My old boy loved the sea we drove him there he would do a wobbly gallop into it and just sit there smiling.
That's lovely, Swampy.
Because Duncan passed at only 5 years old and Jodhi was a pistol until nearly the very end, Brogan was my first experience living with a senior dog who slowly lost his hearing, then became a very slow walker and then finally was going blind. Not that Holly is old, just making the comparison with them not being able to do things you've always done. Holly's has come on much more suddenly, but the thing I found remarkable about Brogan is that he just got on with things and enjoyed life, albeit in a different mode. It was much harder for me to adapt than it was for him.
But once I got with the program a bit more, it just became normal. For instance instead of walking all day on a sightseeing trip (we were used to a typical 'day out' being 8-10 hours of walking time), everything had to be planned with the knowledge that Brogan could walk for 45 minutes, then he'd need to have a 45-60 minute rest, and then he could walk 45 minutes and was done for the day. Really done - as in you had to be back in the car exactly on time like Cinderella and her pumpkin coach. The last two years it just became normal, and I got used to those 45 minute walking intervals being slower and slower.
The new normal on one hand made me sad - it was a sign that Brogan and I were getting closer to the end of our time together - but it was also a really nice way of seeing more of the world. I noticed loads of things during those hour rests that I wouldn't have noticed before, and loved how Brogan kind of held court as people approached him to give him pets and admiration. The funny thing is that I still do that, walk, big rest, walk again thing. Carbon doesn't need it of course, but it's something that Brogan taught me about life, and we do it in his honour.
You'll find your rhythm with Holly and I bet she'll teach you some new things too.
