Wow, when you hear stories like this it really changes your perspective of professional athletes. Maybe they really are human with real emotions and genuine interests. Whom might I be referring to you ask? Well, let me start by saying, I am not a baseball fan and most certainly not a fan of the overly paid athletes who play the game but when I read the story about Ken Griffey Junior and his three dogs I had to lighten up a bit. According to an article by Seattlepi.com columnist Jim Moore, Ken Griffey Junior is a big dog fan and considers them apart of the family even going as far as researching what hotels accepts pets before embarking on the family vacation.

Particularly touching, is his love and devotion to his aging 12 year old Rottweiler. Akiba’s been through a lot — she had E. coli as a pup and almost died, and more recently, she had a basketball-size tumor removed from her chest. Moore explains that Griffey and his wife, Melissa, were at a loss with what to do but weren’t ready to give up, It’s no different than one of your kids, you want to try everything you can. With the help of an experimental drug administered through shots given once every two weeks followed by a cycle of once every four weeks the tumor disappeared.

Ken Griffey Junior lovingly talks about the rest of his dogs in the article and shows an honesty of emotions rarely shown by athletes, unless of course, they are found guilty of using muscle enhancements…sorry, but I had too. Haha. Anyway, aging dogs always find a way of tugging on my heart strings and this story reminded me that we really must find ways of keeping them in our lives happy and active for as long as possible. They are great companions and when they give you 12 plus years (as in Griffey’s case) of unconditional love we owe it to them to do what we can.

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A recent article by Pete Keesling about older pet care reminded me about a very important point when taking care of your senior dog. He describes the need for keeping your dog active to help keep both mind and body healthy. As dogs get older they typically become less active because of arthritis or other health issues that slow them down. However, this is something that with the help of your vet, you can help to alleviate in most cases. The bottom line is that you need to do what you can to keep your dog walking, exploring, and playing to keep his or her mind active as much as his or her body.

This point is something I had almost forgotten. I have a 12 year old Pug named Mackenzie who suffers from arthritis. I have just put him on Metacam to help him since he has been in pain due to one leg in particular, and as a result we have not been able to do much walking. My focus has been on alleviating his pain which of course is the most important thing, but at the same time I was ignoring the benefits that having him mobile can bring.

Even with his pain under control I realize that Mackenzie will not be able to go on long walks, but that is ok. He has his dog jogger, which is our favourite thing in the world because it allows him to walk for a bit and then ride for a long period of time. This accomplishes two key things. He gets his much needed exercise to help keep his body healthy and he gets to enjoy the fun of riding in his jogger, which keeps his mind stimulated as he sees new things, new people and gets out of the house.

Often we are so worried about our older dogs that we treat them like fine china. Senior dogs still need to get out, move around, play and experience life to the fullest. The health benefits of keeping them stimulated are numerous so find the right balance and start enjoying life with your older dog.

Ann-Marie Fleming is the Founder of www.DogQuality.com, a site focused on products that help older dogs enjoy life.