Yes, her name is Ziva Baby. Baby is her middle name. It has nothing to do with my love of the movie Dirty Dancing. She earned her middle name because she was and still is quite the baby.

She didn’t read the book, and she’s not unruly. As a matter of fact, she is rather ruly these days, as in she rules the roost. And because while she’s only 14 years old in dog years, she’s 78 in people years. She is the oldest person in the house, and she wants her dinner and her treats and her walks when she wants them. She gets her way. She’s earned it.

She’s a blue poodle, at least that was the consensus of two different poodle breeders. She doesn’t normally look this blue. The afternoon sunlight reflected off the rug and onto her fur. Ziva hangs out here if my husband is in the TV room and I’m in the kitchen or front room. This way neither of us can leave the house without her noticing. She loves car rides, even though she occasionally gets carsick. My van’s floor is covered with a layer of car blankets and towels. Last week she threw up on one of the leather seats, and I didn’t notice until the next day. The throw up was chunky, but frozen solid. It was super easy to clean up. So, there’s a good point to sub-zero temperatures.

Yes, Ziva is a charmer. For months, I’ve been telling people that she’s going to be 14 years old on January 23, 2025. And people keep telling her she looks amazing for her age. Ziva never gets tired of hearing this. She’s a mouthy charmer. I think that’s about the most wonderful thing a person can say about a dog. Ziva likes to talk, and I like that she likes to communicate. She can’t speak English, and I can’t speak bark, but I pretty much know what she wants by the tone of her bark or the timbre of her grumble.

Ziva loves her walks. Most dogs do. It’s one of the nicest things we can do for our dogs — take them for a walk. Ziva loves to walk with me. She loves to walk with Nellie, my grand-dog. When we go to Michigan, she loves to walk with Bogey, my mom’s dog. Ziva can’t always walk as far as she used to. Some days she walks farther and faster than other days. She used to strut, with her poodle sashay, looking like a runway model. Now she often has a hitch in her stride. My vet says I’m very in tune to Ziva. And she’s right. I notice the smallest changes. Ziva and I have walked many miles over the years.

Ziva is my writing buddy. My watchdog. My traveling companion. My walking partner. My cuddle bunny.

She had a low-key birthday this year. After all, I couldn’t buy her another fancy bed. But she did have some extra treats. She also had a car ride, and didn’t throw up. And, tonight she has a couch all to herself and both of her humans are in the same room with her watching Animal Control.