Friday, January 25, 2008

Is Chester Aging?


I hate to say it, but I suspect Chester is at the beginning of showing his more advanced, wiser years. During the last few weeks, he has retired to our bedroom after I finish the bedtime routine with Moose, around 8:15 or 8:30 PM. Around 9:30 or so, I'll wonder where he is, only to find him sleeping on our bed. He'll look up at me, almost as if he's asking, "Aren't you coming to bed soon?"

Don't let me misrepresent Chester's state. He's his normal exuberant self in the mornings after I finish breakfast ("Let's play fetch!"), after dinner ("Let's play fetch!"), and whenever friends come to visit ("Thanks for visiting! Let's play fetch!"). It's just these little things in the evenings that seem a bit different.

Sigh.

Such a loyal friend. I can't imagine him aging. Then again, he's going to be nine in just a couple of months. Both Wife and I had dogs in our childhood that lived to be nine, so perhaps I'm a bit oversensitive about seeing a behavior change, even as slight as it may be. I'll keep my eye on him a little more this winter to monitor how he's doing. Am sure he's fine.

2 comments:

tommysmommy said...

We've still got at least 3 years, if not 4. But I've seen it too. For what it's worth, he greeted the plumber with his usual exuberance today, so all is well!

Anonymous said...

Chester is nice and compact and those guys live a nice long life - I must say I read your post with some envy; Oliver has been very out of sorts since we moved and I need him to calm down in a very needy way. :)