Determination

I like to think of myself as a determined person but I must confess that my dog has me beat. Very soon Rocky the Wonder Dog will be seventeen years and six months old. Yes that's 17 + 6 months. He's a West Highland Terrier or Westie. Yes, he's a Scottish - maybe that's why he's such a determined fella.

There have been too many times over the past six years that I thought Rocky was a goner. He has a tendency to collapse, although not so much in the past few months. The first two times he was rushed to the local vet's office and almost $2,000 later we still weren't sure what was causing him to pass out and look like he was dead for several minutes. I still don't have a definitive diagnosis, but hey - for awhile my dog had something I didn't even have - his own cardiologist. It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway - Rocky the Wonder Dog has better health care than most folks in the world.

After awhile I stopped taking him to the vet's office when he had his 'episodes' because as long as I stayed with him and kept him calm, he'd come around and be okay. Oh, I'd take him to his checkups but he'd already been tested for everything they could think of and as he grew older and older I just figured he had lived a wonderful life and as long as he didn't suffer I didn't see the point of spending a lot more money just to be given inconclusive results. Don't get me wrong - I'm not blaming the vet's, they've actually be quite wonderful, it's just that there comes a point when doing nothing is sometimes the best option.

So, as the weeks and months go by I spend as much time as I can with Rocky and admire his stamina and determination. I'm absolutely convinced that he's determined to go when he says it's his time and not a moment before. He has high blood pressue and arthritis and the occassional senior moments but other than that he's going strong. He still enjoys rolling on his back, wags his tail when I come home, and gets excited when the door bell rings, so I figure he knows how he's doing. So, I'll hang in there as long as he does and as long as he enjoys his life.