I owned a basset hound some years back. Now I am too old for another!
What a blow, I’m old. Too old to get a puppy the breeder tells me.
It hit me…I’m old!
Old? Me? Nah. A bit aged but not old.
I have been lying to myself for a while now, denying that I am old. More and more evidence, milestones, landmines keep popping reminding me that I am no longer middle aged.
A movie plot where old people were being exterminated to save the earth from overpopulation. The cut off age? 60! Sixty…gee, I passed that milestone a dozen years ago. Extermination!
Watching TV commercials, the only ones that deal with older adults are adult diapers, hearing aids and retirement locales. I don’t need any of those things. Denial, nahhh. Fact, in my books.
And then the final blow.
Fermo is the heart of our house, a Scottish Terrier with a stubborn streak. A mutt with a mind of his own. But he’s our soul, the centre of the family. When he’s having a down mood, the house mirrors his attitude. When he’s lively and bouncy, the whole house is uplifted. This led me to reminisce about the bachelor days when I was master to a basset hound, Bubba. Though he always had a hang dog face, he really was an energized and excited little guy. He was a joy. If he could perk up his hang-down ears, his would have been up all the time. Go for a walk? In an instant. Go for a ride? He’d be holding the ignition keys in his paws. This guy was up for anything, any time, any hour.
So, I thought, “Let’s add some more spark to our house with another basset hound” and I began my search for breeders. Soon after, I decided on a particular one with a kennel of handsome dudes. I emailed the breeder with a self-description of our household, our present pet status and myself. The myself was a mistake. I lied about my age by a year. One less year was a white lie, and definitely had me thinking it was more attractive to hear. Wow…was I in for a shock.
The breeder wrote back advising against a basset puppy purchase. As she said, she was not wishing me ill will but a puppy would become very loyal to its master and should that master be removed….. Removed? She was talking about my inevitable demise and telling me because I am on my last legs, getting a puppy was not a good idea.
Wow, not impressed here. Closer to depressed. So much for a basset hound.
