Today, January 2 2010, my special favorite fur kid, Boris the black lab, will have 13 candles on his birthday cake. In labrador retriever years, this is like turning 80 in human years. And while many people reach their 80th birthday, and certainly many dogs reach their 13th birthday, so many of them are experiencing failing health and beginning to realize that their time on this Earth is winding down.
But if Boris is getting on in years, he is barely showing his age. Certainly, he has plenty of gray in whiskers, and even has a dusting of white in his eyebrows, but except for bit of a gimp in his walk, our dear boy is ready for anything, and has even grown some courage in his senior years. The dreaded vacuum cleaner is no longer cause to cower in the farthest room, and those crinkling newspapers that used to send him running for cover at the first turn of the page, now barely warrant a glance in its direction.
Boris’s partner in crime has been Hogan, the younger black lab at age 9, and together they enjoy weekly runs at the beach, chasing rabbits, meeting new friends, and even getting lost in the tall grass. Hogan, who takes his title of retriever very seriously, will take it upon himself to corral Boris if he gets too far afield. And then a bit of boost into the truck, and a careful hop out in the driveway and they’re ready for the next adventure.
What’s so extraordinary about Boris being an active 13-year-old canine? Maybe not much. But, before my special boy came along, I endured the painful too-early demise of goldens Indy and Harley, who both left to wait at the rainbow bridge before they were 8 and 7 respectively. It was a difficult period and Boris’s arrival into our family eased our grief immeasurably.
So please join me in wishing Boris, my baby-dog, a healthy and happy birthday, with a wish for many more to come.
