Pupdate

Here's the latest on my best friend's dog: She has a herniated disc, which accounts for her difficulty moving, and the tests revealed a bladder infection. Her complete bloodwork isn't back yet, so the vet has postponed any real "work" on the disc until it's confirmed that nothing else is wrong. In the meantime, she's on antibiotics and painkillers. Thanks to the meds, and being home with her people and her routine, her appetite has returned.

The good news is that vet seems very matter-of-fact about all this, as though this is simply what happens to border collies as they age.

My friend and his wife are both quite melancholy about their dog's condition. First of all, she was their "baby" before they had their daughters, so naturally she's an integral part of their life, a member of the family, and they love her.

Then there's the poignant parental aspect of it. While it seems like a good bet that the dog will come through this and enjoy a comfortable life again, she is nearly 14 years old. At some point, sooner rather than later, my friend is going to be confronted with one of the more difficult tasks of Daddydom. As he said last night, "The girls don't know life without that dog." He's told me time and again how involved the dog has always been with those girls, how she's worn a track around the perimeter of their lawn, racing around to protect and "herd" the kids as they played outside. The inevitably sad way this story is going to end tugs at the heart. It's times like this that I'm glad I'm not a mom.

When I get home to my healthy, happy cats tonight, I'm going to give them each an extra head rub and take the time to really appreciate what a gift they are to me.