Little Miss Attitude and Mr. Tan Man are sleeping paw to paw or butt to butt more often these days.

Who can blame her? Little Miss Attitude has thoughts, lots of thoughts, about current events.

Once or twice a year, I send updates “from” Mr. Tan Man to the no-kill outdoor 😟 shelter in South Carolina where we got him in 2013. Here’s their reply to my latest message:

“Thank you so much for his updates! We absolutely love it and I can't believe he's 14! I remember when he came in and what a wild child he was but we knew he had so much potential to be a great dog.”

He really is a great dog!

At age 14, Mr.Tan Man is still very spry considering that that equates to 88 human years according to this nonlinear age wheel at the veterinarian’s office. They are very impressed at his strength and muscle tone. Like me, he has slowed down a bit due to the vicissitudes of advancing age, but yesterday we managed a one-mile walk. Life is good.

Today is Mr. Tan Man’s estimated 14th birthday! We don’t know the exact date, but we do know that he’s lived with us for eleven years plus and that he spent two years plus in a no-kill outdoor shelter in South Carolina and that he was full grown when they rescued him as a stray.

Through a confluence of fortuitous factors - my having gotten an amazing 8 hours of sleep and beautiful weather with temperatures in the 70s - Mr. Tan Man and I completed a one-mile walk down to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Since my knee problems, we’ve generally been limited on our walks, I have been letting down both dogs, no doubt. Howeve, since tomorrow is Mr. Tan Man’s estimated 14th “birthday” I figured that he deserves something for his troubles.

The can’t vote, so they counting on YOU to vote for a world where they don’t need to absorb quite so much stress every day of their lives. Thanks in advance.

Well, Little Miss Attitude has a slight heart murmur on the left side, likely due to a mitral valve leak according to her veterinarian. She’s not overly concerned but we need to have it rechecked in January.

Little Miss Attitude checking out one of the few bits of colorful foliage on our afternoon walk.

Of all the places that we walk for Mr. Tan Man’s morning his favorite is the trail through the woods behind our house. Cooler weather has unlocked new smells to investigate and savor.

Mr.Tan Man seeks solace in the sensory calm of a as our local nuclear power plant sirens wail in this morning’s routine testing.

Little Miss Attitude is VERY interested in my halftime guacamole and chips. Unfortunately, my guacamole contains multiple ingredients that are toxic or dangerous to - onion, avocado, garlic, jalapeño pepper, tomato, and seasonings. The lime might be okay. However, the chips topped with melted cheese are custom made for this little cutie.

Mr. Tan Man is coming to terms with the fact that he’s not going on a morning today. It has been pouring rain for hours, thunder is rumbling, and there’s ponded water everywhere.

Sometimes I’m a bit jealous of Mr. Tan Man. In addition to having someone (me) do all his shopping, meal prep, grooming, and walking, he gets to get laser treatments for his aging spine. Hey, Medicare: if you want to save a ton of money on costly surgeries, why not encourage the use of non intrusive methods? Mr. Tan Man gives the laser treatments two enthusiastic paws up!

Today’s Mr. Tan Man’s “gotcha” day! It was 11 years ago today that we adopted him from an outdoor no-kill shelter in South Carolina. He had languished there for two years. Here he is posing for a Christmas photo and singing the ancient song of his people. He’s been the quintessential good boy ever since.

My grand-dog channeling my morning energy but I’m up early to go volunteer. Have a great day everyone and make the most of your sleep.

Word has reached me that today is National Beach Day. Here’s a Throwback Thursday photo of Mr. Tan Man on his first trip to the beach shortly after we adopted him in 2013.

Little Miss Attitude checking out a new life form on this morning’s walk.

Mr. Tan Man has another laser treatment for his spine this morning. It really helps his mobility and energy level and mood.

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CassandraCarolina

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