[Dailydrool] sorta sad day

[Donna Lindy]

Yes, Susan, we are right there with you.  Elmo is 12 1/2 now and he
sometimes poops in the house, usually in the morning.  There's nothing
like coming downstairs at 5:30 or so and finding a trail of poop from
Elmo's bed to the doggie door and sometimes beyond. I don't know
if he doesn't realize he needs to go until it's too late to make it  
out the
doggie door and into the  yard or if he just doesn't want to get up
because it's so much trouble when he's all comfy in his bed. His back
legs just don't work that well so I understand not wanting to get up
until he absolutely has to. Fortunately, he has what we call "big boy
poops" and it cleans up quite easily, unless of course, another one of
the other 16 paws has gotten a little too enthusiastic about seeing Mom
for the first time that morning and . . . well,  you all know what I'm  
talking
about.

Elmo does have a hard time getting around and getting through
the doggie door is difficult when your back legs don't work worth a
da*#.  If he poops on his way to the doggie door, then continues on
through the door to the yard, do you think he's coming back through
that doggie door with that poop in his path? Nope, nada, no way!
He is going to stand there with his head through the doggie door and
the rest of him outside and yell at me until I clean it up before he  
sets
a single one of his fat paws inside the house.

His blood work is also starting to change - nothing serious yet, but
changes nonetheless. He has heart issues and a nickzillion cysts
and lipomas.  But he still interacts with the gang, he love, love, loves
his  chow and treats and he loves to snuggle and watch tv. Sometimes
I hate to turn the tv off at night because he's watching it so  
intently - our tv
is positioned lower than most so he can view it properly from his bed or
the floor and not strain his neck looking up.  Most people I know hang
their flat screens fairly high on the wall - ours isn't even waist high!

One last thing and then I'll stop. Elmo is afraid of sudden or loud
noises. Storms are bad news. And if you call our house, there is
no answer machine because Elmo is afraid of the beeping noise
it makes when someone leaves a message. He staggers right out
the doggie door and won't come back in until Mom or Dad comes
and tells him it's okay.  If the noise is on the tv, though, he doesn't
get scared.  Go figure.

I'll write about our other senior a little later.

Hugs to Duke the bloodhound and all our elderly basset buddies
that sometimes poop in the house without meaning to or without
knowing it.

Donna, drool fueler for Elmo, Pw Pauline, Gracie and Pw Bosley