds.

I spied this river birch there along the banks of Little Hawksbill Creek last weekend, and then, since there was so much water coming down the creek, I stopped to make a short video of the scene:

Tessie's Rescue Anniversary

Mary reminded me yesterday that it was one year ago today that we drove down to the Richmond area and adopted Tessie from Atlantic Region Central Border Collie Rescue.  Here's a link to their organization:
http://www.arcbcr.org/index.html

It's hard to believe our pack has been together a year already.  She's a great dog, a hug bag.  Having had a border collie before, Tessie is proof that even though the genetic material is pretty much the same, what you end up with can vary widely.

Readers of the blog know that Mary and I were blessed to have two long-lived companions before in Gracie and Sofie.  Gracie was a border collie also, but driven by the natural instinct of the breed,  so that she was always there with a ball to play fetch.  And Sofie, our loving chow mix - she was motivated by pure canine-ness, very protective and watchful, but very much a companion dog.

It's funny to think how Tessie has personality traits that combine both of these - but in a way that make her her own dog.

I went outside yesterday in the morning, having let Tessie out into the backyard first thing.  When I got to where I could see, I saw the dog grab a stick and toss it into the air...that's new behavior.  Tessie is finally coming into her own, settling in with us, so that now she's inventing games.  It's a heartwarming thought.

If you're thinking of getting a dog, we encourage you to think rescue first.  There are plenty of breed specific organizations like ARCBCR; there are others like Lost Dog and Cat Rescue (http://lostdogrescue.org/); or maybe best of all, you can find a good, worthy dog at your local shelter.

Remembering Lady Valentine

I had a funny thought this morning about a name that rings the bells of memory - a little off track from what you might expect on a Valentines Day morning.  Of course, the name "Lady" is in the papers and on the web everywhere this morning after the Grammy's, but that's not the topic of the post either. 

See, the name Lady Valentine was Gracie the border collie's name when our relatives and in-laws first adopted her.  Now that the kitchen remodel is in its final stages, we're going to be moving forward with finding a new rescue dog.  So we'll start out with a mention of Gracie and Sofie this morning, our forever canine valentines.

Here they are at the beach with us in North Carolina back in the spring of 2001.

A few months ago we had encountered a guy with his border collie at the Luray Triathlon.  We saw those recognizable behaviors that we missed in the four-year old, and agreed that it was just about time to start looking.  Meanwhile, we enjoyed each new encounter with our friends' dogs.

Last month Mary and I decided to put in applications with the rescue organizations that work here in Northern Virginia - Blue Ridge Border Collie Rescue, Bimmer's Border Collie Rescue, Atlantic Region Border Collie Rescue, and also Glen Highland Farms in upstate New York.  They're all easy Google finds if you are interested in checking them out.  Also of note, there is a Bimmer's dog here in the neighborhood; and I love checking out the Glen Highland Farms site - both to look at the available dogs and also for the other information they keep up on the site about the breed.

Then you have this television feature that has been on recently about the border collie who has been taught 1,100 words, nouns and verbs, and can react appropriately when given a command or phrase.  It's all reminding me of some company I miss.  Gracie and I had a word game we used to play too - that's what we were doing in the second photo here.  I would whisper something and she would react - usually the panting would stop, the tongue fold back and the mouth would close, and the border collie eyes would flash.

After the applications went out, each of the organizations got back to us telling us they'd be happy to work with us - that was a relief, since we'd heard that one of the rescue organizations (not listed here for obvious reasons) had turned down a friend's request...this friend has owned border collies for 30 years, and even has had the current dog out to the farms for sheep herding training and outings!  "Your situation isn't right for border collie ownership" our friend was told.

The next step after applications is to get a house visit, and we have that scheduled.  But to my surprise, we also got a note last night about a dog that's available.  So this thing could be moving along a little faster than we thought.  We'll keep you posted.

A Quiet Moment

Taking a few days off from blogging.  Mary and I said goodbye to our beloved Chow mix, Sofie, last night. 

