That Happy Post I Promised You

Beyond adorable, right?  They do this almost every day.

Okay, so I promised some of you a happy post today, given the gravity of both Monday and Tuesday's posts (and then I got lazy and didn't post yesterday but instead went shopping with my Mom and Dad--ooops).  I wanted to do something really clever and funny, because it's been a while, but I got nuthin', so you're just going to have to settle for happy.

I hate to even say it, because I'm kind of superstitious that way, but Indiana has been doing really well.  I don't mean plain ol' well, I mean super-duper, I-haven't-seen-her-like-this-in-years well.  I'm really, really happy about it to say the least.  She's getting around really well, and she's even able to get up off the rug-less areas of the hardwood floors on her own most of the time.  She's eating like no tomorrow, even chowing down on a previously-hated brand of raw food this morning.  She's also "eating like dogs," as I call it--eating directly out of the bowl, under the power of her own snout, rather than having to be spoon fed.  It's like, "Ugh, Mom, the spoon isn't fast enough.  I'm hungry, dammit!"

And the best part?  She has the most incredible energy radiating off of her!  I know that sounds all new-age and granola-crunchy (I was an environmental science major in college, after all), but if you were around her, you'd know exactly what I mean.  There is a constant smile on her face and a brightness in her eyes.  She's perky and alert, she's going outside on her own, walking around, sleeping on the lawn.  And when we go out in public, mostly to vet appointments, she can't get into the building quick enough, and she walks with purpose and is mostly interested in meeting and interacting with other dogs.

I took Indy to her monthly applied kinesiology/chiropractic appointment last night (which works by the practitioner essentially "reading" the electrical impulses running through the neurological system), and in the middle of her session, he stops and says, "Is she doing well?  She seems really strong."  Why, yes. Yes, she is doing well.  He asked what we were doing differently.  Truth be told, we're doing less now than ever before (due to the frequently-previously-written-about protests by our stubborn dog).  She only gets a few pills at each meal now, as opposed to the nearly two dozen that she was getting months ago.  We've stopped most of her physical therapy, because it was making her angry.  So, essentially, we're allowing her just to be a regular dog.  Not a dog with one type of cancer, or two, or kidney disease (though she still gets daily sub-q fluids), or any of the other illness that plague her.  We're letting her live her life, make her own choices, and respecting them.

It warms my heart that listening to her is paying off.  She knows her body, and she knows what it needs (dogs are pretty instinctual about that, especially as they age).  Jim and I are here to attend to her needs, not ours.  It's taken a while to get comfortable with doing less, but now, we're truly seeing the benefits.  I worry sometimes that by focusing on quality of life, we'll be forgoing quantity (which is okay too, by the way).  But some days, I look at that happy face, at those vibrant eyes, and I think maybe, just maybe, we're going to get both.