Adorable as always. Sarsaparilla is going great, very healthy and sweet, although still painfully shy around strangers. He’s taken to snuggling up to Charlie in the cold weather and keeping him company which is lovely.

Charlie is hanging in there. His ears and eyes are free of infections and his skin is clear. His pain level is down, which is wonderful, but he’s becoming quite senile and I’m afraid things are near the end for him. His inability to navigate is causing him a lot of problems, he’s never had a very good ability to ‘map’ and work out where he is (Charlie is blind). He’s been having trouble getting lost in the small garden shed outside where he sleeps, and I’ve been sleeping him indoors during the wet weather, which isn’t ideal. The incontinence means he needs access outdoors at all times, and I’m not all that happy about sleeping with the back door wide open.

So, recently when the weather started getting wetter I bought him a lovely raised dog bed.

It’s nice and big and quite sturdy. This way he wont be able to drag it into puddles the way he has a bad habit of doing with his mattress and blankets.

I’ve also used my trundle bed base to block off most of the shed so he can only walk in the door to his bed and food bowl. This means a lot less space for him to get lost in, it’s been a lot easier for him to find his way from the bed to the door, but he’s still tucked safely out of the weather.

I had to empty and mop out the shed first because he’d started toileting in there when he couldn’t find the door, but with the new smaller area he’s stopped doing that.

Here he is, lovely and dry and warm and out of any puddles. Sarsaparilla comes and sleeps in it too often, which I always consider a good sign for the warmth and comfort of any bed!

Charlie’s difficulties with navigating are steadily getting worse. He has a lot of trouble walking in straight lines as the senility progresses. He really struggles with circling when he thinks he is walking in a straight line. He can no longer find his own way into or out of a room, and struggles now even to find the shed in the backyard as he hopelessly spirals around in circles on the same spot. I’m going to talk to the vet again and of course keep him comfortable and clean and dry and well fed, but I don’t think he’s going to be with me for very much longer. I’m really glad that I’ve been able to clear up all the infections and pain for him and give him a good time with lots of company and walks and good food. He’s been such a  friendly and faithful little companion and he deserves a really good retirement.