Mary found Sofie as a stray at 18th & T in the District in 1996, and the dog has been with us ever since.  She and her sister Gracie made a great pair.  Sofie was a feisty and strong little girl, ever the faithful watch dog.  She went through an awful lot in her long life, but always had the sweetest disposition and personality.  So we will miss her.  And we'll need just a little time away.

Thanks for the kind words and thoughts today.

Happier than you or I...

Yesterday, as the evening started to cool down, I sat out on the deck with a nice, cold, Brooklyn Pils and a "La Gloria Cubana."  Sofie came out with me and did her usual wander around the backyard.

After a short while, Mary came out, and spotted Sofie down in the yard, on her back as shown here.  This is a spring ritual, but at 17, we didn't think she was flexible enough to do this anymore.

But there you go, she'd gotten over and was enjoying a roll in the grass.  When she got back up on the deck, there was a contented doggie grin and cuttings falling off her back.

That's why I always say "A dog is happier than you or I can ever be."

Wise Sofie

Here's a photo of our old girl from Sunday morning, out on the brick terrace.  She'd got a whiff of spring and wanted to hang out with us outside for a little while.

It seems a very long time ago that Sofie joined us - Mary found her as a stray at the corner of 18th and T NW in the winter of 1996.  That means we've had her for 14 years...the vet thinks she is 17.

Don't let the age fool you.  Last week one of the neighbor's cats sauntered across the lawn after looking at her.  Sofie scampered down the stairs and chased it out of the yard, coming back up on the porch tail high.

A Morning Routine Remembered

When I went out for the paper this morning I had a nice memory of Gracie. Sometimes she would get up a little early and come downstairs to wait for me, then go outside with me to get the paper.

When I would get to the living room I would get a flash of the border collie eye and then there was a ritual display of standing up, stretching, and smacking her mouth after a yawn. Then a little tail wag, which would happen just as I was turning the door knob.

Some days, she'd go down into the yard, but sometimes she'd just stand on the porch at the top of the stairs and watch. We have a lot of neighbors who are sometimes out on dog walks at that hour, so I figure that socializing was a part of Gracie's motivation for this.

I'll bet it was just as often that she slept late, like a rock.

Still, that was a nice thought to start the day.

New Blog - Canine Renal Failure Specific

I appreciated all the interest in Gracie's kidney failure - the thoughts and messages were very touching and appreciated.

This blog continues to get search hits about the condition, so in response to all that traffic, I have started a second blog that will contain only those posts. It will take a few weeks to get them all transferred over, edit them to the new context etc., but if you are interested, here is a link:

http://graciedawg.wordpress.com/

It's about Gracie the border collie.

Top Dawg

Since Gracie passed away last month, we have been a little worried about Sofie. We've always thought she was older than Gracie, maybe by a year or two. (And we've always hypothesized that she might have had a litter of puppies before we got her, but we don't know that for sure.)

For the first week or so after Gracie died, Sofie didn't want to go too far on her walks. In fact, Mary told me she would dig in before losing sight of the house, constantly looking back for something. This could have been the new routine, walking without the other dog, but Sofie also has a little arthritis in her paws that probably make walking painful.

We've had another recent change in her routines as well - Mary took a new job downtown and isn't here for a mid-day break. So we have hired a walker.

At first, Sofie wasn't very responsive to this; it took a while. She might not leave the deck in the back when our walker was here, for example. It just took her some time to get used to the change.

This week the walker left a note. He said that now Sofie will go down into the yard when he asks her too, or that she will come with him for a short walk. She also now greets him at the door.

That's a relief. We know she grieved for a while too after Gracie, but like we are, she's coming around.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 12

Today, the final post on our story of Gracie’s canine kidney disease. Best, Jim and Mary

Monday, September 7

After our visit to the vet last Thursday, Gracie seemed to perk up a bit, finding a tennis ball under a table in the sun room and bringing it to me for some play. Months ago, we modified the game to one where she lays down and I roll the ball to her, which she then traps between her front legs and bites soundly to stop. She seems so happy during these moments, recalling perhaps the more rigorous games of fetch we played in her younger days up on the hill at the Masonic Temple here in Alexandria, or, later, the “stairmaster” game when she would stand or lay at the top of the stairs and I would toss the ball up to her, which she would catch, then roll back down the steps to me to start the game all over again. However, this burst of energy and interest is short-lived and she grows weaker.

