The bestest dog in the whole wide world! He's 14 years old and now has a hard time climbing stairs or walking any distance at all. I had my deck re-built a couple years ago to make it easier for him to go in and out of my house. He is a lab, which means he just LOVES the water. My parents live on a lake, and whenever we visit I always know where he is--by my side or (more likely) swimming in the lake. We went to my parents' over the 4th and had a wonderful time but had to make some accomodations for Baxter. Because he can't walk very well anymore, I had to think of a way to get him up to the house from the beach. I ended up bringing his crate down to the beach each day. He would walk in, turn around, and lay down in his crate. Then, Dad and I would lift the crate onto Mom's garden cart and wheel him up to the house, then carry the crate (with 116 lbs-Baxter inside) up the stairs and onto their deck. Once up there, he would step out of his crate and walk into the house. Yes, we did this many times over the weekend, but then we're all dog-crazy in this house.
4 comments:
Baxter is a lucky dog. You can see the pleasure he had in the water last weekend. I also had a black lab (lived till 12) and currently have my second who is already 9. They bring true love to us but pain also in the end. I did not have my girls with the first so now I worry about how they will handle it in a few years. Enjoy Baxter.
Suzanne
Single mom to two from Kaz.
I just had to put my best dog in the world down 3 weeks ago. He was 13, and the stairs in our tri-level were too much for him. The kids would also stomp on him all the time, simply because they couldn't see him. I felt that putting him through a summer of stomping and pain was asking too much of him. So, we put him down, very sad, but at peace with it, it was better for the kids and for him.
So glad yours is still around.
I had a wonderful lab mix named Alf. I got him in 6th grade when Alf was a popular show. He lived until he was almost 17. He loved the water as much as Baxter appears to, except he was never really allowed to go to the lake but he would take himself on a walk and visit the lake. I hope that you and Baxter are able to create many more happy memories.
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