The Creativity Project: Learning from my Dog
What I’ve learned from taking care of my senior dog.
My coworker has been under the weather for the last week. I can’t blame her, the weather won’t settle and her legs aren’t working so well. She’s a beagle so she’s got a couple of fatty tumors on her leg that swell and shrink depending on the weather.
So, it’s been a week of extra trips up and down the stairs as I carry an aged dog outside while I get other things accomplished. It’s been a bit of a workout because Mei is a very dense puppy and I’m very happy that she’s no longer overweight.
With all of that said, I have learned a few things from watching my coworker struggle:
- It’s okay to slow down, just not stop. Considering one of her hind legs is hurting her, Mei hasn’t given up on doing stuff, even to her detriment. We’ve had to implement a barrier before the stairs to keep her from climbing, falling, and hurting herself even worse.
2. Self-care is important. Naps and extra treats have been the norm since her leg gave out (the extra treats being pain meds wrapped in a bit of cheese). Extra snuggles have been given because who doesn’t need extra snuggles.
3. It’s okay to ask for help. As I said before, with her leg not working right, we’ve implemented carrying Mei up and down the stairs to keep her from injuring herself any worse. She’s getting up in age and stumbling more, so we don’t want her to take a tumble down the stairs.
4. You need to figure out the logistics. With needing to carry Mei up and down the stairs, I’ve had to figure out how to bring my breakfast down (without my cereal getting super soggy) while keeping her from following me. I have to be more precise with my trips upstairs and time everything out with Mei’s need to go outside.
We’ve had a bit of a slower week and that’s okay. Mei is old, even for a beagle. She’s over 15 years old now, and we weren’t sure she’d make it past 13. Her leg has gotten better as the week goes on, but we’re still not at 100%. I didn’t expect to learn anything from hauling my dog around, but I’m glad that she could still teach me a thing or two.
What random thing have you learned from a source that you never expected to? Let me know!