We are out at the cabin in the Shenandoah for the Labor Day weekend. On Saturday, she had enough strength to walk with Jim around the house, sniffing and enjoying being with him as she explored some of her favorite bushes and trees. During the night from Sunday to Monday, Gracie woke me up and I took her outside to pee. She sniffs in the dark for awhile then returns to me but has a difficult time walking over the black drain pipe leading from the downspout that crosses the back path. I also help her up the step to the side porch and into the house. She wags her tail as I pat her now boney back.

As I clean up the kitchen this morning, Jim has Gracie outside and tries to give her the semi-weekly dose of calcitriol. She is suddenly drastically weaker and can no longer lift her head and can’t seem to swallow, and must be carried back to the house. She can no longer stand-up. We’re not sure if she’s had a stroke or not. She’s conscious and continent but we realize that the time as come to end Gracie’s fight against the disease that has taken her strength and dignity.

We return to Alexandria and take Gracie to the vet, which we have called ahead of time. Jim carries our girl into a pleasant green-painted room with some comfortable chairs and plants and an examination table covered with towels. After a brief consultation, the vet agrees that to continue Gracie’s life in this way would be cruel and we begin the process that we have been dreading for so long. We have a chance to hold and kiss her before they administer the sedative and she is unconscious when the last medication is given. She leaves us quickly and peacefully, a gentle, loving companion to the end. She was three months short of her 15th birthday.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 11

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Gracie seems so much weaker today that both Jim and I take her to the vet. I am steeling myself to the possibility that the doctor may advise us to put her to sleep today.

After the exam, the vet advises us that Gracie is in decline and that she probably only has about a week or two left at the most. As the disease progresses, she may suffer a stroke or go into a coma. The vet also gently answers our questions about the process of euthanasia and also tells us that today isn’t Gracie’s time, that we should enjoy her last days but to prepare ourselves.

When the time comes, we have decided that we want her sedated before the administration of the medication that will cause her heart to stop. We don’t want her to know what is happening and we also don’t want her – or us – to experience the involuntary twitches or vocalization that may occur as that medication takes effect.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 10

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I was away last weekend working on chores at the cabin; Jim had to stay at home to catch-up on some office work. We decided to leave the girls with him to reduce their travel stress and to give me a break from the demanding routine of caring for Gracie. Jim administered the correct meds, fluids, and food but Gracie started to refuse food by Sunday, August 23rd. For probably more than a year she has howled on occasion if I have left her even to run errands and she has always been very close to me, following me from room to room and being my constant companion as I work in my home office.

I was able to get her to eat a small bit but her appetite had definitely fallen off to almost nothing. I decided to take her to the vet to have her blood tested to see what we were dealing with and if her meds needed to be adjusted. We saw the vet today. Gracie seems fatigued but her weight seems stable, which may be the result of being weighed in a different exam room.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Gracie’s test results came back and her numbers have risen. Her BUN has gone from 82 to 117, creatinine from 3.5 to 4.3, but most troubling, her blood pressure has risen from 160 to over 200. In response, we have increased her amplodipine dosage from 1 tablet to 1.5 tablets every 12 hours for the high blood pressure, and will begin daily administration of 500 ml of fluids. The doctor has advised us that at this point it is probably best to let her eat whatever she wants just to keep her from starving, even if the food isn’t on the strict diet. The vet also advised stopping the AlternaGel dosages with her food since forcing the liquid medicine down her throat with the oral syringe at meal time is probably not helping her at this point.

