Minor Modifications at Home to Help an Old Dog

Shadowfax is 14 years old and still gets around pretty well for her age. We've tried to do everything we could to keep her healthy for as long as possible. Even with her Cushing's Disease (which we have posted about before 1st post here and 2nd here) we have managed to be pretty lucky with her health.

As she has gotten older we have made some minor changes to our daily activities, we help her up and down the stairs and monitor her more closely when she's outside on the deck when it's raining and slippery. We're also keeping her active. Our two walks a day may be shorter and slower, but we still do them, rain or shine. Allowing her lots of time for sniffing on walks keeps her brain engaged as well as her body physically active.

In the house we've started adding more area rugs and runners so she can easily get from place to place. We've noticed her feet slipping every once in a while on the tile floor and the rugs seem to help her keep her grip on the floor. 

We have also started making it easier for Shadowfax to get in and out of bed by stacking her dog beds, raising their height. Since we have a lot of dog beds, we put the less popular ones on the bottom and they aren't missed.

When Dog Beds Attack!!!

We have a cover for the back seat of our car for Shadowfax to sit on, and for safety we always have her harness on and secured to the seat belt. But we figured an additional dog bed designed for a car on top of the car seat cover, would give her a more comfortable spot to sit.

The bed has made car rides more comfortable as we try to take Shadowfax with us when we go into town for an errand. One of us will run into the grocery store and the other will sit with her in the car. We've also started integrating stops at small parks in town to let her spend some time sniffing.

The other day I was dropping off Alycia to pick up her car from the repair shop. Sahdowfax was apparently very concerned that Alycia was going to abandon her forever so she started thrashing about in the backseat. And in 10 seconds ended up like this...

I did what any self-respecting dog parent would do, make sure she wasn't in any immediate physical danger, then take some pictures. Shadowfax realized that she'd gotten herself in a pickle and stopped thrashing and let me help her out of her predicament.

Thoughts on 16 Years of Blogging and a Throwback Picture from 2017

Time travel back to 2017, Shaak Ti and Shadowfax snuggling on the floor with Alycia at our house in North Dakota.You can find the original post here.

This blog is at 900+ posts, spanning the last 16 years and four states. It started as a way to easily post stories and pictures to family and friends that were spread across the country. Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes has been many things over those long years: a low stakes vehicle for creative writing, a place to try to become a paid interweb blogger (didn't work), a burden that could never be alleviated, a source of guilt for not posting enough, a medium for expressing love and grief after losing Tito and Shaak Ti, and finally a place to document a life well lived. 

We've finally come full circle and are back to where we started, a place to share stories to friends and family near and far. But now instead of inducing guilt, it feels lighter. A hobby that I get to when I have time and inspiration, or to post a quick photo. Not a burden or a source of unfinished work. Most importantly I've come to realize that it's a way to chronicle a loving history of amazing people, places, and pets. A living photo album that will never be completed, to be enjoyed as a guided tour down memory lane.

A Very Tall Tree and Shadowfax Sleeps On

 Wow it's been months since we've posted. Sorry.

All is well. Shadowfax is a happy camper.

We're enjoying the Oregon Coast and all the rugged outdoorsy beauty it has to offer. 

Blogging is great fun and we enjoy sharing our stories and pictures, but there are really tall trees to go check out too. Sometimes posting takes a back seat.

Assorted Weekend Projects Starring Shadowfax

We spent some time this weekend in the garden working on a few projects.

There were a few plants that John had gotten on his birthday trip to the local nursery that needed to get in the ground. Shadowfax stuck to her core competency of supervision. She's more of an idea person than an action person.

Shadowfax was more focused on recharging her batteries than pitching in to help. Supervising from her various spots on the mulch.

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Town

Shadowfax got some quality time with the Grandparents when they came for a visit recently. She was extremely excited as she hasn't gotten to see them in a few years as they weren't able to travel during the pandemic. 

She spent a lot of time going back and forth for pets and love and would instantly be on full alert if there was any activity in the kitchen. Treats were dispensed in a manner that only Grandma and Grandpa can. After they left Shadowfax spent the next few days recuperating from all the attention she got.

We had a great time visiting, took them to see some of the sights, and ate fish & chips with abandon. They lucked out and had some pleasant weather as well, so the coast of Oregon made a good impression.

Pup Cup Follow Up

We posted about Shadowfax getting her first pup cup a few weeks ago. It took exactly one pup cup for her to go from "Wow this is an unexpected and neat treat" to whining in the back seat and staring at the barista as soon as we got to the window. 

