Lessons From My Disabled Dog
A few months ago, Clara, my trusty 12-year-old mixed-breed dog started to lose strength in her hind legs. I had already talked about this with her vet, who had told me that she could potentially start losing the use of her front paws as well in the future. I’ve made it one of my goals to cherish this wonderful four-legged companion of mine for as long as she can be happy, guided by the care of her kind vet. What I didn’t expect was to start learning so much from this white, loud ball of fur from the moment that she was first placed in her wheelchair. Here are a few of those lessons, compiled as both a way to share them and to help me become aware of them.
We All Need To Be Reminded of Our Capabilities From Time to Time
Lying next to my wife, during this whole working-from-home deal that became far more prevalent because of the pandemic, Clara suddenly started whining. We didn’t understand what was going on at the time. I mean, I was aware that she’d eventually lose the use of her hind legs, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen yet. Concerned, I looked at her as she complained and her eyes met mine. That’s when I noticed that she was trying to move but she couldn’t. I picked her up and moved her to her doggie bed that was next to the desk I was using in the living room and that calmed her down. For the next few hours, her whining would repeat itself every time she wanted to move to a different place whether next to me or my wife, and every time I’d pick her up and move her to the other spot.
I made an appointment with the vet and she confirmed that Clara had lost a lot of mobility, but wasn’t fully disabled. However, even after starting on pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs, she still wouldn’t attempt to walk, and her eyes were very sad. I started going through those emotions of what would the next step be if her spirits didn’t improve. She was eating a lot less, and was very lethargic overall. I recall seeing many videos and articles about dogs in wheelchairs, so I started researching the topic. I was a bit skeptical, as these things aren’t cheap, but finally settled on one to purchase. Initially, she was extremely hesitant, but my children coaxed her with some pieces of bacon. She started walking, moving her front legs as her rear legs rested on the padded supports of the wheelchair. Pretty soon I was taking her out for walks in her wheelchair as we all saw a radical transformation before our eyes. My wife jokes that I coaxed at least another decade out of her.
All I had to do for Clara was to return her mobility to her and take her out on the sun, running on the grass and barking at squirrels once more. She had to be reminded of the simple pleasures of life to get some spark back into her. She had to be reminded that this walking and running business had always been part of her life, that this was a kind of greatness all her own. Soon enough she started to attempt walking on her own without the wheelchair. She doesn’t always succeed, and more often than not just ends up dragging herself along the floor, but she didn’t even try to do so before being reminded that she used to walk on her own. So yes, next time I find myself a little lost on my path, I will remind myself of my talents and achievements so that I can find myself following the right path once more.
Always Seek to Be Close to Your Loved Ones
I find it amazing how, even after suffering such a dramatic loss in mobility, Clara will still follow us around the house. She’s dragging her hind legs, but she doesn’t give up. During a standard day with both me and my wife working from home, she will take turns sleeping by either one of us. An hour by my wife, another next to me. She happily drags herself to the door at around the time the kids come back from school to greet them and will follow the nighttime ritual when we put them to bed by dragging herself to that little corner in my children’s room where she sleeps.
So yes. That’s one important lesson: stay close to your loved ones, stay close to family. Always seek them out and offer some love. They’re worth it.
Be Open to Accept Support
This one’s a little tricky for me sometimes, so I’m glad that Clara’s become a good teacher in this area. Whenever I call out for her to take her out, I move behind her and call her name. She notices the movement and performs a little pushup with her front legs as if letting me know that she’s ready to be picked up to be placed in her wheelchair. It’s a small gesture, but a fairly endearing one that’s letting me know that she’s ready to move on to business and is happily accepting the support she’s about to get.
Always Put in the Effort do the Things you Truly Enjoy
It seems to be unavoidable that as we age and the responsibilities pile on, we forget to take a little time to enjoy the things we like. Or maybe we just go for the low-hanging fruit: spend time with our brains turned off, eyes glazed over just scrolling away through social media posts or watching some banal show or movie on whatever streaming service we happen to load up that moment. That may be a simple, effortless way to pass the time, but it doesn’t do much to fulfill that need to do something enjoyable and productive.
Clara’s an expert at doing these enjoyable, yet productive things. Even though she can barely walk and must drag herself across the floor, she will go through the effort of doing that just to get herself to whatever little spot in the room has the sunlight beaming through. Window open, sun rays going through them, Clara will drag herself over and plop herself down to enjoy the rays. She’s always enjoyed the sun since she’s been a puppy, and this is productive for her in the sense that it keeps her nice and warm while passing the time until her next walk or meal. Most of all though, she had to put in some effort to get there. That probably makes it even more satisfying.
Persistence Persistence Persistence!
Anyone that’s had a dog knows that even the most well-behaved pooch will beg from time to time. Maybe it won’t happen often depending on how you’ve trained yours, but at some point, they’ll at least give you that sparkly-eyed stare that makes you feel all kinds of guilt while you eat that sandwich.
Well, Clara has decided that now is the time to get her way. I don’t know if it’s the extra attention that she’s been getting since she lost the use of her hind legs or if it’s related to her age, but she just doesn’t give a bark anymore. She’ll sit right by us as we eat, and slowly progress through multiple stages of begging to try to get what she wants. She’ll stare at us, drag herself under the table, and nuzzle our legs, and she will bark. Yes, she barks. Multiple times. It doesn’t always work, but I’ve noticed that I’ve given her some table scraps now, something that didn’t happen when she was healthier. I’ve been had! But you know what? That level of escalating persistence is admirable, and it can be a useful trait to emulate. Just remember that we can’t get away with as much of that persistence as she can. After all, she’s a dog. All it takes is a happy stare and a wag of the tail for her to get back on our good side!
Never Stay Still. Move That Body!
This is probably her ultimate lesson. Here I am, working from home, staying an ungodly amount of hours sitting in front of a computer screen as I go over meeting notes, review developer assignments, create new requirements based on business needs, and try to figure out what else do we need to add to our APIs. It’s exhausting, yet I haven’t moved my body around much. Then I look to my side, and there's Clara, dragging her body to my kids’ room. I wonder what’s up and get off from my chair to follow her and figure out what she’s doing. Not much really, she’s just staring at their room. She turns around and notices me staring at her, then she goes back to her bed. It’s a fairly large bed in the shape of a sofa that we got from Costco. It takes her some effort, but she climbs over the 2-inch tall cushion and gets on the bed, then lies down.
I go back to my office chair after caressing her belly and I hear the sound of her paws on the tile. There she is, dragging herself to my bedroom, where my wife is in the same working-from-home situation as I am, and she goes to lie down by her feet. Not only is she reminding me to visit my wife from time to time; we’re sharing an office at home after all, but she’s also teaching me that even if she has lost some mobility, she’s not staying still. Considering all the advantages of exercising, she’s definitely on to something and I need to follow her example.
A Small Note:
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