Aging (gracefully) with dogs

Jim Brigleb, his wife Linda and their two babies — unconditional love in furry bodies.

- JAMES BRIGLEB

My parents had some friends who were a bit older than they, with no children at home.

We visited their home when I was perhaps 12. The couple had a Pomeranian named Teddy. The wife, Gerry, spoke to the dog, “Where is your daddy, Teddy?” Teddy ran obediently to find the man of the house, Howard.

I was horrified. “Daddy?” This couple referred to themselves as mommy and daddy to a purse dog.

Now, my wife and I are empty nesters.

After a lifetime of having a series of Labrador Retrievers, my wife Linda came up with the brilliant idea of having a miniature Australian Shepherd because her uncle had one, and it had the most amazing personality.

After scouring the marketplace, I found a breeder in Eastern Oregon and secured our next dog.

Welcome, Tillie, who also has an amazing personality, but not at all like the one modeled by the uncle’s dog. Tillie would probably excel at rounding up sheep. But she’s a suburban dog who likes to round up the neighbors, the mailman, and the UPS driver.

Basically, she sees every living thing outside of our “pack” as a possible predator. Tillie wears a leash.

Having grown up with one of our Labs who was on the downhill side of life, Tillie needed an emergency backup dog to settle her nerves.