Can't Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

Our black dog, Babs, loves chasing rabbits. She used to chase rabbits and squirrels, but I think her failing eyesight made her give up on the squirrels. But she still loves rabbits. In 2009, she loved chasing them so much she tore her ACL and had to have major knee surgery. I thought, with age and the operation, she would lose her appetite for rabbit-chasing. But that was not to be.

Lately, I have noticed her outside, nose to the ground, trying to find an innocent bunny sitting in the grass. Today, while I was mowing, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her jump and race (yes, race, despite the fact that she's 14 years old) around the yard, chasing a baby bunny. If the bunny hadn't headed toward the deck so it could slip under it, I think Babs might have caught it. And it wasn't a slow bunny . . . she was that determined. I don't know what she would have done with it if she had caught it, since she has no teeth . . . but I was surely impressed with the speed of my 98-year-old dog!