Contemporary Dog

For the past two months my attention has been focused on my dog, when I'm not working. Two weeks ago, she was too weak to lift her head herself. But she has rallied, taken a few short walks on her own and now I want to get her a wheelchair. But the Vet fears potential spinal trauma. In the old days, an old dog got put down when they become disabled. Today, our animals are our extended families. So we are going to consult with her neurologist about the wheelchair rather than put her down. She has never been in pain. She is in good spirits and has figured out how to communicate various needs when she requires help in the form of food, more water, calls of nature or simply to be turned on her bed. She is alert and responsive to personalities of all species around her. Like my mother at 96, before her death, the spirit and mind are strong but the body is not as co-operative as one might ideally wish for. I didn't put my mother down and I'm not going to put my dog down either. But she's a big dog and I'm a small woman. I am anxious to make her comfortable without exhausting myself. So this is negotiating life with "nature" in situ.