Publisher’s message: Ryan turns 13 years old

(For new readers of Chelsea Update who are unfamiliar with Ryan – he’s a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and one of the two canine full-time Chelsea Update staff members. Here’s one of the many stories I’ve written about him in the past.)

Today, Ryan officially becomes a teenager.

For his 12^th birthday, I made him wear a crown and had a party for him.  There were presents and food and treats and lots of laughter.

And I’d hoped to have an even bigger celebration for today’s momentous milestone but, thanks to these virus times, that will have to wait.  

Instead, because Ryan has developed a whole host of medical issues in his previous 12 years, he’s scheduled to see the amazing Dr. Margaret Lane of Lane Animal Hospital.

Not a great birthday gift, but necessary.

Multiple veterinarians and vet techs at Lane have brought him back from the brink of his first step onto the Rainbow Bridge – on several occasions. And if I’ve learned nothing else after all this time together, it’s don’t wait or try home remedies because they don’t work and the problem only escalates.

But, I plan to send him in with the vet tech with some string cheese, which he really likes, and they can fawn over him while I wait in the car. With a book. But when he gets home, he’ll get a special dog cookie I bought from Wags to Whiskers. And some vanilla ice cream, too.

(It’s because of these medical issues, I didn’t want to jinx it – by writing this column too early or reporting this news before it became official.)

But back to his special story.

These days, instead of tucking tail and racing around the huge fenced yard with the zoomies like a puppy, he sometimes just strolls about. Or just stands there in a perfect show dog stack so the wind blows in his face and sweeps through his thick coat. And I know he’s taking in the fragrances of the season.

But when he does trot the perimeter … the old guy still has it. He glides across the ground, tail a-wagging, and I’m reminded how much he loved to strut his stuff in the conformation ring.

Then sometimes when he comes back inside, there are times he hesitates before taking that first two-step-at-a-time climb up the 14 stairs from the basement to the main floor. He sometimes walks up — step by step.

Ryan went deaf a couple years ago, and it forces him to him experience life with his other senses. These days, the only thing his ears seem good for are as a head decoration, and perhaps for feeling the wind blow on them.

So sometimes, I become sad for a few minutes when I hear the birds calling with their beautiful songs and know Ryan’s not experiencing this with me.

Other times when we’re outside, he’ll make me laugh when he rolls and rolls and rolls in the dirt. Or snow or mud.

And speaking of going outside, he asks to do this way more times in a day than “necessary” just because he knows I’ll drop everything and head down the stairs with him. (So any typos you read on Chelsea Update — I’m blaming them on him for breaking my concentration to quickly attend to his needs.)

Ryan has always been a stealth food thief and during his lifetime with me, he’s fine-turned those skills. You’d think after all this time together, I’d have smartened up when it comes to leaving food in his view. But no.

In typical opportunistic Ryan fashion, I lost part of an English muffin off the dining room table just the other day.

He’s always had a great nose and was never been afraid to use it. He might not hear me cooking bacon, but he’s right there at my feet because he can smell it. Ryan flashes that sweet signature smile and gazes at me with those still sparking amber eyes and I melt. And he gets whatever it might be that he wants.

With Ryan’s ever-changing reality, I do sometimes lose my patience with him, but generally I do all I can to bring as much joy to him as possible. Because during his lifetime, Ryan has been an easy to please, wonderful pet and a winning show dog.

I also learned that although he’s happy to train with me, I’m much too serious for him at the dogs shows and he wanted no part of that. Before I retired him a couple years ago, he loved strutting his stuff for my friend, Nancy Jennings, who won several Best in Shows and multiple Rally obedience titles with him. But the day I will remember the most about his show career was at the Nova Scotia Duck tolling Retriever National Special in Syracuse when he won his old dog conformation class.

As I previously reported: All I was hoping for standing outside the ring wiping away the tears was that he didn’t finish fifth – because then he wouldn’t get a ribbon.

Instead, something wonderful happened. In that judge’s eyes, on that special day, Ryan’s “style” as she called it, pushed the old guy to the top of his class. He won his old man veterans sweepstakes conformation class, beating four champions and grand champions ages 11-plus.

That moment is one I’ll treasure forever.

Showing aside, Ryan does enjoy trying new things with me. Some I thought he’d love that were classic fails, like trying barn hunt, while others have become the new normal in keeping his aging mind engaged. This winter, he learned to track in the snow, so I now have a fun for him, low-impact game that we can play together year-round. And as a bonus, it doesn’t hurt his slightly arthritic shoulder.   

So now that he’s made it to 13, the countdown has begun to 14 … And I’ll do my best to make every day he’s here with me a special celebration.

For however long that might be.

The happiest of birthdays to you, Ryan.  You’ve certainly earned it.