a sad day, a proactive day

this august, as every august, dexter, harlan and tucker come up due for their yearly check-ups. last saturday morning, the baron took harlan and tucker for their joint appointment ('joint' because harlan and tucker are two affable dogs, unlikely to start a waiting room tussle; dexter and baron, being ms. nervous barker and mr. irascible, always get their very own appointments).

tucker, it turns out, is in excellent health: the right weight, good strong teeth, sweetly mannered and heartworm free.

harlan, it turns out, is also in excellent health, for all the same reasons.

but.

harlan's age is difficult to judge, since the baron and the husband collected him off the phoenix streets and at that time he was clearly an adult dog, estimated to be aged 4 or 5 by their vet. now, some 4 years later, he's still spry like a puppy, but the baron has noticed the greying of harlan's muzzle. it seems to her that every day she finds one more grey whisker or white eyebrow hair. and, reader, this saddens her. deeply saddens her.

but.

at the vet's office, the baron decided that sadness would not rule the day! rather, 'proactive' would be the word of the day! so, she asked the veterinarian when she and the husband might switch harlan from regular dog food to a senior diet. the vet smiled and nodded in the affirmative, saying, 'now is a good time.' and, for good measure, the baron asked about baron too - who is 8 years old this year, and also has a grey muzzle - and the vet nodded in affirmation again.

so.

harlan and baron are, as of sunday, slowly moving from their siblings' diet to a more senior-friendly one. according to the veterinarian, the difference between the two foods is calorie content, protein content, and fiber content. so far, so good - and, since the new dog food is made of chicken, neither the baron nor the husband thought the black dogs would complain anyway.