Party animal
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y T O J A V I E R
Our beloved pet, Javier, turns fifteen today.
That's one hundred five in dog years.
He was born on Bastille Day in 1999. Bleu Blanc Rouge!
He's been ours since the beginning.
Considering his advanced age, Javier is doing pretty well.
Truth be known, he sleeps most of the time.
Increasingly however, he experiences bad days.
Days when we can tell he has more aches and pains.
We dote on him anyway, but on his bad days we dote extra.
Time was Javier could chow down on a dish of (dry) Purina Little Bites.
It was his kibble of choice.
Not that he had much choice; PLB was what I gave him.
But judging by his enthusiasm while eating, he loved it.
The day came when I felt it necessary to add hot water to his kibble.
That's because, like some pirates, Javier is distinctly edentulous.
Look it up.
Oh, okay. I'll tell you what it means: Lacking teeth.
So I'd make his kibble soft and he seemed to enjoy that.
Then one time, Erica was keeping him for a few nights.
She served him canned soft food.
He loved it.
So I've switched to Alpo Prime Cuts and Gravy Cravers.
And I heat his serving slightly so it smells delicious.
Javier can throw down on a dishful of warm dog food.
And he still gets the occasional table scrap, as well as small-dog treats.
He is mostly deaf and mostly blind. But his sense of smell is excellent.
And his tail still wags a lot.
Javier may not be able to hear me when I call him.
But he can still sprint the length of the kitchen (a long way).
He may not be able to see me when I'm standing three feet from his nose.
But he can still jump up into my chair to snuggle beside me.
What our dog lacks in acute senses he more than makes up for with personality.
He posed so sweetly for his birthday portrait.
Happy Birthday, Dear Javier!
And -- please God -- at least one more.
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Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.
= Emily Dickinson =
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Happy Monday ~ Happy Week
Reader Comments (12)
Oh J, I can hardly believe he is 15 years old today. My little buddy looks so good! Happy,Happy Birthday sweet Javier...sending you a few pats and hugs from G., I love ya lots. Hope you get an extra scoop of Alpo Prime Cuts and Gravy Cravers. No worries little fella'...many of us are edentulous also.
G.
Happy Birthday, Javier! love the "he's mostly blind and he's mostly deaf". poor guy. And you are right or Emily is ... dogs are better than humans...
Happy Birthday to Javier!!! Great photos Jenny! He's so cute...
hughugs
Awwww... Javier!! He posed so sweetly for all of his great pictures! I love the last one with the pink sparkly lights on it.
Happy birthday to you, Javier! You can still rock a photo shoot - glamorous and adorable at the same time.
Oh, those knowing eyes - Javier is storing 15 years of memories. My Grand Dog who is 13 (old for a Chocolate Lab) suddenly went blind. Last week she had cataract surgery and seems to be doing fine. She's also deaf but she still likes to play with the kids.
Awww, such a beautiful little one. Happy Birthday, Javier! I hope you're around a long time for the family who loves you so. :)
Happy Birthday sweet Javier! He's a little spoiled and that''s ok - he's well loved!
Oh my - what a sweet sweet face! He's looking good for his age!
Javier is precious. Happy belated birthday to him. We have a 12 year old chihuahua with similar markings. He has heart and thyroid problems and sleeps most of the day. But the minute we rattle a bag or turn on the stove, he is there in a New York minute!
I've heard lately about several people who have owned cats who lived more than twenty years. It's amazing what some TLC from their humans will do for a well-loved pet. And sorry I mentioned the "c" word in a comment.
Xavier is still very photogenic for his age.
How sweet he is! We are not pet people in my house, boys only had a cat - ROMEO, and by boys i mean Andrew, and Romeo was a tom cat so more of an outside than inside pet.
Matthew got a dog ( actually it is his girl friends dog but i guess they share custody between apartments, and i met him and i love him. He too, is a Chihuahua. He is a very dark brown, or maybe he is black and has a gray beard and the GF saved him from death chair in LA. I think that Javier and McQueen would be fast friends.