On Loving a Senior Dog

No one really prepares you for this chapter of loving a senior dog. At least no one has prepared me. I thought the hardest part of it all would be the frequent vet visits, the scheduled medications, or the peppering gray around her muzzle. Those eventually become part of a routine. A difficult routine, but a routine nonetheless. What I wasn’t prepared for was watching my super independent dog slowly lose some of that independence. Right now, we’re limiting Cocoa’s movement so she can hopefully heal1. She isn’t allowed to roam the house the way she used to, and we can tell that she doesn’t really understand why. She looks at us, wanting to do the things she’s always done. Having to keep her in place is harder than I ever imagined. Caretaking for a senior dog wears on the soul. You find yourself noticing EVERYTHING, from the way they get up, to how slow they’re eating compared to before, or whether today feels just a little better than yesterday. You celebrate the smallest wins while…