Sweet Sixteen

Chip, the Antiplanner’s friend, reaches the ripe old age of 16 today — that’s over 100 years in dog years. Sadly, though it may be hard to tell from these photos (most taken in the last few months), he is showing his age.

Chip looks spry in this photo taken a few days ago.

In past years he has accompanied me on many 15 to 22 mile hikes. But last summer we confined ourselves to 4 to 5 mile walks in search of huckleberries, and I went on longer tramps alone. By now, he is reluctant to even go for a half-mile or so around the neighborhood. Still, we try to include him in as many activities as possible.

Chip was 9 when we took this 21-mile hike through the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

Because of his long coat, Chip’s favorite season of the year has always been winter. As Walt Kelly might have said,

What gentler eye, what nobler brow
Doth warm the winter’s nip,
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Of beloved, old dog Chip?

Chip is perfectly comfortable at 16 below zero.

Commenter Davek noted on Chip’s last birthday that Chip “has a dramatic gift for posing.” By the time he was a year old, he understood more than 200 words or phrases, and he was always happy to “hop up” onto a rock or log and “wait” in position. He was not so much obedient as he was just eager to please.

Chip posing in an Oregon forest last December.

Today he can’t hop as high and doesn’t hear very well, so we communicate with hand and body language, which seems to work fine. I hope he can stay around awhile longer.

Like most senior citizens, Chip has suffered a few ailments. This April, he was happy to be home from the vets office, where they shaved part of his leg to insert an IV for a minor operation.