January 18, 2010

Dog, We Have A Misunderstanding

Wrigley, the family dog, was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia, about a year ago. We noticed her limping and finally took her to a doctor ... the prognosis was not good. Essentially, doctors cannot believe that she can even walk. Her dysplasia and arthritis are so severe that she should have trouble getting around. Instead, she still jumps and runs and plays, but she has definitely slowed down quite a bit over the past two years or so.

We feel guilty. Guilty that she is in this pain. Guilty that we didnt get her diagnosed earlier. And I I think mostly guilty that we have subjected her to a lifetime of harassment by our darling toddler, Brooke. Brooke chases her, jumps on her, and teases her. Lately she likes to poke her in the eye (seriously. she takes her finger and puts it into the dogs eye). She also steals her toys and eats her food (yes, I'm still talking about my daughter. She eats the dogs food).

To make ourselves feel a little better, we have been letting her sleep on the couch. We know that her hips are sore and she is tired. And so we have been pretending that we dont know that she is sleeping on the couch when she sneaks on and off at night. But she is getting more and more careless. First she was getting caught on the couch when we came home during the day. Then she was getting caught in the morning still sleeping on the couch when I came down to start the day. Then she stepped it up a bit more - jumping on the couch when she thought we werent around. The other day I went into the bathroom and I came out to find her there.

Today, another step. My husband was downstairs working on some stuff. I was in the kitchen doing some stuff. I looked down to wash some dishes and then this happened.



It's been a rough day. Brooke has been torturing her as usual. I felt bad so I ignored it. Mind you, it was about 7PM. Its not bedtime, we were home, and the dog decided to cuddle up on the couch.

And that wasnt it. The cuddle turned into a sprawl.


And guess where I am now? Sitting in the corner of the couch because the dog has taken up 2/3 of the thing. And she is laying next to me, passed out, snoring. And I still feel guilty. Am I a sucker, or what?

5 comments:

Jess said...

Wrigley is SO cute! Poor thing with the hip dysplasia (although, very common in labs) -- she deserves some couch time! Of course, I'm one of those biased weirdos who actually likes pets on the furniture, and we have always allowed Scooter free-range of our furniture -- this has caused some unnecessary wear and tear, mind you, but I honestly don't mind.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh...what a great story. Dogs are so smart...just like kids...they keep pushing that boundary so long as they aren't getting in trouble. Obviously your dog is very comfortable on that couch so what the heck!

JScribe said...

poor little wriggles. I say let her be a couch baby--maybe get her hips fixed? She's put in a lot of good service and puts up with your little one quite nicely. :)

PS: I actually ran last night. Maybe ill survive the Shamrock Shuffle!

MCM Mama said...

Aww, what a sweet doggie!

We are the same way. Our 15 year old cat gets away with a lot more than he used to...

kilax said...

Poor Wrigley. I would let her sleep on the couch too.