I have begun to feed Gracie grilled or fried hamburger, about 4 to 6 ozs. per meal. She will sometimes take penne pasta cut up in small pieces. I also try to entice her with some “maximum calorie” dog food provided by the vet that they give to sick dogs recovering in the hospital. Everything must be hand-fed or given to her in small amounts on the floor as she lies in the kitchen. She will no longer stand and eat from a bowl. Chicken, rice, baby food, even bread are no longer palatable to her. She will still accept small bites of Iams weight control dog biscuits, but it is now a struggle to get her to take her meds in the pill pockets or in the G3 Chews. She seems to have the most problem with the tramadol tablets; I have to break them up and put the pieces in separate pill pockets so she doesn’t have to chew them – their taste is something Gracie definitely does not like.

This situation is not good and I am trying to accept the fact that our long journey with Gracie along this difficult path of canine renal disease may be coming to an end. I will work hard to keep her with us but the disease can not be reversed and it is taking its toll on our dear girl. She still seems engaged and happy and not in pain but she is losing strength by the day.

Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure - 9

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Gracie had another blood test to see how she’s doing. Her numbers indicate that she’s stable: creatinine at 3.5, down from 5 at the last test; BUN at 82, which is a little high but acceptable; and her calcium level is at 11.7, 1.2 for the ionized test. This is all very good news. The vet said to do a retest in three months unless she seems to be declining. We have our fingers-crossed that she will meet this milestone.

Gracie remains alert and interested in her toys and walks. She gets a little sleepy from both the arthritis medicine and the blood pressure medication but is still willing to roll the fuzzy soccer ball for a little game of easy fetch. Meal times are still trying – she needs incentives in her food and she has a tendency to spit out the rice as she walks away from her bowl. Grains of rice can be found all over the house.

Mealtimes are time-consuming. She gets her pills first thing, then her food, but she can’t be fed too close to the time she has her pills because the AlternaGel she must receive shortly after eating to coat her stomach must be given at least an hour after she receives her meds. Warming the subQ fluids, then administering them to her takes another 20 minutes or so in the morning every other day. So, her morning meds-meal-and fluids routine can take about 90 minutes to complete. She needs a mid-day dose of AlternaGel with some food, again to coat her stomach and protect against ulcers. Evenings repeat the meds-meals-AlternaGel routine.

Over the weekend the posts will be focused on our story of Gracie’s canine kidney disease. We’ll return to other topics next week. Best, Jim and Mary

The loss of Gracie Dawg

Readers of the blog already know this, but Mary, Sofie and I lost our beloved friend Gracie a few weeks ago. Gracie, the Border Collie we adopted from relatives in 1995, suffered canine renal failure for about two years, entering the final stage in approximately January of this year.

Mary took on the primary care giver role for Gracie as the disease progressed. She compiled a series of previous entries on the disease; since Gracie passed away she put together her records from the last three months, July to September, 2009. You can follow the story by clicking on the “canine renal” label for this post or in the index in the right hand column.

It is still hard and perhaps too early to look back at these events for us. We definitely still feel the emptiness of loss. But we wanted to publish these notes on the blog for other owners who may be just receiving the diagnosis. I hope that in some way these posts will help prepare those owners for what’s ahead and the decisions that will need to be made along the way during the course of the disease.

For my part, I thought I might have more to add after reading Mary’s eloquent posts, and preparing them for the blog. It’s still too early for that, like it is for Mary and Sofie, although I find that now, more often when I think of her my thoughts are turning to fond memories:

· playing soccer with her on the hillside near the grade school in Adams Morgan, or at several of the other parks there in the District
· fun times we had when we first moved to Alexandria, when Sofie and Gracie would play up at the Masonic Memorial
· the special cove that both dogs liked at Great Falls, their anticipation picking up as soon as they got on the trail
· vacations in the Outer Banks and later at the Hawksbill Cabin, where the girls delighted in exploring the outdoors with us, an alternative to our urban environments – the city wasn’t a bad place for dogs, just necessarily constrained because of the confined populations.

Our vet sent a condolence card after Gracie died. As a near final note, her words:

Gracie was truly a special patient and I will share your loss. Her tenacity to forge ahead and live life to the fullest was admired by all. Your dedication to her these past nine months has been dearly recognized. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of her life all these years. My thoughts are with you, Fondly, Donna.

