What Chapter is This?

A couple evenings ago, I began to reflect on our daily activities. This reflection illuminated something I've been vaguely aware of for the past couple of years: short outings/activities can be a result of your pets becoming elderly. But what had not occurred to me before--are we currently living in a pet hospice?

Our sweet (to us) Izzy, seems to become more anxious every month. Electronic dings and pings, rile her up, and lately she no longer stays sleeping in the same room with us during the night. Her reluctance to drink water on her own, means we feed her 3 times during the day (nearly 2 cups of water added to prescription food)--which keeps us close to home.

And then there's cantankerous Hope, who has become friendlier to strangers in her old age, but it's obvious she's losing strength and agility. She's 3-4 years older than Izzy, but seems more active.

And during this chapter, I'm thankful for N. He's a better pet parent than I. He notices things I don't and is awesome at getting us out for dog walks. {full disclosure: walking may be the wrong term--it's more of a sniff and stop and mosey}