The rotund cocker spaniel pants heavily and is saddled with fatty tumors. The same cringe-inducing query is being fielded by more and more parents, who are discovering a new kind of generation gap. Many baby boomers who waited to have children later in life opted to adopt pets first. But now parents are torn between love for that 'first child' and the plaintive demands of their human children, who want pets of their own because Mom and Dad's elderly Eloise is now a bore. Parents have begun peppering animal trainers and behaviorists with questions about what to do while they wait for their pooch to pass on.
Veterinarians say they are increasingly pressed to estimate how much life is left in Lassie . . .
I don't know what kind of advice animal behaviorists are giving anxious boomer parents. However, it occurs to me that all of us boomer parents will probably be panting heavily and saddled with fatty tumors ourselves someday. I don't think so, but that's just one woman's opinion. Until next week . . . The Priscilla appears on this URL every Monday afternoon.