Don't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

Copper has been needier than usual the past week, he and Charger were at the vet last week so there's nothing new going on as far as I know - but he's been tagging behind everyone 24/7 and doing a bit more whining than usual. It's hard not to feel sorry for him - with Adam gone and Jackson growing up, he no longer has his boys to hang out with and pay attention to him. So he's at loose ends and some days there's nothing we can do to make him feel any better. We've been playing with him and David takes him outside with him when he goes out, but there's a certain sadness that we just can't touch. I suppose it's a part of life, as much as David and I talk about not getting anymore animals and the zoo passing on, as we all know it's one thing to talk about it and whole other ball of wax when it happens. Mr. Lee, Copper and Charger are all geriatric with Claw not far behind, after all these years with a house full of pets I don't know if we can handle not having  dogs and cats around. As much of a pain in the butt Copper can be, there's a  certain comfort in having a dog following you around, watching tv with you, or just wandering the yard while you do other stuff. I think when they pass on, it will be very hard to resist the temptation to run out and replace them right away. And this year, both dogs have been showing signs of slowing down, Copper has some fairly large tumors which are worrisome, but not treatable. So far he doesn't seem to notice and they're not giving him any physical problems so we're just leaving him alone until they do. Last night he woke us up around 1 am with the most mournful howling, we have no idea why - he wasn't in any pain or distress. So perhaps he was dreaming of what no longer is.