Thanks to everyone for the kinds thoughts and comforting words. We lost a good friend in Gracie.

12/27/1994 – 9/7/2009.

Over the weekend the posts will be focused on our story of Gracie’s canine kidney disease. We’ll return to other topics next week. Best, Jim and Mary

A Week on Skyline Drive

Today I need to get back to work with a full agenda for the week, including preparation for an intercompany transfer, a road trip to Las Vegas next week for a speaking engagement, and all those delightful things that justify getting paid. Meanwhile, I also have a queue of blogposts that will be going up about discoveries last week in the Shenandoah Valley - I may not have accomplished everything I set out to do on the "staycation" - but I did get quite a few of them done.



After the preliminary kitchen upgrade work - deliveries and the dishwasher installation - was done on Tuesday, I was able to do five day hikes, averaging about 4 or 5 miles a day and 900 feet of climbing, all in Shenandoah National Park:

• Calf Mountain (Southern District) - photo is from this one
• Powell Gap (Southern District)
• Jones Run Falls (Southern District)
• Fox Hollow (Northern District)
• Compton Peak (Northern District)

Three of these hikes were from the "Easy Day Hikes" book (link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762734159?ie=UTF8&tag=hawkscabin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0762734159 ) and the others were "freelanced," although the Compton Peak hike was the result of a recommendation from Ranger Mike at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center.

For vacation reading, I completed Colin Fletcher's "The man Who Walked Through Time," (link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679723064?ie=UTF8&tag=hawkscabin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0679723064 )

and "Long Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail for the Older Adventurer" (link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0938631209?ie=UTF8&tag=hawkscabin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0938631209 ) by David Ryan.

Both made for good recreational reading and a review will follow...

Of course, I had some time for socializing with friends in the Valley, special thanks to Howard on the tip to visit the Speakeasy (this is the pub at the remodeled Mimslyn Inn in Luray) on Thursday night - had a great evening out (and taught the bartender how to make a Ketel One dirty martini, up with two olives - and tested the results on Saturday night)...

Also, the farmers' market, a chat with Sally and Dan, cicadas, praying mantises, Jesse visiting to take a look at the work involved on the kitchen remodel...and a great walk through town with Mary on the Hawksbill Greenway on Sunday.

Of course, there is the sad note that Mary and I lost our beloved Gracie last week. So far, both of us find ourselves thinking about her a couple of times a day. I am still not ready to post on this; we had her for more than 14 years and there is a lot to sort through.

I am really looking forward to getting these hike reviews up, and will do so over the next two weeks. Meanwhile, ciao for now!

Gracie's status

Not to be too much of a downer today, but since I am going to be off-line for a few days, thought I would give a quick update this morning.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted on an episode with Gracie here: http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2009/08/thought-we-had-setback.html.

We've had another of these, a complete boycott on Thursday. Plus, she was visibly weak from not eating. These are typical symptoms of end stage Canine Renal Failure.

Off to the vet for a consultation. We're told that finally, the effects of the disease are piling up, getting quite strong, and the nausea and other symptons may be just overpowering her.

It's most important that we continue to get her to eat. Mary has been so diligent about this - trying something new and different almost every day. We are having success with freshly cooked hamburger right now, and the vets gave us some food that is used to help get dogs back on track after major surgery - very much like chopped liver, with a strong smell and overwhelming deliciousness for canines. To our surprise, during this visit's weigh-in, Gracie had gained back 2 pounds!

The advice from the vet was to keep an eye on things, and recognize that there is not a lot left that can be done. Quality of life is the key now, and with a chronic disease, the one benefit you do get is to spend that much more time with your pet.

It's day to day now, and we are a little more flexible with the meds understanding where we are with this - sometimes she'll take them and sometimes not.

Of course, a visit to the vet was enough to give us a rally. When we got home, she ate very well - and she brought a tennis ball to Mary for a toss.

Thought we had a setback

Last weekend, Mary went out to the cabin for an errand or two, leaving me and the dogs home in Alexandria. Mary has been mainly working from home the last few years, and the dogs have gotten very used to that routine, so we had some worries about what might happen with "mom away."

