HILDA AND THE BEACH

We heard it was going to be sunny and 70 degrees on the coast this weekend - yes, in January - so we packed a picnic and went to Monterey.  We even took the dog.  In a way, we planned it for the dog.

Hilda is really showing her age, she is sleeping more and more, she is jumpy and nervous and unsteady in her feet.  She was always tail wagging happy and very puppy-like until a couple of years ago, so it is hard to see her personality so diminshed. 




We can see that her eyes are clouding over and realized about a year ago that she can't hear.  She still gets excited about going places with us, but we see that she is frightened when she is out - probably overwhelmed by what she can't see and hear.

But we wanted to have an outing and take her along.  She was great in the car, we brought her little bed and she sat and looked out the window all the way there.  Once her little paws hit the sand she was not so sure of things.  He dachshund nose was sniffing away, but she was not as intrigued with the sealife strewn over the sand as we thought she would be.  Once the blanket was spread, she was much happier.

We walked her down to the water, thinking she might get excited and run in as she did in the past, but she was tail-tucked and looking back to the blanket so we made it a quick walk.


For the 3 hours or so we were there she never relaxed. 

She did enjoy the picnic.

After Tom had a nice nap, we packed up and headed home with our little old lady.  She slept almost all the way home - when we drove up over the Sunol grade and down into our valley she smelled home, perked up and sat looking out the window the rest of the way.

DOGGIE LOVE

When we  were putting ornaments on the tree we put one for our dear little dachshund, Hilda right up front and center.  I think Hilda being 14 and a bit blind and deaf makes us all the more aware that our years with her are getting limited.

This summer we had to get rid of the area rug we had in our living room because she spent last winter using it when she didn't wait to go out to the yard and when the grass in the yard was wet and she didn't want to walk on, much less squat in, wet grass.  Believe me, I tried everything to dissuade her from that practice and to clean up after those episodes.  I really liked that rug. 

Once the rug was gone, she could no longer get enough "purchase" on the floor to jump up onto the furniture.  Which is fine,  better for her back, actually.  Except that we have never forbidden the furniture so when we were around she is constantly pestering us to pick her up, then she jumps down and wants back up, then jumps down and on and on.  We have grown tired of this.  So I have been looking for a solution, other than those cheesy, yet expensive, carpeted steps they sell for pets.

I ended up, at least for the time being, with a cat scratcher thingy.  It is the perfect size ramp for Hilda.  She climbs up and onto the ottoman and then can choose whichever seat she wants.  Usually the one most recently vacated by someone and therefore pre-warmed.

And speaking of pre-warmed, the bed there in the photo?  It has a heating pad under it which is switched on all winter...Spoiled?  Not our doggie.

WALKING WITH HILDA

I took Hilda for a walk yesterday.  I don't do this very often because of her advanced years and back problems, I wait until she has days when she is especially active and interested in something other than occasionally adjusting her napping position.

Because she is getting a bit blind and quite hard of hearing, she is paranoid when outdoors in wide open spaces.  Her nose works, so she can smell other dogs and things, but she does not trust her other senses to know the proximity of the things she smells.  When we walk, her normally non-stop wagging tail is tucked in and her head swivels from side to side taking in the possibility of ambush.  Sometimes she slows and takes a long look behind her.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not torturing her by taking her for a walk, she LOVES going out.  She just trots along happily.

Usually I go to our Sports Park because it is a nice 2.5 mile loop, away from traffic noise and a pleasant park.  But lots of people walk their dogs there and I think it might be more stressful for Hilda.  So I found a new trail that I walked yesterday.  It is in a more rural setting and we were the only ones there.  I usually wear my iPod, but I decided not to.  It was a beautiful cool morning and there was a breeze and I enjoyed hearing the leaves scuttling around.  I saw lizards and squirrels (fortunately Hilda did not see them.)  I love the smell of the dry grasses. 

On the return loop back to the car I was really into the whole experience.  The blue of the sky, the smells, thinking about the changes the Fall would bring soon.  A huge hawk took off from one of the oak trees and was gliding across the open field.  It was such a perfect finish to our outing to see this elegant creature. Then it dropped the longest, whitest spray of bird poo I have ever seen as it soared off.

GRATITUDE PHOTO CHALLENGE

I have been thinking about gratitude since this challenge was announced. I was afraid I didn't know how to show what I am grateful for when I am feeling so challenged right now.

I am grateful for my parent's long marriage. This photo is from their 50th Wedding Anniversary. They are now married 56 years!

I am grateful for giving in to my family's wish for a dog. I adore this funny little creature even though she pees on our carpets and barks with hysterical joy every time the doorbell rings, or there are kids playing in the street or she sees a squirrel on the fence.

I am so grateful that we saved up and took a family trip to Puerto Rico. It may not seem like the best thing to do when we have 2 kids on college and financial challenges, but it was a great family trip - perhaps the last one we will have since the older kids are so grown up.

Puerto Rico was wonderful and it was a memorable trip.

I am grateful that my twins love each other so much. They still feel such a tight bond that when they decided they wanted tattoos they had each other's initials inked permanently near their hearts.

I am also grateful it is a spot easy to cover up!

I am grateful for finding a hobby which allows me to be artistic to the best of my abilities. My husband made a little outdoor space for me to play with my glue and tile and grout.

I am grateful for roses blooming in November and this view from my kitchen window.

I am always grateful for beauty.

And most of all I am grateful for...

LAUGHTER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HILDA

When my kids and husband started talking about getting a dog - I said NO. They wore me down of course, but I stuck with NO on the big dog thing. My husband grew up with dachshunds, and I read about them and we met with a breeder and saw a yard full of these joyful little dogs romping through the grass and, well, you know.

Brunhilda - Hilda - came home with us when she was 5 months old. We went to the breeder for a newborn puppy. Hilda was in the yard and her disposition was so calm and her face so sweet that she won us over. She was the runt of a previous litter, and the breeder couldn't sell her as a "breeding worthy" dog - so she was sort of like Marley'; a "clearance puppy".

When we got her she had been living in a kitchen with newspapers all over the floor. No effort at house training had been attempted. We tried every training method we could think of with mixed success. She is so low to the ground that any dampness on the grass repels her. She finds a nice, dry carpet preferable. Over the years we have restricted her from carpeted areas but with uneven results. And take my word for it - none of the products on the market can undo what has been done.

In the years we have had her, she has remained sweet and calm, kids can do pretty much anything to her and she goes along. She is funny and lively and still thinks she is a puppy. She loves table scraps, but maintains a svelte 7-9 pound weight. We sometimes call her cat-dog because even the extra-small sized dog things are too big for her.

She loves to ride in the car. One summer day, in a fit of excitement - she jumped out of the window of our Dodge Ram truck and landed in the street. Since then she has had a couple of difficult periods with her back. She is kind of crooked now and sleeps on a heating pad.

She is a beloved member of the family. It is hard to imagine our lives without her. She greets us coming home (or even just back into the room) with wagging tail and bright eyes. She nudges my hand when she wants her ears scratched. She trustfully falls for Tom's teasing tricks. She likes to be near us, so when I am working on the computer she hangs out on the cart which holds our printer, unless there is a patch of sunshine to luxuriate in.

She isn't so keen to chase after socks or other tossed items anymore, but she loves going out to the park to sniff and roll around in smelly things.

So to celebrate her 12th birthday we took her to the park riding in my bicycle basket. She had a fine time and now she needs a bath.