The Old Dog

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 Wordle 487

 

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2020/12/20/wordle-487/

Prompt words in red. 

In the early morning light

I listen to the old dog snore

and bark quietly in his sleep.

I watch him breathe,

follow the movement of his

lungs fill and empty,

fill again.

He wheezes.

I hear him gasp for breath,

wake,

open his eyes

and begin to cough.

Once, twice,

deep and hacking.

I sigh.

Bending down to show him

I’m there,

I paste my lips to his muzzle,

Kiss five times.

Always five times.

Gazing into mine,

his eyes still shine

with divine love.

 

 ©2020 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

 

The true story behind the poem.

Boo isn't "old" yet, he is 10 1/2.  He does have a growth in one lung, which, when enlarged, presses on his trachea, causing snoring early on, and a hacking cough at its worst.  It sounds like Kennel Cough, which, if you have heard it, is a frightening sound.  The vet does not know what the mass is, and can’t biopsy it in case it’s an abscess.  X-rays show it shrinks with steroids and antibiotics, so that’s what we do.  Right now he is at the snoring stage again, and his prescriptions are refilled and waiting. 

 

Comments

  1. purplepeninportland.comDecember 22, 2020 at 5:45 PM

    Here's a story that could easily be mine. I commiserate and love
    along with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaDecember 22, 2020 at 8:30 PM

      Thank you. He started taking his pills again yesterday.

      Delete
  2. MiskyDecember 23, 2020 at 3:02 AM

    I hope he has many more years with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaDecember 24, 2020 at 1:26 PM

      Thank you. He's my all time favorite. I haven't had one dog, singular dog, in many, many years, so it's particularly hard, so it's particularly hard that he's the "last."

      Delete

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