They don’t always get as much sunshine as they deserve anyway. With the arrival of the Cute One, the animals certainly had to take one step down on the family ladder. But not in a disrespectful way. Mostly in the way that a parent has to prioritize.

I still adore them all. (Except maybe during the moments when all three are following me throughout the house begging for their individual needs while I’m trying to get other stuff done.)

This one, my adorable mutt, has been worrying me the past few days. Something’s amiss. She’s balking at the stairs, up and down. And believe me, our home is filled with stairs. Even the deck outside has a couple she has to traverse. So this is not a good thing.

She’s even been, gasp!, sleeping on her dog bed. Due to laziness on our part, she’s claimed the big couch as her own. Its location right in front of the living room window probably has something to do with that too. I gave up the battle long ago and bought slipcovers to try to prevent the couch from turning into a disgusting mess of dog hair, mud tracked in on paws, and slobber from various dog toys. But the last two mornings she’s been on her bed next to the couch.

She’s almost 7 1/2. That’s not so old, right? I realize she’s a senior in dog land, but she must have a few more years on her. I’m just hoping she sprained something or possibly got spooked on the stairs one day when we weren’t here. Something minor. Fingers crossed.