Worn and Comfortable

My hot water bottle is about the same size and weight as Joey.

When we are sleeping together at night I can't tell them apart. That was the point of my getting a hot water bottle. Joey is crazy old and won't be sleeping with me forever and I can't sleep alone.

In the meantime Joey also likes the hot water bottle. He LOVES the heated corn bag, but the hot water bottle is washable and the corn bag is not.

So when he stays at the kennel the hot water bottle goes with him because they wash everything. He comes home with washed sweaters, washed bedding, washed blanket, even he is squeaky clean and washed. I also had them trim his nails. He is so sleek and pink right now. Nothing like the before photo above.

They just gush about the hot water bottle and how well it works. They also try to send me home in a towel to wrap it in, and new bedding, and a new pillow. They are super nice but do imply that I don't get him nice things. I try telling them that I leave his nice things at home so they aren't washed or peed on. I'm guessing that's why they need washing but they just might like washing things since they said he did great.

But even his nicer things at home are old and well used and I wonder about replacing them at this point. At this point I don't even buy the big bags of kibble. But while they are old they are still serviceable and comfortable even if they are worn and pilly, just like Joey.

There is a brighter side of him getting old. Now that he is blind and deaf he is an easy boarder. No more separation issues. No more hunger strikes. He's happy to see me when I show up but confused when I get him back home. His whole body says "This place? I thought we lived at the kennel now. Why are we here again?" It takes him a few days to get back into the groove of things. After all, at the kennel he stays in the office with the people, plays with other office dogs, gets dried liver sprinkles on his food along with being spoon fed pumpkin, and all the natural chicken apple cookies he can eat. Who wouldn't want to live at the kennel? I'm just glad that he wants me to live at the kennel too.