A very unusual thing happened today (regarding Minnie).

I had laid down for my usual afternoon nap at about 2pm, but I couldn’t get my mind off the way Minnie is visibly getting old. To be frank, I was lying there thinking about what is to happen and how I’m going to handle it, and the tears were flowing, but I swear they were silent tears. I wasn’t making any noise, apart from the odd sniff.

I could hear Minnie, out in the dining room, moving around a bit, and after about half an hour, she came into the bedroom and stopped by my bed for a pat and cuddle, then she lay down on the floor beside me.

She never does this! Unless there’s a thunderstorm, and there wasn’t. She usually won’t sleep in my room unless it’s a really stormy night.

Had she detected my distress? I have no other explanation.

It makes it even harder to bear, of course. Don’t misunderstand, she’s not dying yet (any more than I am), but she’s slowing down and won’t even try to go for a walk. She’ll sit outside the gate for a while, and she wants to go in the car, but I can’t get her up there very easily. When she sits, it’s a slow and obviously painful movement, but she’s still smiling. She eats and drinks normally with a good appetite. She pees and poos fine. But there are lots of lumps and growths. She doesn’t do anything about them – she doesn’t scratch or lick them, or pay them any attention at all, so I’m not too worried.

But the time is approaching… She’s twelve and a half. This is the downside of dog ownership. It’s very hard.