Hi, my name is Garrett. I joined the retired world in April 2008 after a pretty successful racing career. I won a bunch of races and was pretty fast, even if I had a very unconventional cadence.
Retirement was great. I learnt a lot from my older brother Oliver. However, where Oliver was somewhat aloof, and at heart a skittish dog, I just love people. Kids, babies, teens, adults, I love them all.
But I am not here to talk about how I can’t get enough of that new baby smell. Nope. I am here to talk about how much it sucks to get older.
Being a successful racer, I ran in a lot of races. So many I can’t remember. But I do know that I won a lot. Unfortunately, when you go from 0 to 35mph in three steps, you put a lot of stress on your bones and joints. Alas, I am now suffering for that early exertion.
The suffering comes as arthritis, osteoarthritis to be exact. It means that sometimes I hurt, and struggle to get out of bed. At first we treated this with a medication called metacam. It worked well, and we were able to keep it at low enough doses that it wasn’t too bad for me. But as with many NSAIDs it isn’t good for my liver, and since I started taking it at age 6, that is a long time to have it in my system.
We now treat it with something else. Can’t talk about it, but I get a little frozen yogurt with it every day. Yum!
Now that I am approaching 11 years old, I have slowed down a lot. I also have become a pickier eater. I always was a little picky, but now I am more cautious. I also am becoming a “snack” in the morning, and a big dinner kinda dog.
My mommy worries that I am too thin, but really, as a senior, I really don’t need extra weight to carry. I have always had a compact frame, and for a while I was what my daddy called “think dog”. I do have a sensitive tummy though, and am prone to gastroenteritis, and that sucks.
Fortunately, besides that, my health is good. I still go for walks, but less frequently, and shorter. I do still drive my mommy nuts, as I have to smell EVERYTHING on the walks. Makes them go very slow.
I am pretty sure my bro’, Tate, likes when I go on walks. Sure they are shorter, and sure, they are slower, but my younger brother is my bestie.