Getting older sucks sometimes. Even for doggies.
My adorable little 8-pound schnauzer somehow hurt her back this week. Chloe quit using the stairs and was acting generally listless, but the tip-off that she threw out her back was when she yelped as she was doing an up-dog in her typical morning doggy yoga routine.
At just more than 5 years old, she is equivalent in dog years to National League Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey, who at 38 has mastered his knuckleball pitch for impressive results. And most days, Chloe has the energy to race me up the steps, demand visitors play fetch and chase squirrels in the back yard like she deserves some sort of accolades.
But this back pain is getting her down, and she’s spent the better part of the week lounging in her doggie bed and gulping down pain pills (yes, my Beloved broke down and brought her to the vet on Wednesday; for $120, the doctor shrugged her shoulders and agreed with our assessment that Chloe’s got a slipped disc or pinched nerve which is apparently common in small dogs).
The spine is an amazing creation that holds up the whole system, but one little thing out-of-place, and ouch! I can relate. Two weeks ago, after running 2.5 miles on the treadmill in the morning, I could hardly get in and out of the car in the afternoon; my back inexplicably tightened up in the space of a couple of hours.
Why?
Because I’m getting older. (That’ll teach me to skip my post-run stretch.)
Why is my normally frisky dog looking at me forlornly rather than spreading her dog toys from here to kingdom come?
Because she’s getting older.
Sucks sometimes.