Diane

Molly will be 7 years old on Thursday.  She is 45 pounds, grossly overweight for a beagle.  I will be 37 in December and, well, everyone can see what my weight is!  I am 5′3. 

On Saturday I was outside picking up the back yard and Molly was out there.  She was trying to run and play with the kids.  She was trying to get to the rabbits under the shed.  She wanted to do more, but she could only run in short bursts.  I wanted to cry because I have let her get this way.

As I watched her, I couldn’t help but think of the old saying that pets and their owners begin to resemble each other.  No, I don’t think I look like a beagle, but I am round like she is.  I want to run and play with the kids, but can only do so in short bursts.  And while her main goal in life is to get to the rabbits, a goal I really do not share, there are things that I would like to do just as much.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I am neglecting her and being cruel to both her and I.  She loves to go for walks and so do I, but I don’t take her on them nor do I go that often by myself.  I had to ask myself why and could come up with no good reason.  Yes, there are excuses, but no good reasons. 

So, in closing, I am going to take her for a walk, in the dark, recovering from a horrific migraine.