On December 21st I drove nearly 2000 miles to see family in Northwest Indiana, aka Chicagoland. Looking back over my trip and stay there, I am glad I made that trek, despite the arctic cold, Winterstorms Ethan and Frankie, and having my van broken into while parked in downtown St Louis. My stepmom Carol is getting very weak and my stepdad was sent to the hospital in Carmel, IN on Christmas Eve and stayed there the rest of the month. I fear he will pass on this year from organ failure; he currently is being treated for blockage in his colon, a result perhaps of his stoma he's had for four years.
I had considered taking Zeke along for company, but kept him home since I didn't ask Carol for permission first. That was a wise move, as the average daytime temperature in Crown Point, IN was a mere 15F. Zeke would have been miserable being stuck indoors with me, and would not have benefitted from any hikes in the Indiana Dunes, an area I enjoy hiking in in mild weather. This time I only stayed in Crown Point to see family. I did not even venture into Chicago.
The arctic blast followed me west on December 29th when I left Carmel for the drive west on I-70/1-40. It was so cold, my windshield wipers wouldn't work and the washer fluid had frozen solid. It stayed frigid all the way into Albuquerque, NM, when the thermostat went from 27F to 45F in a flash.
It was 53F when I got back home at 8:20am on January 1st. The leaves that were on the front yard trees have now died and fallen off; few diehard ones remain on the branches, wilted and brown and waiting for that first blustery storm. It warmed up to 71F by the time I walked the dogs later that afternoon. That is too warm for this region for this time of year. We desperately need a soaking winter rain! The dogs welcomed me with wagging tails. All except Sadie, who barked aggressively and loudly at me. She didn't calm down until I let her smell my hand. I thought that rather odd. Senility setting in, perhaps? Sadie will be ten years old on March 6th.
But today I had another weird experience with her, and it's not the first time since our Alaska trip. I had all four dogs with me on our walking route around Rancho San Pedro off Saracino Avenue south of Sierra Vista. We were barely on the walk when Sadie turned around and went back to the truck. Did the jogger we had passed scare her? I then opted to walk the dirt path leading to the National Forest Maintenance Shop a mile away. Here she ran ahead of me and kept on walking.
Normally Sadie stops when she is ahead, turns around and waits for me before she continues on ahead. She did fine yesterday when she stayed by my side. Today, though, she just kept on walking and I lost sight of her. I stayed on the familiar path and kept calling her name, but she never came back. There was no sign of her. Where could she have gone so quickly? Even in the tall grass, I would be able to see her head bopping up and down. I walked two miles out-and-back, then drove the path out and back, calling her name. I drove back to where I was parked. No sign of her. She must have just arrived at the parking lot as I drove off to drive around the paved streets, as there she was, looking confused. She ran toward me when she saw my white truck return.
I now am convinced that Sadie has lost most of her hearing, or has diminished hearing. That would explain her sometimes frantic behavior outside these last five months. She barks more at our new neighbor's black shepherd mix. She often doesn't come when I yell out "Let's Go Eat!" in the morning, and she doesn't race to the kitchen at the sound of the chicken jerky treat bag. She's on at least two occasions didn't want to go for a walk when I got the dogs ready. She also sleeps soundly now. She does, however, get up in the middle of the night to run outside and bark. What is it she is barking at?
Deafness in German Shepherd Dogs is rather common, I learned tonight. This discovery breaks my heart as this just means that Sadie is getting old. Sara was losing her vision, Sammy lost his mobility, and now Sadie has lost her hearing. We all grow old differently. I will get her BAER tested soon, the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response hearing test. I love Sadie as much as I did when we first brought her home, but it saddens me that she is no longer the brave fighter she once was on all my road trips.
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