Living Over Aging
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Living Over Aging: Elder Journal - Farewell to an Older Friend
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Elder Journal
by Paul Takayanagi
A Farewell to an Older Friend
I lost an older friend this month. Her name was Rosie. We didn’t know exactly how old she was but calculate she must have been around 70 years old in human years. Rosie was an eight pound Chihuahua mix. She came into our household five years ago as an older pet. We adopted her from a shelter after being told she had been abandoned in a pile of wood in Alameda. Rosie was my first experience at sharing life with a dog. So I came into her life as an older companion as well. Being a gerontologist, I thought it was important to adopt an older pet since most people are looking for puppies or younger dogs to adopt from shelters. I was not disappointed. Rosie was the perfect dog. She was a very small dog but rarely barked and was cool and mellow. She was eight pounds of pure love.
Dogs, like humans, have increased their longevity significantly over the past century. Both species have nearly doubled life expectancy from birth. In 1900, humans could expect to live only 47 years and dogs just over six years! Now, in 2000, the average human American will live to be close to 80 years old and the average dog, 12 years (64 years in human years). This phenomenal increase in longevity is linked to better nutrition, health care and overall quality of life for both humans and dogs. A full 12% of the American human population is elderly but more than 75% of all dog owners in the United States report their dogs are over 10 years old (56 years old in human years). That figure includes 35% who have dogs between the ages of thirteen and fifteen years which is the equivalent of 68 - 76 years in human ages. Clearly, older dogs dominate in American households.
Rosie was beginning to experience some of the challenges of physical aging that afflicts many human seniors. She had slowed down a little, took more naps, had arthritis, her gait changed and she swaggered a bit as she made her way across the kitchen floor to get a drink of water. She loved to jump up on the couch but her eyesight was giving way so it was more difficult for her to jump back down to the floor. She would courageously stand on the edge of the cushions, carefully survey her destination for just the right angle and finally after many minutes take a flying leap into the void landing safely on the carpet below. With a sigh of relief, she’d take off for her next destination, most often one of her three comfortable beds around the house or to get some sun in the yard for her aching joints.
Rosie was on three different medications for arthritis, back pain and bladder control. When my parents visited recently, my father commented that he was taking more medications than Rosie and for some of the same reasons. They both had their pill bottles lined up on the kitchen counter and we had to be careful not to accidentally switch medicines! They would each take their pills at the same time. My father downed his with a piece of bread and Rosie took hers disguised in peanut butter. Rosie still had moments of youthful exuberance, especially at treat time when her leaps and excitement could be barely contained. I’ve seen the same kind of joy in the eyes of humans when the dessert tray goes by the table at a restaurant.
Early in the month, after a routine physical, it was recommended that Rosie have some surgery to correct a congenital heart condition. We hoped this would extend her life. We were wrong. Rosie developed complications during the surgery that first compromised her kidneys and then her little heart. She was in intensive care for two days and passed away in the emergency pet hospital after being worked on heroically by two veterinarians. Rosie is greatly missed. The positive side is that the outflow of love from all who knew Rosie has been overwhelming. We have received condolences from all of the veterinarians, groomers, dog sitters and friends and family who knew Rosie for the lovable "grand dame" she was to her last day.
Rosie made me a dog lover. For that, I am forever grateful to her. If you have the place in your home and your heart, please consider adopting an older dog from your local shelter or one of the Bay Area dog rescue organizations. You can visit many of them online by first going to http://www.rescuers.com.
10/00
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