We ordered our coffees and also a pup cup. The barista laughed at me when I ordered it, but we assured her that if we left without one there would likely be an epic tantrum and a lovely Sunday ruined with pouting.

Beverages in hand we drove a few miles down the road to our favorite spots and strolled around and sniffed the forest.

Earth Day Spectacular - The Solar Powered Pittie

We took this picture yesterday and were in the process of conjuring up some witty "just recharging our batteries this weekend" comment, but we realized that today is Earth Day.

In honor of Earth Day we present the solar powered deaf pittie (patent not pending) Shadowfax.

Monday Morning at the Office

It's another Monday morning here at Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes world headquarters. There is a lot of work to get done. And we'll be having none of it. Though we will contribute in our own way, mostly by snoring at a distractingly loud volume and having periodic groaning stretch sessions. 

I like how this picture shows the full measure of her gigantic noggin', squishing down the side of her dog bed. "Well that's probably an old dog bed" you might be saying. Nope, it's relatively new, but not load rated for this level of pittie noggin.

Shadowfax and Her First Pup Cup

I'll get this out of the way now. Yes were are horrible dog parents. Shadowfax is 13 years old and has never had a pup cup before. In our defense we almost never go through drive through coffee shops, the kind of places that would hand out a pup cup.

Here at our new homestead on the Oregon Coast, there are a couple of drive through coffee shacks. On weekend mornings we will often pile in the car to visit a lighthouse or state park and stop by a coffee shack as a special treat. Our favorite place always offers Shadowfax cookies, which she has now come to expect. We never thought to request a pup cup and were always happy that Shadowfax was excited with special cookies.

But today we hit up a different spot that offered us a pup cup. "Of course, we'd love one!" we immediately responded. Shadofax was initially skeptical but quickly realized that it was tasty deliciousness and gobbled it down.

We'll return to this coffee shop for sure and post additional pictures of future pup cups.

Wildlife Sighting - A Bear in the Yard

We knew that our little corner of the Oregon Coast was more rugged and wild than any of the places that we had lived before. A few weeks after moving, something was cruising through the backyard in the middle of the night that Shadowfax could smell through the open window. Her crazy barking fit sent whatever it was scampering on their way.

Chatting with our neighbors also alerted us to regular bear activity in the area. Supposedly there are cougar and coyote as well, but we haven't seen any sign of them. Other than the occasional deer sighting on our early morning walks, we hadn't seen much else either. Until yesterday.

I was pouring our evening tea and looked out the kitchen window, spotting this bear eating grass or (maybe grubs) in the lawn. Alycia decided that the bear had probably recently woken from hibernation as the bear looked a bit dazed and spacey. Some hurtful comments followed comparing how I look when I first wake up in the morning. Those comments will certainly not be posted here. 

Don't fret though, we take all necessary bear related precautions - removing our birdfeeders in Spring and Fall, securing our trash cans, and making sure there are no fruiting trees in the backyard. And when we venture out on our walks we always carry bear spray, just in case. It's fun to see cool animals like this bear, and with a few small adjustments on our part and a little bit more situational awareness, we can all coexist happily. The bears were certainly here before we were.

The View From the Back Porch

 This was our view from the back porch yesterday. 

A day of showers and wind cleared out by the end of the day and left a dramatic evening sky. The lights from the back porch illuminated the trees and made for a spectacular photo. We are very much appreciative of the beauty of the Oregon Coast.

Double Rainbow and a Beach Stroll

The coast of Oregon is truly enchanting. Rugged and windswept beaches collide with dense forests. There's something for everyone. This morning I was working and looked out my office window to see a double rainbow.

The afternoon prior I had an hour to take a stroll on the beach. The temperature was in the mid-40's and light winds, enough to make your face red and your nose run, but not too chilly. This is the view to the South, footprints in the sand but nary a soul in sight.

The view to the North was equally deserted and no less gorgeous. 

There's something special about feeling like you have the whole beach to yourself. The only sounds were the waves breaking and the gentle rush of the ocean breeze.

A Scenic Sunday Morning Drive

Sunday was a break in the rainy weather we've had for the last few weeks. A warm front was also rolling through that gave us temperatures in the 60's, balmy for this time of year. 

We piled into the car with Shadowfax for a quick morning trip. We stopped at our favorite coffee stand for coffee and dog cookies and drove about a half hour north along the coast to Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We've been a few times before and it's a lovely spot to watch the waves crash, look out for cool birds, and let Shadowfax mosey along and sniff.

It was a beautiful morning.

Shadowfax did a whole lot of sniffing, peeing on stuff, and barking at threatening Pomeranians. She was tired and spent the rest of the day in her bed-on-a-bed pile. She has a tough life.