Brand New Dog

I gave our dog, Serge, a trim today and then washed him. Although his legs shake with age while he stands to be groomed, he seems to like the attention. He puts up some resistance at first, but once he is caught and dragged over to the hose or thrust into the bathtub, he surrenders to his fate and enjoys the fussing. After he is cut and washed and dried and finally let free again he always leaps around with joy like a crazy dog. He is now 13 1/2 years old and has many ailments, including weird growths on his skin, a crustiness around his mouth and nose and some bowel troubles, all of which are accompanied by nasty odors. Being clean for a few days before his bodily problems catch up with him again must be a relief for him and certainly makes life nicer for us.

Serge came to us as a little puppy when we had two aged dogs. When we heard that a Puli litter had been born on Capitol Hill, right near the Library of Congress where we both worked, we couldn't resist taking one home with us. Our two older Pulik were in no mood to deal with a young pup, and they ignored or barely tolerated him. They both died within six months of Serge's arrival, after which he was indisputably the top dog (the only dog!) for several years. But one day we just up and disappeared for several weeks leaving him in the capable but not sufficient hands of a dog sitter. When we reappeared we had a baby with us, and Serge's life was never the same. He must have known immediately that his place as top dog had been taken over by this new little strange thing, and I'm sure he never understood just what that was all about. But through Paul's baby years, toddler days, and early boyhood, Serge was firm but gentle, occasionally growling or even snapping at the air to let Paul know what his boundaries were, but never biting Paul or Paul's many friends, even when he was sorely provoked. A Puli does not have the laid back, child-friendly temperament of a Labrador, and although we tried to protect him as Paul learned to respect animals, I'm sure Serge was tempted many times just to bite that little whipper snapper to teach him a lesson!

So now, as Serge ages and we deal with the various indignities that aging dogs face and their owners must cope with, I remember the patience Serge showed to us and Paul and I try to extend that patience back to him. He's been a good dog and has certainly earned our care and devotion during his final months or years.