1,000 Miles....

We've had Maybelle just over a year.  Not counting the few days I've been in Philadelphia, and a couple of days before Citygirl's wedding, I've walked her every day.  More often than not, we walk twice a day.  Our typical walk on a weekday morning is about two miles, and weekends can be four or more. Evenings are another one to two miles.

Taken altogether, we've walked over a thousand miles.

Rain, snow, bitter cold, sunshine: We've done it all.  We're on a first-name basis with all the neighborhood dogs:  Jeter and Coach, Ruby, Gracie, Sadie and Maya, Sugar, Chester, Penelope, Lucy, Jackson and Oppie and Cooper.  Poodles and Pitties, Rottweilers, Goldens and doodles and little white fluffballs and stiff little terriers, all buddies or enemies depending on whether Simon is tagging along or not.

We are down to our last miles, now.  Last night the inevitalbe happened:  Maybelle couldn't drink.  She keeps trying, and trying, and trying.  And I keep replacing bowl after bowl after bowl of blood-tinged water where the level never really goes down.  Tonight's walk was brief.  She got tired halfway up the hill and had to stop and rest, although you could see she really couldn't figure out WHY.  She led me the rest of the way around the block, stopping to try to climb onto any porch with people on it to say 'hey' one last time.

We will walk one more time before breakfast tomorrow, like always, down to the river so she can sniff the 'coon and beaver tracks. And at 11:30 we'll go see Dr Kathy one last time.

DeeDee