goodbye 2014

Tiny chumley is quitely sleeping in his heat cave as I write this.  I am reminded of his forefathers, Kep and Padua, who in their senior years, slept much of their day away.  But the little kielbasa is not that old yet, I think to myself.  He's just waiting for something interesting to happen. 

Younger dachshunds often make their own kind of interesting happen when their moms and dads are busy, chewing on things or expressing their displeasure at being ignored in often wet and odorous ways.  But we've been lucky with Baxter.  Through praise and snackie love, we've been able to develop a language with tiny chumley that allows him to speak his mind and get our attention in usually more welcome ways.  Except maybe when there are no more socks or shoes to be brought, or when we are so deep in thought or makey that we fail to notice the sound of his tail gently thumping on the floor, and the sight of his little tummy being offered up for a belly kiss.  Except for those moments, when he knows that only a bark will do.

Tiny chumley turned eight this past year. The white hairs are sprouting up and lightening his face and paws in a slow but steady fashion now, and though they do little to keep Baxter from rocketing off in pursuit of a kitty in his backyard, they give me pause every time I see them.  The entrance to the tunnel of his senior years is clearly on the horizon now.  His future, if we are lucky, will be gift wrapped in slow, sleepy days filled with the sound of snoring and other uncouthy but welcome digestive noises. 

As 2014 comes to a close, I am grateful for having been able to share tiny chumley's evolving but always happy go lucky life, and our sometimes rather fantastical adventures in makey and toyfriend world.  I am grateful for the love and joy we both share and receive here in our tiny, insulated microcosmic cyber home. The new year will come, as it always does, with its own unique challenges and twists, and I hope we will see it through as we always do, surrounded by family and friends, with a waggly tail and a belly rub, and maybe just a bark or two. :)