Ten "Short" Years

Lizzie - September 2013

Ten years ago today my precious Lizzie was born (technically whelped); but I didn't even know of her existence until five years ago, when we adopted her. She's been my constant companion for half of her life, but she's so reserved—so timid, that she's more of an enigma than any of my other darling doggies. She can certainly get happy, but it's not her default mood. Not by far. She can seem relaxed much of the time, but I think she has to work at it. She may be happy to see me when I've come back home, but she's not obvious about it. Surely she wants things like food, treats, to go outside, and even attention, but she rarely asks for anything unless I make a fuss first. She's patient and well-mannered for grooming, vet visits, and the like; but I think she's that way because of her extremely timid nature. She's most relaxed when she's up on the bed with me, but even then she rarely lies on her back any more. I miss that. I love that about Corgis...that and a lot of other things, of course.

She's so quiet. The only time she barks is when she's playing with her toys. When my husband riles her up, and the occasional single woof when some noise frightens her. It's not like I want her to be manic all the time, but it would probably help me from worrying about her so much if she wasn't so reserved all the time. She's such a lovely girl. She may not be the perfect example of what a Corgi should be, but she's perfectly precious to me.

She's been afflicted with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) in her left eye for years (before we got her). It requires prescription ophthalmic drops and artificial tears several times per day. There's eye cleaning with moistened cotton balls, and she required surgery to correct an inverted eyelid. If that wasn't "unfair" enough now her "good" eye, the right one developed Cherry Eye, and that requires surgery to correct. I often wonder if the cause of the dry eye (was it trauma induced?) and/or the result of having to endure treatment have contributed to her being so frightened. I guess it doesn't matter, but it kinda makes me sad when her response to every creak of the house, squirrel on the roof, or clap of thunder is to be terrified.

She and I have a quiet day at home together, which is our usual routine. I gave her an extra forkful of canned food to be mixed with her dry this morning. Her remaining treats are larger in size, so she gets a bonus there too. It's not supposed to be too hot today, so maybe we'll be able to linger outdoors a bit longer during her walks. My husband has been playing with her this morning. Squeaking and tossing her toys for her to chase. A little tug of war with her froggy. She's dropped her shoulder onto her jack toy and rolled on it several times. She's snatched her Nylabone out of her bed and chewed on it.

So far, not too shabby as my dad used to say. My nature is to feel excessively concerned for my baby's welfare, and to feel guilty for not making sure everything is "perfect" in their lives. At this stage of my life I don't think I'll be changing overly much, but I know to feel blessed for every day I have her with me. Besides, every time I see her little legs (tailpipes) sticking out I smile. Every time. No matter what else is going on. I just adore those short little legs!

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Comments

Margaret Hill said…
Happy birthday, Lizzie! Woo hoo, the big 10!