Sam and the Rabbit

10/16/14

Sam is our 14 year old Westie.  Sam has cataracts and doesn't see so well in the dark.  I, who also has a cataract can attest to the difficulty dim lighting presents.   Disclaimer: this is  a picture of a Westie, not a picture of Sam.

Last night, just before bed, I let Sam out front where he has been religiously piddling on one boxwood bush for years.  That part of the bush is obviously dead, but that doesn't matter to 'ol Sam.  He lept off the porch as fast as his old legs would go, and headed to the "bush". After letting Sam outside, I, but luckily he did not, notice a lovely little rabbit within one foot or so of Sam.  Sam was intent on marking his territory again, and didn't see the rabbit.

I held my breath because I knew with 100% certainty, that if Sam saw the rabbit, he would be obligated to chase the rabbit, which I knew would go up the oak tree in a nano second (and yes, the rabbit did just that). If the rabbit had decided to run across the yard, it's possible that Sam might have seen him, and then Sam would be off like a Greyhound on a race track.  Somehow, his old legs work just fine when in pursuit of something he sees, or something he thinks he sees!  But those same legs are finding it difficult to jump up on the bed as well as chairs.  He is more determined to make the jump onto the sofa, where he spends time "adjusting" the pillows to his taste.  Any pillow that don't fit into his comfort requirements, are tossed to the floor.

When Jeff and I are both out of the house, we can visually see Sam's disfavor of being left alone.  He tosses all the pillows he can find and unceremoniously fusses with the blankets we keep on furniture to keep that said furniture clean.  Most of these covers are piled up on the chair or sofa and sometimes he goes as far as dumping them on the ground.  Jeff and I don't need to be rocket scientists to know that Sam is annoyed with us, and he wants to make sure we "get it"!

P