Our Stinky Old Boy

It’s been awhile since I wrote a post about something non-baby related (but don’t worry this too shall swing back into that genre.)For now, I wanted to talk a little bit about our stinky old boy.  I know quite a name (and yes there is a song that goes with it – how could there not be – if you have my phone number I give you permission to call me and I will sing it for you, although I warn you it is only three lines and not very Tony worthy, but nonetheless.) Our stinky old boy in case you were wondering is not our red headed step child, in fact, he is a very well loved and cared for member of the family, our dog Stanley. Well actually, he belongs to my husband but over the years he has found a spot in each of our hearts and has become a very important member of the family. 

Stanley’s story is one of adventure, twists and turns actually. It is what I am considering for possible book material of course to be rewritten into an off the wall script and turned into a mega “Marley and Me” type of hit movie. (No, actually that would be awesome.) Anyway you look at it, Stanley and my husband have a very special bond. In fact, Stanley was never meant to belong to my husband in the first place, but rather my husband was sort of “chosen” by Stanley. They have been in each other’s lives for over 6 years. To put it into perspective, my husband and I have only been married for 2 years (in October) and together for almost 5 years, so before I came along he had Stanley, who was like his bachelor pad bro. Before I brought Bella into the picture and we adopted two more energetic girl dogs, and oh yeah had one of those babies, it was just the two of them.  They did a lot together and to this day it’s kind of like a dude male bonding thing since us girls way out number them.

So about two weeks ago, Stanley started limping. Thomas took him to the vet and we found out he had hip dysplacia. Upon further investigation, we found out that both of his hips have badly deteriorated and his lower spine is not doing well either. He also had a torn ACL which was the majority of the reason why his limp was so bad. I won’t get into to many more details but between the recommendation from the vet and what we discussed, we decided to get Stanley the knee surgery. This means he will be better with time, but basically he will never be 100% his old self and not too much will get better going forward. 

The sad fact is, he is 9 years old, which is the lower end of the life expectancy for his breed. He could possibly live to 12. He still has a lot of life left in him from what we can tell. His spirit is still very much there. I personally believe he will bounce back pretty well after the surgery, but I am trying to be realistic. We are still having a difficult time coping with the diagnosis, but all in all we knew he was getting up there in age. He really is just the sweetest dog to humans ever (he is not a fan of small animals or other male dogs.) Emma adores him and while I am almost certain she can’t yet tell the dogs apart, I know it is only a matter of time before she starts calling them by their names and not just a generic “doggie” name. 

Thomas and I have been lucky enough to not have had any major losses in our families recently so this one will be a tough pill to swallow when it happens, even if it is a few years down the line, when Emma becomes aware of the situation. It’s like all of a sudden, my life just got more adult, if that can even really happen. Explaining death to a child is something grown-ups do and definitely something I don’t even know how to approach. I am hoping we have some time before all of that. I suppose learning to cope with sadness and grief is a part of life. Something I will always be there for to support my child and help her get through anyway I can.

Ps. Stanley post-surgery is doing GREAT! He is a little bummed he can’t play with the other dogs just yet and his mobility is very limited but his tail is still wagging! We are very thankful to have more time to share with our friend.