Happy Birthday Smudges!

 
 

For us humans, turning 17 is usually a pivotal year. For me it was the year I got my license. Graduated high school. Started college. Stepped into the world. 

For a dog, turning 17  is decidedly less propitious  Today, Smudges celebrates his 17th birthday. As noted last month, our dear pet has grown tired. He no longer rages at the unrolling of aluminum foil or sunbeams on the wall.  How could he? He doesn't hear the rattle. He doesn't see the dancing rays. 

There was a time when Smudges would slip though every open door and wander the neighborhood, sniffing  buried scents, playfully ignoring foolish family members who followed him with a treat and hidden leash. He was too smart to fall for that.

It wasn't like we didn't try to train him. When he was still a puppy we took a class. Smudges responded to our voices with licks and wags. We brought in a trainer. Astutely, he obeyed the trainer and responded to us with licks and wags. We resigned our selves to unrolling foil oh-so-quietly, lowering the blinds when necessary, and admonishing PEOPLE who left the door open. 

My last beloved pet once hitched a ride in a parked mail truck, wagging his tail and smiling as he stood between the sacks, daring me to enter federal property with my treat and pocketed leash. I'm well aware , as Shakespeare would say, that the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Perhaps I am not dog-owner material. 

And yet— for seventeen years I've loved this dog.  Part border collie, Smudges, we were told, was born on a farm but was too bossy to fit in with the other animals. Not quite the cuddly family dog I had been hoping for, but the child who picked him out would not be dissuaded.  Eventually we realized that his bossiness was most likely a natural instinct to herd and safeguard— at least when not escaping for some much needed leisure time. 

Though Smudges no longer protects us from aluminum foil and other dangers, he is always close, always watching, sensitive to our movements. He no longer runs away though now I could easily outrun his limp with a lazy shuffle. Now, especially during these past few years, Smudges offers a different kind of protection, a gentleness and shield against isolation and worry. Like the child who picked him out and would not be dissuaded, Smudges is focused, fiercely faithful and deeply loved. 

Last month we celebrated the Smudges Tree ~ today we celebrate Smudges!