good old dog

Brady is starting to look old. He's been gray around the muzzle for a while, but now his eyes are getting a little cloudy and he seems, I dunno, droopier. He sleeps a lot more and has started barking a LOT more. Oh, and he's chasing his tail again. (He was obsessive about tail-chasing as a pup.) I think he's starting to slip into doggy dementia. I stopped exercising with him last fall because he couldn't keep up anymore. Sigh.

Brady had many health issues as a pup. Right after I adopted him from the shelter he had Parvo-virus and then was diagnosed with panosteitis (some bone/joint thing that made him lame) and then hip dysplasia. At age 3 he blew out one of his knees and had to have major surgery. Now at age almost 12 his hips and knees are in surprisingly good shape, though he did have a hard time getting in and out of the car today.

I took him down to Galena Marina for the first time this year. The marina has two of his favorite things- water and sticks. He was like a puppy again, begging me to throw sticks into the water so he could swim out and fetch them. We explored a little into the woods but the river was so high most of the wooded area was flooded. Brady had a fabulous time. For me it was bitter-sweet. It was painful to think this might be one of the last times we played in the water. (Yeah, I don't actually get in the nasty river water. Yuck!) He's totally exhausted and crashed in his bed but it was definitely worth it :) Good old Brady-dog.