A bit more about me and mine

Still iffy here, weather-wise, so in between licking the salt water off my paws and passing a bit of gas, perhaps I'll tell you a bit about me and my family and what we've been up to for the last little while.
First of all, I'm eight. That's 51 in dog-years. But dog-years are a crock, a gimmicky bit of arithmetic cooked up by dog-doctors to make your people get all worried about your declining years. Me, as I've said, I'm eight. A dignified age for a dog--bit of grey in my leathers, patches of eczema on my elbows, like the suede on professor's corduroy coat.
My dad is an excellent person, a Fixer of Aches and Pains. Handsome, although a different kind of handsome than me (human-handsome). Once I was chasing stones at the beach and sort of 'misplaced' my rear left haunch. Dad did some of his physio-magic on me, stuck a few needles in my back (I'm tough) and I was as good as new. Sometimes dad travels to other parts of the world to fix people, or to tell other people how to fix other people. He is an excellent Fixer of Aches and Pains.
My mum is also excellent, handsome, etc. In fact, I'd say I take after my mum more than my dad. We have the same hair colour, same doleful expression on our faces a lot of the time. This is a ruse--we're happy inside, we just don't squander our smiles on the undeserving.
Mum is a story-maker. She makes stories on the computer about hearts. I can't believe anyone would pay her to do this, but they do, and for the most part I'm glad. Glad because she stays at home with me most of the days of the year, making the computer stories all day long and sometimes into the night. I can lie on her feet, a furry muse, stockpiling farts then letting them eek out when she's talking on the phone and can't escape.
Dad now has three clinics where he fixes people up. He's busy.
Mum got a promotion and now she travels even more than before, leaving me with my grandparents who are less appreciative of my attempts at communication, my predilection for human beds at 5am. Ah well, I love them. Love them all.