Caring For My Grand Aussiedoodles

A week of caring for my grand Aussiedoodles has been an experience. I am not sure exactly how to label the experience. These non-verbal critters speak a language all their own. They speak to my heart messages of anxiety, grief, love, basic needs and so much more. They speak truth most of the time except when trying to trick me for a treat by telling me they need to go potty and they just stand on the porch wagging their stubs. It is amusing to see their foxy knowledge because they always win that treat simply for being so adorable.

This week has been a special vacation week for my Wright family celebrating graduation, two June birthdays, soccer achievements, end of school year and retreat from work. All those extraordinary events deserve walks on the beach and snorkeling in Aruba. The Aussiedoodles, Jill Lee and Roo Magoo, get the ultimate vacation with Grammie and Grandpa Denny staying at their house and treating them to special ball throwing, treat giving and possibly a bit more food than usual in their bowls.

Gram and Denny have experienced a few setbacks in 2025. Denny with a horrific seizure in April, a traumatic fall at the airport in Indianapolis for both of us and a near miss fatal accident for me at the airport in Los Angeles. Life has changed with Denny becoming a bit more dependent and adjusting to seizure medication. Emotionally he has done well in accepting reality. Acceptance does not diminish the pain of recognizing our own limitations affecting our once active lifestyles. His engagement with the grand dogs has always been fun to watch but this visit he has been less engaged. He explained that the anxiety level of Roo Magoo triggered his anxiety level. I laughed because I am not sure I can distinguish between the two. Midweek both Denny and Roo Magoo agreed to settling down and not being so anxious!

Grandparents brag about their grandchildren. My grands are the best looking and the smartest. I mean it. They truly are. If you know any of them, you will agree. My granddogs are equally good looking and smart. Maui lives in LA. She is beautiful and loves her Gram and Den. She is not a cuddly dog, but she shows her love in numerous other ways like sharing your bread and butter. Milo lives in Indiana. He is an adorable little thing and super smart. He loves his Gram and Den and wants cuddled and snuggled. Our Scotchie lives in heaven now, but he was precious and blessed us with love for fourteen years. Jill Lee and Roo Magoo live in Virginia near us. Our drop-in visits with them are greeted with high jumps, wagging stubs and lots of kisses in the form of giant tongue licks.

I am grateful the Wrights brought a bed to the living room for Denny. I was fearful the dogs might trip him on the stairs causing him to fall. He is not keen on having the dogs sleep with him, so I slept upstairs with the dogs snuggling up beside me and waking me with a pat of their paws or a lick on my face. They sit at our feet as we enjoy our morning coffee and hope we drop a crumb of our sausage biscuit or donut.

I must tell you about my ball games with Jill Lee and Roo Magoo. With every outing to the front yard for a potty break (up to eight times a day) we would play ball. Their participation was astonishing! I would throw the ball. Roo would run towards it but would allow Jill to catch it and bring it back to me. Jill would drop the ball on the edge of the porch and then take her nose and nudge the ball so it would roll to me. I was amazed at her ability to understand the process and roll the ball with accurate precision within my reach. Can I say enough about how smart she is? It has been reported that grandchildren get their intelligence from their grandmothers. Now that deserves a belly laugh.

I have read dogs understand a vocabulary of about sixty-five (65) words. I also read that Aussiedoodles have the brains of a university professor. I tend to disagree with that statement knowing Jill Lee and Roo Magoo are much smarter than many of the university professors we have seen in our latest news. Another laugh, please.

What I enjoyed most about a week with these grand dogs is difficult to explain. As I write this blog, I think feeling needed would be the answer. No, I feel needed, appreciated and loved daily providing care for my husband. Could it be the constant closeness of a warm body next to me as they want to touch me constantly? Could it be I simply enjoy being the object of their affection? They want me. They love me. They need me. No, it is being in the company of my grands, two of my daughter’s loves and a reflection of her love reflected in her fur babies. On second thought I know it is being in the presence of God’s love exhibited in His creation of loving four legged creatures. It is a love unexplained and in obedience to our Creator I am honored to take care of His creation, my grand Aussiedoodles! Dog spelled backwards is God. God spelled backwards is Dog. These dogs resemble God’s love for me!

Janie Roberts Davis 6/21/2025