When Old Dogs Dance

Posted by Joy Butler Jun 20, 2006

Susie is my serious, no-nonsense type fox terrier mix who has never been much for playing. Now that she's 15 years old, her idea of a good time is sleeping under the bed, sunning her belly in the yard, and occasionally barking at neighborhood cats who wander by. Her eyesight and hearing are beginning to fail and she doesn't bark as much as she used to, probably because she doesn't see or hear as many things to bark at anymore. Anyway, my young grandson is visiting for the month of June and he managed to find a way to bring out the puppy in Susie again. A little battery powered mouse he brought to play with ran out of energy so he improvised by tying a string around the mouse's neck and pulling it around. Susie eyed that mouse scooting around the floor and all of a sudden her long-slumbering prey drive kicked in. She put her little body in gear and started chasing that little fake rodent. Susie had a good time and we laughed and laughed at the sight of our little older dog getting past first gear for the first time in a long time. It was great to see my grandson and Susie having a good time together.