Ah, January.  A new year, a fresh start on the pain.

I kid.  My knees actually haven't been as bothersome lately.  Perhaps it's the Doggie Yoga to which I've been accompanying my Two-Legged Pets.  Perhaps all the rain we've been receiving lately has perversely relaxed my knees.

Whatever the reason, I am grateful.  Any bit of relief is welcome, especially considering how crazy the humans have been lately.  Is there something about this time of year that leads my ape-descended fellow Earth inhabitants to lose all rationale thought?  My pets actually tried to put me in a sweater the other day.  A sweater.  With little doilies and fluffy balls of cotton.

I couldn't help but give them my saddest puppy dog face when Mother lorded over me the next day, a shredded pink mess hanging from her hand.

To send Creak your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail him by clicking here
  
  

I've experienced a change of pace as of late.  The pain continues to come and go in spurts, so I find myself in a constant struggle to either control it or ignore it.

Perhaps there's been a change in weather – living in the Southwest, sometimes it's difficult to tell exactly when "summer" ends and "fall" (if we even have one) begins.  But a cool breeze has about recently.

I find myself lounging by the patio door, soaking up the sun's heat.  My pets have noticed my preferred spot of choice, moving my water bowl next to my kitchen mat.

I'm not much in the mood to complain this week.  I'm having too much fun lying here.

To send Creak your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail him by clicking here
  
  

Sometimes it seems the doctor just isn't listening.

I try and I try to convey to him that my knee pain has been increasing as of late.  I whimper when he's massaging the joints.  I give him my sad puppy dog eyes when he asks how I'm feeling.  I gently pat his hands whenever he tries to walk away -- reminding him I appreciate his attentive care.

And then he says to my two-legged pets, "Creak seems fine.  Pain seems minimal.  I recommend he just gets his rest and drinks his water and everything should be kept in check."

It's as if he hasn't been listening to me at all.

To send Creak your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail him by clicking here
  
  

Of all my two-legged human pets, The Daughter is by far the most athletic.

Unfortunately for me, she's also the one who takes me on walks.

As of late, she has decided we should increase our pace, working our "cardio" better.  I don't know what this mystical "cardio" may be but, unless it's a pork-filled treat, I am not interested.

What was once a fun, relaxing (if waddle-filled) activity has now become a nightmare -- my arthritic knees creak and groan with every concrete and asphalt impact.

I try moaning pitifully to remind her of my the shooting pains in my legs.  She looks down at me with what she must consider a winning smile, saying, "C'mon, Creak, this is good for you!"

What I need is a no-impact doggy elliptical.

In the meantime, I'll settle for classic trickery -- I've hidden my leash in a two-feet-deep hole in the backyard.

No more "cardio" for me.

To send Creak your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail him by clicking here

I knew it would rain.

When you have had osteoarthritis as long as me, you know that feeling:  hours, even days before the storm clouds roll in, that creeping phantom of misery -- that horrible pain starts crawling through your joints.  You feel slightly out of breath, nauseous.  Walking around (waddling is more like it) feels like knives and daggers are attacking you from all directions.

I do not know why it rains.  Staring confusedly at my two-legged pets has never elicited an explanation.  (Just a shrug of the shoulders when it's bathroom time -- hey, you'd be hesitant to go, too, if a there were a downpour over your toilet.)

But I do know that I am in for a world of hurt when it does rain.

Oh the nagging aches ... be grateful, my human friends, that you can distract yourselves with reading, talking, and pain medications.

Me?  I get to lie in my reserved chair all day.  That is, of course, only when I can manage to hop up into it.

I am thinking today may be an occasion for napping on the cool, kitchen floor.

To send Creak your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail him by clicking here