Dog Mom Confession: My Senior Dog Getting Older is Hard
Plus a snow day, dog mom book club, and spoiling my dogs!
Happy New Year Dog Mom friends!
I hope you and your furkid(s) have an amazing 2025 together filled with memories you’ll cherish forever.
The end of 2024 was crazy for me. It seemed like everybody in the house was sick in November and December except for the dogs. Whew! Everyone is better now and I’m back at it after the much needed break I took in December.
Thanks for being a part of the Dog Moms Only newsletter community. I just reached 1K newsletter subscribers this month and I appreciate every single one of you. Thanks for rocking with me! Continue to watch out for a newsletter from me AT LEAST once a month, but I’m hoping you’ll see me in your inbox twice a month.
Now for some pupdates!
Dog Mom Confession
So I do this thing in my Dog Moms Only community where we share dog mom confessions every Sunday. So here’s mine.
Dog mom friends, watching my senior dog get older is so hard. For those of you who that have been following us since I first introduced Simba to the world in 2012, you know that he was the first dog I had on my own as an adult. We’ve been through soooo many things together. That’s my dog! He’s been there for me through the most important things of my adult life so far.
As he approaches his 13th birthday this March, I've noticed the subtle changes that come with age. His once bright eyes are now clouded, his hearing is not as good, his energetic leaps have been more of a struggle, and sometimes, he's just not quite himself. The thought of him no longer being my shadow crosses my mind far too often now.
Despite the challenges of Simba getting older, loving him has always been the easiest part. His chill sweet spirit and loyalty is top tier and I always remind myself to cherish every moment I have with my good boy.
Whether it's a quiet afternoon nap or a slow walk in the neighborhood, I find joy in the simple things we share. Simba has taught me the true meaning of unconditional love and the importance of living in the present. He was my first child after all.
As a dog mom, I've learned to appreciate the little things. Having a dog isn’t just about the playful puppy years (but y’all know he will always be a puppy in my eyes no matter how old he gets). The wag of his tail, following me everywhere, laying his head on my lap, and the comfort of his companionship are all things I hold near and dear to my heart. I know that many of you have experienced similar journeys with your furkids, and I hope this newsletter serves as a reminder to cherish every moment as well.
Are you having a hard time watching your senior dog get older too? You’re not alone dog mom friend. Meet us in the chat if you need a dog mom to talk to.
I’ll start a Dog Mom Confession chat thread where you can share anything about being a dog mom…good or bad. Use it to vent about your day, praise your furkid, or hell even yourself! Spend a moment reading everyone’s dog mom thoughts and if you choose to respond, please be kind.
Let’s support each other. Dog mom life can be ruff sometimes, but always rewarding!
Snow Day!
We are in a part of North Carolina that hardly ever gets snow, but we were able to get a little something something this time! We might even get some more this week which is shocking. Simba has seen snow several times and he’s not a fan. He will run out in the snow, handle his biz, and get right back on inside.
I was so excited to see how Zuri would react to seeing snow for the first time. I figured she would probably love it since she loves water and doesn’t mind being in the rain or in a pool or anything. Well, I was right! She absolutely loved it and it was a sight to see.
See for yourself with some super cute photos and a little snow day vlog.
Snow Day Vlog
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Leave a comment and let me know how you liked the video. Your comments keep me motivated to keep bringing you the dog mom video content you love. Also check out the community tab to answer polls, see photos, and more right on YouTube.
In Case You Missed It
This post contains some paid links at no cost to you, however, you’ll be supporting a fellow dog mom and will allow me to spoil my dogs a little if you click through and purchase something.
I went live a few times on YouTube last week and had a time! I went shopping in a few of my favorite stores that I think have the best pet sections. Watch me spoil my dogs and show you some of the finds I was most excited about while my dogs get a little too excited in the process :)
Click HERE to view my dog must-haves list where you’ll find some of the things I found in store.
Dog Moms Only Book Club
Dogs and books are two of my absolute favorite things so I decided to start a Dog Moms Only book club last year where we would be reading cutesy cozy romance & thrilling mystery novels that feature dogs in the story. Dog moms who love to read were so excited to sign up and about 50 dog moms joined, but they never interacted on the Fable app. I was basically reading the books by myself :( I really want to read books with dogs in the story and discuss it with my dog mom friends!
I think the Fable app was a bust because people didn’t want to use an app they weren’t already using before? It was just app overload or something? I get it. So hopefully bringing the book club here to Substack will work out better for everyone.
So how the book club will work is I’ll make threads here on Substack and you can chat with other dog moms about the book. The threads will come right to your email which you already use that app right? :) And a lot of you use the Substack app already as well so I think there will be more engagement this time. If you have any suggestions please let me know!
I’ll create the first thread tonight for those who are interested in the book club for us to introduce ourselves and get to know each other. You an also leave suggestions of what should be our first book club read. We’ll kick off actually reading in February. So we have time to figure this book club thang out and see what works for us right here on Substack before February gets here.
I’ll be adding books featuring dogs HERE so we’ll have books to pick from as out book club read. Farrah Rochon’s Pardon My Frenchie e-book is currently on sale for $2.99 and the sale ends TONIGHT. So grab it now. It’s a super cute romance read with a ton of dogs in the story.
Dog Mom Spotlight
Would you like to be featured in the Dog Mom Spotlight and share some of your dog mom journey? If you’d like to be a featured dog mom in the next newsletter, please subscribe & leave a comment or reply to this email and let me know and I’ll send you a few questions.
Also if you have stories or experiences you'd like to share about your own senior dog, I'd love to share them. Let's celebrate the love and joy our dogs bring into our lives, no matter their age.
Talk soon!
Kia x Simba x Zuri
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I usually just quietly read and go about my day, but I couldn't let that "reading by myself" line slip by. I absolutely positively tried to read Farrah Rochon’s "Pardon My Frenchie," but after that character felt entitled enough to show up to SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOME because she was dragging her feet through the purchase, I closed that book and was done. That character was rattling my nerves with the nagging. I did try. I started reading two other dog books instead. (On a separate note, I've walked at least three senior dogs: two were blind and deaf, and another could see but could not walk in a straight line. The third one was so cute but just so frail. I was walking that dog with tears pouring down my face behind my sunglasses. I know I looked like the craziest Wag! walker ever, but it was breaking my heart because you could tell this was a lively dog when it was younger. My prior two dogs died at 13 and nine and seemed perfectly healthy. Just collapsed in the basement one day and the hallway with another. No long aging. No signs of sickness. I was in college when one dog died and not living with my parents when the other dog died. So seeing that was tough for me.)