Bodie has a Bath

I decided to give Bodie a bath today. It has been years, I'm sorry to say, since I got him in a bath tub. Bodies swims a lot, and he always looks so good to me that I've let the bathing thing slip. He's been itching lately and I've noticed a rash in places. I asked Matt to lift him into the big claw foot tub with nice warm water this morning. I had a bar of lavender in one hand and a bar of tea tree in the other. I lathered him up good. He was a champ and even sat down which made it easier to get him wet all over. Bodie will be 11 in March. He seems to be aging along with me. I was young and strong when we got Bodie - now I'm stiff and ache all over, just like Bodie! Bodie was a Seeing Eye puppy from the famous facility in Morristown, NJ. My friend, Carol, is a nurse at the Seeing Eye and matched me with Bodie. One of his littermates showed signs of a neurological disorder so they decided to adopt out the whole litter. I applied and received this little yellow puffball. When I went to pick him up I had to dress in a body suit complete with booties to cover my shoes. An attendant went inside the dog enclosure and tossed a ball out into the run where I was waiting. One by one the yellow puffballs came tumbling out of the flap, chasing the ball. She pointed Bodie out to me. It was love at first sight. I drove him home with one hand on Bodie who was riding in a cardboard box next to me. I don't know if Bodie would have made it as a Seeing Eye dog. He has personality traits they would never have tolerated in the program like:

1. Bodie has a mind of his own and is very stubborn.
2. Bodie likes to kill little furry things like rabbits and cats if the circumstances are right. We won't elaborate on this because Bodie and I are really on good terms right now.

I don't know how long Bodie has left with us and I don't want to think about life without him. I put one of the sofas in front of the wood stove so Bodie's old bones can keep warm. I take him swimming in the pond as often as I can to stretch out those stiff legs. For now Bodie has the best life a dog can want...including a farm to roam around where he can take a trip up to the dead pile once in a while to find something tasty to chew on.