My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 16th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which teachers from around the world participate by posting a story per day.

This year, the SOLSC gives me a chance to record memories of our little dog, Indie, who died in January. I want to write these down while they are still fresh, so that my family and I can read them later and remember not only Indie, but little slices of life across the years.  

They say an old dog can’t learn new tricks, but Indie, did right up to the end. A year or two before he died we bought a new couch and my husband didn’t believe that I could teach Indie to stay off of it. Indie had always been allowed everywhere. He was one of us. But it only took just a few stern looks (he was deaf by then) and he knew what I meant and just… learned.

He also learned to open doors with his tongue late in the game. I loved it when he did it. Seeing his little pink tongue appear in the crack between to door and the floor just struck me as so funny. Then he’d curl his tongue upward and just pull with it until the door opened just a crack. Then he’s stick his nose on the door (I can remember the snuffling sound) and push until the door opened.

I found an old post from three years ago about Indie losing his hearing and still learning new “tricks.” Here it is:

Our dog, Indie, lost his hearing over the course of one summer several years ago. At first it seemed like he was just selectively ignoring us. We’d call to him to come, and he’d just stare back in a way that we interpreted as stubborn—but it turns out he probably just, legit, was not hearing us.

He’ll be fourteen years old in June. I’m not even sure what that would be in dog years - 80? 90? 100? In any case, although he’s small and shaggy and still looks puppyish, he’s a very old dog.

Since he can’t hear anything anymore, without thinking much about it I’ve started adding gestures whenever I talk to him. When I say “sit” I tend to wave down to the floor. When I say, “treat” or “cookie” I hold my fist in the air as if I’m holding a dog treat. To get him to come, I pat the side of my leg.

Even though it wasn’t intentional, Indie has picked up on all the cues and now he pretty much responds just as if he could hear us—unless of course he’s outside and out of eyesight.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Hopefully when I’m his age, I’ll still be learning a trick or two myself.

Orginally posted as part of the Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge,  May 23, 2021