There was howling and anxious panting. And then, there was a food boycot that started the morning after.

With canine renal failure, this is a sign that you keep an eye on...dog's gotta eat, and if they don't it could signal that something is going wrong.

I tried all the tricks - smearing turkey baby food on some wonder bread (surprisingly looks like peanut butter). Gracie has taken to eating Greek style organic yogurt with honey in a pinch, but that didn't work this time either. At least she was still taking her meds.

By Monday, she was even spitting out the treats that we use to hide the pills, and she'd grown a bit listless. I was worried, and when Mary got home we talked about next steps. We already had a vet appointment to get the dog checked out.

Turns out, Gracie's blood pressure had spiked, and that might have caused a little nausea, keeping her from eating. There are a few new meds to get us through this episode, and we're going to daily sub-Q fluids for the rest of the week, but everything seems to be working and hopefully we'll be back on an even keel by Saturday.

As far as a diet update, we've had to make some changes...this week, there are grilled hamburger patties and ziti pasta on the menu. It doesn't have everything in it we'd like to see her eating, but the important thing is that she is getting some food in her.

Good spot for a dog

I found this photo of Gracie from a few weeks back. There is a perfect spot for dogs under the overhanging porch off the master bedroom of the Cabin's addition. Both she and Sofie wander off under there from time to time...when you finally notice they're off the brick terrace, it's a pretty sure bet they are cooling off in the shade under there.

It's also a good spot for them to plop down and watch the people unload the car after errands, which is when I took this one.

Follow-up - "Bubble Buddies"

I mentioned our groomer - here's a photo of the van and the link to the business. Apparently they are not taking new customers at this time, but we sure appreciate the work they do an the convenience. http://www.bubblebuddies.biz/page2.html

And look at those girls afterwards. Sofie looks like she really enjoyed it, although Gracie finds it to be a drag, only less so because Mary and I didn't bathe her!

Some down time with Gracie and Sofie

It was a rare weekend not heading out to the Hawksbill Cabin, with me just getting back from being on business in San Antonio, and Mary headed up to NJ to visit some cousins preparing to relocate to Germany. Besides getting nine holes of golf in, and catching up on some reading (I’m currently reading Michael Perry’s Coop), I’ve been spending some quality time with Sofie and Gracie.

The girls were recently groomed. Because of the trauma bath time imparts, I haven’t given Gracie a bath in more than five years. We have a service that comes around twice a year in a converted RV, called “Bubble Buddies,” that actually specializes in older dogs, like our two. Gracie, the Border Collie, is 14 and a half; Sofie, the Chow mix we found as a stray in the DuPont Circle area of DC, is older than that. In fact, it has been about 13 years since Sofie joined our pack.

They don’t really get dirty and smelly like younger dogs anymore, so the twice a year schedule works out well for us. They actually seem to like it when the groomer hooks up the leash and leads them into the van – it’s an amazing difference from the “flat Gracie” routine I would experience when I tried to get her into the bathroom. Who knew a dog could actually expand to cover so much square footage, so that she couldn’t fit through a door?

When the groomer leaves, the dogs have been bathed and trimmed, and their nails are clipped. They get a special bandana, and they seem to like the extra attention we give them afterwards.

With Mary out of town, Sofie and Gracie have been hanging close by, mainly snoozing away as dogs at their age do. But at times, I still see glimpses of the old personalities. Sofie is mainly motivated by her tummy (or other bodily functions), so she is up and by my side any time I pass through the kitchen. Gracie has mainly been content to lie on the floor nearby, as she is now while I write this, but when I speak to her I can see the eyes darting around the room in search of a tennis ball or other toy.

Sofie is living proof that treating dogs the way you want them to behave makes them great pets. She’s smart, she has a great vocabulary, and with her, we’ve been through a lot. Almost 10 years ago she blew out a disk in her back, a fatal injury for dogs if they don’t receive medical attention. We got immediate emergency surgery for her (we had pet health insurance that helped). To this day, Mary and I both swear that the vet treating Sofie could operate on us; too, he was so well qualified and had such a great manner with his patients.

