Happy is looking better and better every single day. She has a huge appetite. Her incision has healed nicely from her recent surgery. She still has a lumpy tumor-filled tummy but we got the pathology results and they tested benign! Her poor belly is so big that I think she looks like an eggplant when she’s laying on her side sleeping, so I’m glad that nothing is spreading in there. Her heart medication seems to be making her cough a little better each day. Maybe one day she’ll sleep past 5am too but I’m not going worry about that. 

I love that Happy just loves being a part of everything. Yesterday she watched Sienna and a friend play all day. Then she sat on the couch all morning as Sienna played with her dolls:

We’ve put out mats and rugs for Happy to traverse but every once in a while Happy’s hip seems to go out and there’s a dramatic fall. Last night I cut up a small pair of old gloves with the rubber grip on the palm and made these little grippy socks for Happy’s back feet. They fit just right and she hasn’t lost her balance once with them on. Here’s a cute little video off her showing them off…then she huffs at me:

 

A video posted by Ashley Hackshaw (@lilblueboo) on Dec 17, 2016 at 10:56am PST

I know I’ve neglected posting about the rest of the menagerie here at the House on Hospital Hill recently but everyone is doing great, especially Foshizzle:

If you have no idea who Happy is all of her posts are linked here! Thank you so much for reading! 

This morning I woke up and realized that Happy slept through the night for the first time. She woke up at 5:30 (which I consider the whole night) and I took her outside. Even just taking her outside takes effort…when putting Happy down you have to hold her a moment suspended as she gets her footing. She’s very unsteady on her feet and the slightest moment of inattentiveness will result in a face plant. I can’t imagine being such a small dog, with such limited mobility. She’s dependent on us for everything and I feel so much responsibility for her.

The first three nights I slept on the couch right beside her to make sure she was okay. She was restless and getting up to get a sip of water she would easily get lost. I only slept a few hours at a time and Brett asked if I was okay. I told him, “I’m great. This is my thing…taking care of little creatures.” And it is. I’m like a crazy cat lady with no cats…just dogs and chickens. It takes a lot of crazy to keep up with just Happy’s medications…but I have a very structured system:

Happy is such a joy. She sleeps most of the time but when she’s awake she waddles around with her ears perked up and tail wagging. Her little blue cataract filled eyes are so trusting. If you hold her she will nuzzle her head under your hand for more petting. She just wants to be loved.

I’ve watched Patti Smith’s Bob Dylan tribute at Nobel 2016 a few times every since it was posted:

I just was mesmerized by it…Patti’s faltering, her pause, and the apology. It just made the performance so authentic and real and perfect. Now I can’t stop singing it and Happy seems to like it, so I started to putting my owns words to the main tune, just for Happy, and imagining what her response would be to my questions:

Where have you been my blue-eyed girl?
What have you seen and heard in the world?
Who did you love and what did you do?
I’d love to know how you came to be you.

The years have been slow and steady with pace.
Quiet filled days and a kind, weathered face.
These old tired bones hold a map of the past.
A rug and a threshold and only three steps to grass.

Where have you been my gray-whiskered girl?
What have you seen and heard in the world?
Who did you love and what did you do?
I’d love to know how you came to be you.

A decade of dawns and 5am wakes.
A walk round the yard for as long as it takes.
A dinner for two and a radio show.
Early to bed where I’d watch her breath slow.

Where have you been my tired, old girl?
What have you seen and heard in the world?
Who did you love and what did you do?
I’d love to know how you came to be you.

I used to be much more sure on my feet.
That was way back when there used to be three.
He had put on his hat and we went for a stroll.
Breaking his hip was the worst way to go.

Where have you been my frail, loving girl?
What have you seen and heard in the world?
Who did you love and what did you do?
I’d love to know how you came to be you.

These tired old legs barely hold me upright.
My eyes full of clouds I can’t see through the night.
I wish you could’ve seen me back in the day.
The boss of the house and the master of play.

Where have you been my sweet, happy girl?
What have you seen and heard in the world?
Who did you love and what did you do?
I’d love to know how you came to be you.

My humans are gone and you’ve taken me in.
Your curious ways would have humored my kin.
The love I once knew now hangs in the breeze.
I still feel it at times and it puts me at ease.

And now here you are my tiny, brave soul.
Gentle in spirit and making me whole.
The wag of your tail is joy guaranteed.
The love in your eyes is all that I need.

These rules are all new and the world’s just too fast.
Those cries in my sleep are just memories past.
I hear your voice saying it will all be okay.
That I’ll live here with you for the rest of my days.

I’m no Bob Dylan, but Happy likes it, and I imagine it’s what she’s thinking in those soulful eyes. I don’t know what happened to her old owners but I have some images in my head sometimes that I think Happy might have sent me.