Good dog

My mom refers to Popcorn as "the white one," or asks, even when looking right at her, "Where's my dog?" I wonder which dog she has in mind: Pokey, Rosey, Daisy, Doozie? 

At the start of the visit my mom was in bed, jaw set, eyes tightly closed. When I finally got her to talk a bit, she said clearly, "Life is hard." I tried to get her to elaborate, but that was it, one of those clear language moments with no clue about what triggered it.