Hey friends! Have you missed me? I sure have missed you! But I am following along with Clint’s postings. And see your many kind and thoughtful comments.

This week is my birthday! And just a few weeks past my first retirement anniversary date. I thought this might be a good time to check in. And let you know how I’m doing.

For my birthday I will be eleven years old. How can that be? It feels like I was just a wee pup not too long ago.

I sleep a whole lot more. I have lots of graying fur on my face. And move quite a bit slower. But overall I’m doing great!

Retirement is working well for me. I get to rest whenever I want. And take long naps on the couch. And best of all, I get lots of treats while watching Clint do the work of helping my mom!

My mom still loves taking photos of me!

But it did take some time for me to feel comfortable with resting, napping, and not working. I had been the one helping my mom for eight years. And I worried that Clint wouldn’t know what to do.

Although I quickly saw how willing he was to do the needed tasks. And learn new ways to help. So I began to relax. And let him take over. Even though I secretly supervised for a very long time!

Since I have been retired for just over a year, it seems like a good time to reflect back on the decisions and transitions.  

As I aged, it was becoming more difficult to do some of the tasks my mom needed help with. Although I didn’t want to admit that I was having trouble. 

So I pushed through. And tried to do everything. But my mom started seeing that I was getting slower to respond. And it was becoming harder for me to do some things. This is why we made the decision a year ago for me to retire.

But at the time neither of us realized how hard it had become for me to do my job. Nor did we see how much less I was doing. And how much more help my mom needed.

Those types of things are hard to see when you are in the midst of the day-to-day routines. Especially when you know how challenging it is to make those difficult decisions of retirement. And getting a successor service dog.

I think mom needs to get a bigger couch for us!

But necessary decisions to make. For the health and well-being of both me and my mom. So the addition of Clint to the family has been a blessing.

He quickly took over my job. And seamlessly fit right into his role as my mom’s service dog. He did all of my tasks. And more! Clint learned new tasks to help in ways that I hadn’t been able to.

I love having a little brother! We run and play together outside. And nap together on the couch. But best of all, he plays with my little sister, Roo, so that she doesn’t pester me!