When our regular vet first met Sofie, she looked at her teeth and the Chow posture and said, “I like this dog. She has good hybrid vigor.” That inspired us to have Sofie’s DNA checked out: the Chow is definitely there, not just because of the purple tongue, but it gets hazy after that. The most significant other breed represented is Poodle. Who would have guessed?

Beyond the parentage, we get a glimpse of her life before she joined us whenever we meet an “intact” male dog on a walk. Even at the advanced dog age of at least 15 (person) years old, these encounters involve a lot of squealing, spinning around, and boxing the male dog. She seems to know what she is doing, but the male dogs are left puzzled by all this, standing there perplexed, worriedly checking with their masters about whether this (spayed) old lady is going to hurt them or not. She probably had a litter of fuzzy little Chow mix puppies somewhere along the way, and she has probably outlived them.

Sofie has slowed down some, but she is still in great health and full of good spirits. Her sister, Gracie, on the other hand, is not in the best of health. Still, she is doing well, in good spirits, and holding her own for now. Having been diagnosed in January with final stage canine renal failure, she is on a full regimen of prescriptions, and she gets a half liter of subcutaneously administered IV fluids every other day. She has lost most of her hearing, although she can hear a loud whistle, or one of her vocabulary words, when spoken directly to her in a loud voice.

Border Collies are widely considered one of the most intelligent dog breeds, and they were very popular around the time of Gracie’s birth, which was when the movie Babe came out. Our relatives had taken Gracie, but seemed to be finding the four-month old pup to be a whole lot of dog, so we offered to adopt her. Or maybe she adopted us, as I do remember the first weekend we met I spent eight or nine hours learning that border collies (1) love to fetch; (2) have incredible stamina, even at the age of four-months; and (3) upon first meeting a new human, have a wily ability to keep the human busy paying attention to them. Even now, despite her health and age, whenever we have visitors, there is a big production that we call the “Border Collie Parade of Toys. “

A few years ago, there was a story about a German border collie, named Rico, who knew the names of something like 200 dog toys. There is a Wikipedia article about Rico here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rico_(Border_Collie). Rico could retrieve articles he’d never seen before, and that he did not know the name of, using a deductive reasoning approach called “canine fast mapping.” There is a second Wikipedia article about a border collie named Betsy who is said to know 340 words, and I like to think that Gracie has a vocabulary around that size.

Sometime during the first year we had her, we took Gracie out for a ride in the Valley. While Mary and I had a picnic on the lawn at North Mountain Vineyard, we played fetch with Gracie. Later, she napped while we drove with the windows down the Old Valley Pike to Shenandoah Vineyard. There were sheep farms in the area, and the scent of the pastures eventually woke her up, at first just enough to raise her nose to the lowered window to sniff.

Slowly, the Border Collie genes took over, and she stood up in the back seat to have a look. When she finally figured out that there were animals over there in the pastures, she let out a long “Aooo-ooo-ooo” and watched the sheep carefully as we drove by.

We’ve had these girls a long time, but it had been a while since I have had to chance to sit with them at home, without the stress (for them) of the drive out to the cabin, and just enjoy them for what they have become as “senior” dogs. I know we may not have much time left with each other, especially compared to the time we’ve had together. But the character of their company is rich with experience and warmth, and there seems to be an innate understanding of all thoughts – verbal and nonverbal – between us as we hang out in the house. And this weekend, that’s been as good a time as I could have asked for.

Post publication clarification, from Mary: "...Thought the blog was good today, but, as I recall, I was also involved in those baths and actually tried to bathe them a few times once you had given up on the process... Also, I'm now trying to get them groomed more often, about quarterly. It's less stressful since the hair doesn't mat so much and it's a less painful process. Sofie also can't groom herself in the rear area any more due to her arthritis so the groomer shaves her back there. No more pantaloons on the Chow-Dalmation-Springer Spaniel-poodle mix."