The last two years have ben a difficult season for Daphne ! She is 16 years old now.
Since she was diagnosed to have a lymphoproliferative disease two years ago, which needed a surgery for removal of tumours on the body, her physical agility has suffered. She is probably immunocompromised because of which her eye infection is not responding to regular treatment!
The photos above taken recently of her slow pace of walk, difficult to climb the steps and looking weaker would be an indication of the progress of her illness.
However, her affectionate ways have only enlarged further. She would walk beside us slowly and pause in between and look to us to wait. If I got interested to take a photo of flowers in the garden, she would wait to resume the walk till I am ready. She would cone near us and sit and keep looking till we stroke and comfort her. When she is ready to move into her kenner yard, she would move slowly and turn back to look at us a few times, which is her way of saying 'thank you'! Whenever we are in the courtyard, she would like to come out of her yard. She has a mat on the ground where she rests during the day and climbs on to her bed in the kennel only at night to be more comfortable.
Temperamentally Daphne was a 'hurricane' exploring and moving about within the house and outside. She was so investigative that she on two different occasions managed to get our Mobile phones to play with it. In the process she damaged them.
During the recent months, she has become bed bound mostly with short walks in the morning and evening, for which she waits for !
Her relational habits, communicative engagement and seeking for attention have become even more evident recently.
She leans on to us for her strength !
What is evident and surprising is the way her canine habit of loyalty, attachment and responsive behaviour have remained stable, may be more pronounced now !
Daphne carries the heaviness of her illness lightly!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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