This photo is Ruby on her last walk down to the creek. It’s too hard for her. She really wants to come, but every time I take her, she wobbles and huffs and puffs and we all creep along, but it’s just too hard. I decided last week, that’s it. She’s staying home on all the forest walks with hills and coyotes.
Otterpop’s all, what’s the big deal? She doesn’t mind walking slow with her.
Banksy doesn’t mean to topple her over, but sometimes it happens when 2 dogs are running fast and 2 dogs are Ruby and Otterpop. Otterpop isn’t allowed to run on the trails, and Ruby has gotten smooshed too many times. Don’t even get me started about the run-in we had with the “friendly” wolf hybrid dog the other day. It was awful, I had to shove Ruby in the bushes to get her out of the way, hold on to Otterpop, and the end of the story is, luckily it was short, the guy pulled the wolf dog off and Banksy was terrified out of her britches ten times over. I know what the wolf dog’s truck looks like. We won’t walk there ever again if I see that truck.
So this is what the walks look like. We take Ruby on a walk around the neighborhood, bring her home, give her some cookies in her blue chair, then we sneak out for a more adventurey to somewhere we can go fast and far.
They don’t really mind. We all go a lot faster when we leave Ruby at home.
Maybe she minds.
Ruby hasn’t been able to go to the beach in a really long time. It’s too bright and she can get faced the wrong way too easy. I tried a few weeks back, carried her up and down the stairs, but even in the fog it’s too bright and she looks lost if she strays even a few feet from me.
Getting old’s a bitch. Somehow it’s happening to the best of us.
The park at the old school. This we can do. Ruby can walk very, very slow, and stand in the shade and sniff the air. Then I throw the ball, and we just walk slowly from shade patch to shade patch, me and her, while the other dogs chase the ball. Gustavo usually now is picking to sit in the shade patch, I make Banksy lie down in the shade patch and have a rest, Otterpop barks and carries on, and Ruby just stands there. This is her best thing right now.
Ruby, getting old is a bitch, but you can do it gracefully kinda like you are the canine version of Carmen dell'orefice…https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Ftagged%2Fcarmen-dell'orefice&psig=AFQjCNHk_opVmeVbIOuEFed5hb0umCreDg&ust=1467421428355685
Sometimes we have to give up fashion week, but remain a legend.
https://www.tumblr.com/search/carmen-dell'orefice#
I maddeningly can't effing leave an image of Carmen, but I'm sure you have the intelligence to download a photo of this ruby-esque legend. I'm sure she is one of the deitys that Tim Gunn prays to at night. Tim Gunn bless you, Ruby.
If Tim Gunn prays to her at night, that's good enough for me! Ruby has her own special chair no one else gets to sit in and it's a beautiful peacock blue velvet, the most beautiful thing in our house.
Poor Ruby. I suppose there's no way you can carry her along sometimes? I tried one of those dog carrier bags when my dog got less mobile, but the biggest I could find was too snug, and besides he never wanted to be carried, just wanted to totter along on his own. I think your new plan is good. Ruby gets her walk, then gets to stay safe in the best chair.