I Cannot Hear You

Herself speaks.

It's quite clear these days that Elderly Three-toothed Dog is increasingly deaf. He does not come to greet me when I arrive home, even though Tiny Dog makes a bit of a ruckus -- instead, I find him sound asleep in his nest, and have to touch him to wake him.  He looks up at me, all bleary eyed. OH HELLO MOM, YOU ARE HOME. 

This explains why, when I am out of his line of sight, he promptly gets up and looks for me:  he cannot hear me moving around the house, so he does not know where I am. I'm starting to change what I do and where I go in the house to accommodate his need for proximity, by bringing him with me on occasion (especially when I go upstairs, since stairs are hard on his bad knee). We'll figure out how best to keep him comfortable.

Bless his tiny furry heart.