This is the Summer of Gucci, our sixteen year old Jack Russell Terrier's last summer.  Gucci is, fairly quickly, losing his ability to stand and walk.  When that happens it will be time to put him down.  At that time, I have no idea how I will be able to do that. This blog, I hope, will help.

Gucci has been my friend and constant companion for 16 years. He used to follow me everywhere, around the house, in the yard and in the car. Now he generally stays in one place.  Periodically, I pick him up and and carry him out in the backyard.  When we get there I support and balance him.  He tries to take some steps forward, one or two, and then falls down.  I get him back on his feet and he tries again generally falling once or twice more before he finally maintains his balance long enough to go to the bathroom. Sometimes he is able to continue a wobbly walk to his bowl for water and on a good day he walks the fence perimeter stopping by where the neighbors compost pile backs up to the fence and he can, sometimes, find some people food scraps.  His appetite remains good and when I pick him up to carry him up the steps of the deck and in the house, we stop in front of his dish , where I steady him and support him while he takes some food and water. I then carry him back to the rug in the great room or the master bedroom.  He can still walk on the rugs and most times can get himself to a standing position.  Most of the house is hardwood floors on which he ends up sprawled out flat and unable to move (we have installed pathways of runners to help).  When we leave the house we put him on a rug and remind him to stay, although he is now quite deaf and I'm sure cannot hear what we are saying. If we are lucky, he stays on the rug and we find him there when we come home.  We have found him sprawled out on the hardwood floor laying in his own urine.  This, for now, is the exception.  He normally only messes in the house if we do not take him out often enough.

Gucci is the most athletic dog we have ever owned.  He could run and jump and catch in endless games, which we played until last fall.  He also was very disciplined about the bathroom, never messing in the house.  When we went out he had the run of the house and when we came home everything was fine. This has all changed.

We have had an incredible 16 years.  In the daily entries to follow, I will chronicle Gucci's day and then talk about some of the amazing things Gucci and our family have done together.