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Border

I adopted Border in San Diego in July of 2017 when she was  ten or eleven (or maybe even 12) years old. Border sat alone for 12 hours a day so her family wanted to find her a better home. We fell in love with each other immediately. Border is a Border Collie/Black Lab mix with wild yellow eyes. She is sweet, extremely intelligent and very attached to her person. If I walk five feet from my bedroom into the bathroom, she will drag her creaky old body off the floor and follow me there. All my girl wants is to be close!

Border lives to be on the go--in the car, on walks, and especially to the park to chase balls and sticks. Border loves being active, even though she is hampered by severe arthritis, hip dysplasia, and an old and serious injury to her right hock. She also has dropped tendons, which make the digits of her paws splay out wide and cause her pads to be pushed to the side when she walks. This means she walks on tender skin instead of tough pads (no pebbles please!). Border has a lot of pain but she still manages to live a life of joy. I learn so much from her and I am lucky to have her in my life! 

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Border started to decline shortly after Leo's death. At 13 or 14 (or maybe even 15), Border developed severe cognitive disorder (dementia) along with terrible joint pain. Her personality changed from a sweet cuddle-muffin to a snarl-faced grump, but she was still my girl. Eventually, Border's body just started to fail. She became weak and began letting go. It was an honor to care for her in her last days. Border died in my arms at 9:11 am on December 8, 2020.