Slice of Life: Still Spunky 20 of 31

For the month of March, I'll be writing with the Slice of Life community. Disclaimer: I'll be writing every day so the writing will be a bit unpolished most days. Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community together and for inspiring me to try to find the stories that surround me each day.

It's early morning and I creep around the house trying not to wake anyone.  Trudy, our dog, is up moving around and notices my entrance into the foyer.  Excitedly she begins to jump like she's a puppy again.  She's a Tibetan Terrier mix and rather average sized, but as she jumps her hind legs nearly reach my knees.  I have to laugh.  Some days it's all she can do to get up to go outside, but this morning she's raring to go.  As I open to the garage, Trudy races around me nearly knocking me off my feet.  She's moving faster than she can handle and slides on the smooth concrete as she descends the steps into the garage.

Trudy was my father-in-law's dog.  We've had her for probably close to six years now.  Everyone asks how old she is, and we aren't really sure.  My father-in-law got her at a shelter.   Before my father-in-law got Trudy she had just recovered from a hip surgery that was a result of previous abuse.  She was lucky the shelter had worked so hard to get her back on her feet and find the perfect owner for her.  My father-in-law was certainly that.  It's hard to know how old she was when he got her, but we'd guess somewhere between 3 and 5 years old.  He had her for at least six years before we got her.  Our best guess is she is around fourteen years old, but that's likely a young estimate.

She certainly doesn't have the energy she once had.  My father-in-law lived in a small space.  I remember he'd bring Trudy inside and she'd run around their space like she was a horse at the races.  She'd run circles around the perimeter of their living room until she had to be dizzy.  Whenever he'd return from being gone, she'd hunch down on her front paws and then jump excitedly over and over.  She'd race around and around to let him know how happy she was to see him.  Of course, most often she was by his side.  She loved to ride in his truck and accompany him everywhere he went.

There are still moments where she comes into the house like she's her old self --- or should I say, young self.  She'll sprint into the house, circle all the rooms and then finish by racing around our coffee table in the living room.  She'll do this over and over and over again.  It's times like these, we just all sit and laugh at her antics.

While we still see these bursts of energy from her that make us laugh, she's also showing a lot of signs of getting older.  Most of the time she moves at a slow pace.  Getting up on all four of her feet can take her a bit of time.  We've placed more rugs on our hardwood floor so she can move around with greater ease.

She's most definitely the smartest dog we've ever had.  She can out-maneuver us like nobody's business.  We live in the country so we used to take her outside with us while we were working in the yard.  We didn't keep her on a leash when she was out on our property, but she quickly learned to notice when we weren't paying attention.  She'd sneak to the back of our property, ease around a line of evergreens, and then she'd be off running.  She plays every family member to get outside even if she was just out.  When my mom comes to visit, look out.  She has my mom's number and manages to charm treats and food from her all day long.

Trudy certainly shows signs of her age.  In addition to her challenges getting up on her feet, she can't hear us call her and her vision has become another challenge she battles.  Though she's getting older, she still manages a bit of jumping, some racing about, and the ocassional mad dash.  These bursts of youth make me laugh.  Trudy certainly adds a little energy to this house.