Last night, the family dog was laying in the living room she she decided to get up. She scared everybody in the house when she started crying really loudly and pacing around the room. She normally is a very calm dog who never makes any noise unless she is left outside for a long time. We took her into the vet yesterday and and had an x-ray done on her back legs. They said that she has severe arthritis in one of her back knees and prescribed a strong pain killer and some special supplements to hopefully heal or mitigate the issue, but she still has these random episodes when she tries to get up. I'm just hoping she is able to get through it, but I'm not sure if she will or if she might need to be put down. She is pretty old, but she has also been with us for almost 14 years and I can't even begin to think of all the memories I have of her during my childhood. I guess you could say that she is the last thing that I have from my younger camping days where I would run through sandy trails cut in dense forests, exploring the world with friends as the sun shone down on our backs. Now, all of those friends have moved away and we sold the camper years ago, leaving me with little more than a few flashlights and memories. God, when did I grow up? I feel like I was four years old only yesterday. Most of my elementary school years are lost to the stratera I was on to turn me into a mindless husk that only knew how to do homework. I guess it's a good thing that I had that head start on my education, but it just seems like I was robbed of my childhood in the process. Now, the only thing I have left from that time I want so desperately to revisit is an old black lab who has arthritis. I hope I don't loose her soon.