Moving On

Sixteen months have passed since we lost Katie, and Sydney has been gone just a little over a year. A week before the anniversary of losing Sydney, I finally replaced the background picture on my laptop. It was one of my favorite pictures of Sydney in the snow. It's past time to start focusing on the fur babies that are still with us. I replaced that picture with a picture of a sweet Cocoa Bean at an early age. She didn't belong to us then, but who can resist that face?

Sometimes it is hard to recognize that she is no longer a puppy. She has only been with us two and a half years, so I have to remember that she is eight. Recently I had to make an appointment for her with a specialist. She has had a knee that pops when manipulated. She has been on activity restriction. As I was talking to myself, I guess my way of committing to memory that I needed to establish this appointment, it wasn't her name that I used. I said, "I have to remember to make Sydney an appointment." Yikes! Sydney was always seeing specialists for various problems. Old habits die hard. 

Cocoa has so missed her daily walks as we have tried to get her knee to heal. Her demeanor suffers so much when she doesn't get a walk. It was breaking my heart. We finally decided that we needed to see a specialist. Fortunately, we got great news. She suffers from tendinitis. We can deal with that. Walks are back on. Her outlook is much approved. But all this serves as a reminder that she is no puppy. No matter her energy level and her newness to our family, she is 8. She is considered a geriatric dog. Here's to hoping we have her for at least another eight years.