Always A Good Napper

Dusty at eight years old

No question, this was my easiest pregnancy. There was no morning sickness. No heartburn. No weight gain. No elastic waist bands or built-in pouches to conceal my bulging belly.  And talk about an easy labor. No contractions. No cries of “Get this thing outta me now!” No need for an epidural.  All hubby and I had to do was throw wads of money at a strange woman with lipstick-stained teeth, and the bundle of joy landed right in my lap.

Unlike my sons, whose arrivals inspired flower baskets and mini-muffins and a mention in Variety, Dusty's birth 14 years ago slipped by, unnoticed. We thought about registering at Petco, but changed our minds. Too tacky. So fine, there was no puppy shower, no mono-grammed chew toys. On the plus side: no thank you notes to write.

During the lengthy puppy phase, we tried not to get too worked up when Dusty did his business indoors, left bitemarks on our skin, and pretty much destroyed the premises. "Expect $3,000 in damage,” said someone I stopped talking to, mainly because her estimate came in low. The pup literally gnawed through the carpeting on the stairs, straight to the wood, while we were out one afternoon. Dusty certainly showed us who was boss, didn't he? Still, we've loved him no matter what. It's always been unconditional... on his part and on ours.

Ready to move on

Getting Dusty has been the best decision our family has ever made. In the past few days, we've had to make the toughest decision. I have no idea where dogs go, or people, for that matter, when they've officially run out of steam. I hope it's wonderful. All I know is this. We're not ready to say goodbye to the Eccentric Elderly Pup today. But it seems he's ready to move on to the next adventure. He's taught us so many things, and this final lesson has been the hardest one to comprehend.