He shies away from my hand when I go to pet him. Sometimes he even opens his mouth, as if to bite. But I've realized that, as his sight dims, he sees only the shadow and it's scary to him. Once he catches the scent and realizes it's me, he leans into the petting with joyful abandon, as you see.
There's probably a lesson in there: maybe a lesson about fear
and aggression and how they're not always what they appear to be on the
surface.
Dogs are great teachers, and I'm here for it.
