frenemies...the sad confession of a lapsed dog lover

Poor Melvin. The dog gets no respect. His world was completely turned upside-down 9 months ago when we came home with a tiny, wiggly, crying person who has demanded all of our time, attention and love ever since.

Gone are the days of going to work every day with E. Gone are the twice daily walks around SODO. Gone are the trips in the car just because. Gone are the weekend outings to dog parks and for trail runs. Gone are the days of being the only (furry) kid in the house.

Melvin is now the proverbial step-child (the stereotypical one...I don't think I know any step children that fall into that mold, but for the sake of my little post, I'm using it). Oh, and he's getting old. He turned 13 this year. His hearing seems to be going. That or he's just plain tired of listening to me. It may be that Cababy's high-pitched serenades helped in the process. He's out of shape too...the product of few walks and less runs. Truth is, his age has really started showing in the past 9 months. Maybe dogs are like people and going to work for Mel was the equivalent of the elderly doing crossword puzzles to stay mentally agile. Maybe not.

Since E changed jobs Mel is no longer welcome in the workplace and he likely wouldn't tolerate the bus ride anyway. Now his days are spent at home with an oft' crabby SAHM. His outings are relegated to being let out in the backyard (which is very large and rompable...but Mel likes company when he romps). Oh, and once he's outside...he's outside for a few hours. Letting him in right now means drying him off thoroughly and sometimes it means a bath if he's that muddy. Since the bending and squatting and straining aren't really that comfortable for me at this point I put it off as long as possible. By the time I let him in it's usually because he's scratching at the backdoor and I'm deathly afraid he's going to wake Cababy from one of her few (and much needed) good naps. So, I'm not the kindest lady when I do let him in. Then I make him stay on the rug by the door until he's a bit dryer...of course he doesn't always hear or listen and sometimes he's downright obviously disobeying. He's learning to hate that rug.

He's also not really welcome in the car when I run errands. In the past, it was fairly normal for us to take him along when we were going to be out for a while. Now, not so much. Since he doesn't ride into work daily he's forgotten how to ride quietly in the car. These days we don't get more than a couple of blocks from the house before he starts whining and shaking and drooling. I'd keep bringing him along to help him get past it, but he eliminates any and all chances that Cababy will take a nap in the car if we have a bit of a drive. So, I've just stopped bringing him along.

Then there's the walks. I try to get out on nice, rain-free days for a 30-40 minute walk. It's good for me and Peter and it's a good and welcome distraction for Cababy. I was taking Mel along...until the day we passed another dog and he pulled so quickly and so hard that he almost took me down with him and I ended up with blisters on my hand from the leash. Oh, and he doesn't know how to walk when there's a stroller in the mix...forgets that he can't walk in front of it so it clips his paws, makes the stroller stop short, I run into the handle and Cababy wonders what the heck is going on. After that he keeps about 3 feet away from the stroller...almost in traffic...until he forgets again.

Dog parks and trail runs just aren't being scheduled. That is one thing that would be changeable...for E on the weekends anyway. With the yuck-o weather and the teensy amount of daylight that we have it's more difficult. And then there's the huge list of "stuff" to get done before we are a family of 4...not very much time left there.

So, that's the sad reality for poor Melvin right now. After years of being top dog he toppled overnight to the bottom of the dog pile. Even sadder still, he may be number 2 now but soon he'll slide further down to number 3. I keep trying to prepare him for the inevitable but I don't think he hears me. Either that or he's still ignoring me.

Anyone who's met Mel knows what an exceptional dog he is. He's really the perfect dog. Rescued from the pound at 8 years old, friendly, loyal, great with babies and kids, willing to do almost anything you ask, mellow, not a barker or a licker...pretty perfect. He's still my buddy, but it's hard. Our relationship has been strained for a while now. I'm probably more of the frenemy than he is in this scenario...and judging by the length of this post, I'm definitely the one with the guilty conscience.