Bella the Quiet One

 I have to say Bella is the most Quiet dog I have ever met. She is of course very shy as well and not very confident but man you hardly know she is here!  She stays on her bed and could care less when the other two go out the back door.  She does like "going" out in the dogmobile but when you get her out of the vehicle, she is just as likely to try and jump back in.  She is ready and willing to go out first thing in the morning but again is just as likely to come back in if the door is open too long.  It takes Keeper and Teko a few minutes to both get out the door.  Today for the first time she came to me as I sat at my computer and I gave her pets and attention and then let her out a second time. She stayed out for awhile and when I checked on her she was laying on the grass in the drizzle of rain.  She is a very relaxed dog and maybe I have had so many boisterous, lively ones of late that it really makes quiet stand out? I really think this is just her personality as she does not seem worried or unhappy really. I think she was a rescue dog but am not sure and her present owners really lucked out as she is a low maintenance dog for sure. she did bark when someone came to the door but not excessively and just how good can one dog be? She spends most of the day on her bed and is more like an ornament than having a dog around.  Super mellow lady she is!( Can't you tell I can hardly stand it?)
   Yesterday we delivered a half culvert tunnel to Max as an agility present as his owner could not find a wind tunnel for him in Nelson. I think you can get them at "Mountain Baby" if I have the name right of the store on Baker Street.
  So Wednesday is Keepers 18th birthday and all friends are invited to come for cake and coffee and hopefully a few of her dog friends as well.  Last year Bea even ordered a cake and Robert in the Bakery made her a dog-bone shaped one! This year we will have to make do with one I make and that's that.  My goodness I have had her around for longer than some people have their kids!  But as I watch her totter and fall sometimes I know the writing is on the wall and her time is limited. So-- we make sure we enjoy every day as much as we can.  For now her health seems good and I am so glad of that. She is basically healthy and still can get around on her own steam.  Lying down and getting up again is difficult for her at times and there is a definite weakness in her hips but she continues on and doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain.  I know her hearing is poor and now I think her eyesight is not great either.  Yesterday she stepped in Bellas' water bowl(that usually is not there) and the water ran all over the floor and soaked into the carpet but hey it all dries in the end and its a small price to pay to have my buddy still with me.  I well remember the careful dog she once was and it used to bother her to knock things over and she would never have stepped in a water bowl in her heyday.  Dogs seem much more accepting of old age coming down on them than humans are.  When she falls down upon rising and cannot get a grip on the slick floor, she simply waits until she feels stronger and then tries again.   It breaks my heart to remember the racing daredevil she once was and one of my favorite "memory images" is of her racing through the bush bravely jumping downed trees and underbrush as she kept up to us on the ATV.  Another one is of her doing agility way ahead of me and yarking in happiness and excitement.  Then too there were the million and one throws of the Frisbee throughout the years.  She did love her Frizbee and taught her boyfriend Teddy how to do it.  We still see Teddy on ocassion and although their "romance" seems to have gone out they are still good friends.  We hope he comes to the party. I don't think I am "boarding" any dogs at that time and Teddy sometimes has issues with dogs he doesn't know but it would be nice to have him.  We are also hoping for an outdoor party so hopefully the weather will give us a break?  If not,  its inside for us and I think this place is just one big doghouse anyway so no matter.  All in all Keeper has had rather a long and good life and I can't complain that her time is running out.  None of us gets out alive anyway and I know she will be waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge and will be all young and energetic again?  She has been a wonderful and faithful companion to me for all these years and I will never forget her.  One special dog for sure!