Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog is the master of an upbeat attitude. It's what I love the most about him. But, there's little doubt that life is dealing him some lemons these days.

First, his blindness... He's learning to cope well with that. He definitely knows his cues "step up" and "step down". Both the Runner and I have made errors in when them so that it's not coordinated with an actual step. But, R makes an exaggerated step up or down even when we say it in error. That's a great test to show that he knows the cues! He's also learned a technique for finding the steps off the bed where he feels with his toes. It works really well for him.

 R and Shyla on one of our many snowy days.

Then, there's another twist. His red blood cell count is low but ulcer meds haven't helped it. The vet expected it to rebound quickly when we stopped the NSAIDs and started the ulcer meds. The vet is worried about a tumor. So, R is having an ultrasound on Monday. I have a knot in my stomach about it.

But, R looks as optimistic and hopeful about life as ever.

For now, all that we can do is enjoy every moment with our sweet Black Dog.