A decade of love

 

Cinnamon, Nov 2014

I've been thinking a lot about my little dog, Cinnamon.  The photo above is from November of 2014, shortly after I adopted her.  She's been by my side now for for almost 10 years. You can read a little about how she joined my family on my archived post.

She's a tripod, which has never really slowed her down.  As a young dog she'd run with the whippets at the dog park... and run for hours.  Now she's more likely to just do a little walk around the park, and spends less time in active play with other dogs, with the exception of miniature schnauzers, which she cannot resist. She's had a few mini schnau friends over the years, and just adored them.

She still likes to curl up on the couch, although now not on a cat blanket, but by my side with her head on a pillow.  She is a lot more happy-go-lucky, a bit mischievous, but also is starting to slow down a little.  Here she is today, with her summer groom:

July 2024

Her undercoat still has that cinnamon red-brown tint that peeks through her outer coat when she's grown out for winter, even though she's gotten very grey in areas around her face and paws.  She's a grand and happy old lady now, who loves to stop and be admired and petted by everyone she encounters.  

We've been through a lot this past decade. moved 5 times (one more move coming, we're going back to Petaluma), driven cross country a few times, seen both oceans bordering this country and quite a bit of the land in between.  

It took 9 years before she'd willingly take a bath. It took almost 10 before she'd willingly go into the waves at the beach:  She splashed and played in the ocean last month for the first time ever. She'd been curious about the ocean before, and especially about dogs playing in the ocean (like when I took her to her first dog beach back in 2016)

Cinnamon watches the people and dogs at Rosie's Dog Beach, 2016

Today one of her favorite things to do is go to the pet store or the feed store and sit and watch other animals, especially the chicks at the feed store and the cats at Petco.  

I know that Cinnamon is at least 11 years old, but beyond that is totally guesswork.  I was afraid I was going to lose her almost every year for the first 5 or so years due to chronic pancreatitis, but she pulled through, and carefully managing her diet has kept her out of the hospital for several years now.  She's like any old lady: has a touch of arthritis, but she still loves life and everything it has to offer.

She's my hero; she's my best friend.