Lessons from an Old Dog

Dusty turns 16 today! It's a day of celebration as he is enjoying great health. As with all my furkids I learn as much from them as I do teaching them. Dusty is the trailblazer in teaching me life lessons.
He is my first Old Dog. Sunny also survived to 16 but he lived with my mom. This is the first time I am experiencing having an old dog. When the quality of life is as good as his, it's a rich, wonderful experience.
Dusty and I are growing old together. I got him just before my 40th birthday. I'm now able to get the Senior Citizen discount at Denny's. So I can understand and sympathize with the eyesight not being so good and some arthritic pain.
I'm also learning patience: he takes longer than the others to eat. Friends have told me their old dogs do the same thing. They are interested in their food, they just can't wolf it down like in their younger days.
And perhaps because his vision is failing him, he likes to be near me at all times. When we're separated by a floor level, he'll bark for me to come get him. He can still go up and down the stairs but it's a struggle. I carry him now. I don't have the guns of Michelle Obama but they're pretty darned toned because of this!
Compassion is another lesson. He frequently can't make it all night without having to go potty. Being the good boy that he is, he still awakens me to let me know he needs to go outside. Standing in the snow when it's -9 at 1:00 a.m. is not wonderful, but it's a small tradeoff to have him here with me.
The other dogs are learning better manners. When I open the door for the pack to go in/out, I say "FIRST is Dusty". They all back up and Dusty can proudly go through the door first without being knocked aside. He likes this.
I can see myself in him, should I be able to grow old. I make compensations for his increasing frailty, occasional mental lapses and deteriorating eyesight. It will happen to all of us when we grow old. One of my cousins named him "Dusty the Nobleman". It's very appropriate. If I can age with the grace and dignity of my old dog I will have been a worthy student.