I just want a that is afraid to walk out in front of a moving car... Is that too much to ask???


Rufus is sleeping the sleep of the dead. I scratch his butt, no reaction. I leave the room, no reaction. I kick his tail on the way back to my chair, no reaction. But god forbid I open my breakfast...


Rufus: I wanna go outside.
Me: No, it's raining.
Rufus: I wanna go outside.
Me: No, it's raining.
Rufus: I wanna go outside.
Me: No, it's raining.
Rufus: I wanna go outside.
Me: (giving in) FINE!
*OPENS DOOR*
Rufus: (looks at me) ...why would you try to make me go out there???

I asked if he was hungry. He looked back at me as if to say, "Why do you ask me stupid questions? OF COURSE I'M HUNGRY!"


In the 10 years has been with me, not once has he reacted to people coming to cut the grass. Today? Today he is like "OMG THEY ARE STEALING THE YARD!!!"



I took outside and I got swarmed by bugs. I used the junk mail I had just gotten to swat around my head and face. Rufus looked at me confused as if to say " What are you doing? Were you a bad boy or something?"



UPDATE:
Last night Rufus was clearly uncomfortable and I decided I would get him to the vet in the morning. Overnight he chewed a nasty wound onto his leg where he has a non-cancerous tumor. It is affecting his ability to walk because of discomfort. At the ER vet they cleaned his wound and gave him meds. They advised against surgery to remove the tumor because of his advanced age and comorbidities.

We got home and my wonderful neighbor TJ Nave and her sons helped me get him out of the car and he was able to get up and walk. He went inside and went to sleep. He woke up and walked on his own from my room to the office where I was working and went back to sleep. This is when I noticed he was breathing heavily in his sleep. Then he woke up and and was breathing very heavily [80 breaths per min]. Out of an abundance of caution we headed back to the ER vet.

The second exam showed all his vitals were good and he was not in distress. We suspect a possible reaction to the medication and we are altering and monitoring the meds to see how he does.

We're back home, and he is home and resting. We are hoping for mild improvement, but the conversation has shifted to quality of life. The vet believes the end is not imminent, but that this is the time to spoil him, keep him comfortable and happy.

Difficult days lie ahead.



I laugh when people get scared of , and I know it is only because I know him so well. But Rufus is a fairly big dog and strangers see him and are often intimidated. If they only knew all he wants is butt rubs and treats and that he could not chase them at this point if his life depended on it...


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