Darwin

Early this morning, we were awakened by Darwin barking at the other end of our house. Our immediate thought was that maybe he got stuck behind one of our sofas and was barking to get our attention. Instead, Keith found him in our family room, barking at the wall. For some reason, that action distresses me more than usual despite knowing that Darwin suffers from Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD), similar to what we know as Alzheimer in humans. Dogs with CCD often experience various stages of confusion and disorientation, just like their human counterparts. It just breaks my heart to see Darwin wandering aimlessly around the house, easily startled by people or things around him, and looking confused as to what he should be doing next. I can’t even begin to imagine how he must be feeling himself. I hope we will be able to keep Darwin comfortable and happy for the rest of his life, and that it will be a while before he joins Max (we still miss her…our dearest baby girl).