Count me in that group . I've been thru 12 and was with every one of them till the end . Tears my heart out .
Some of you likely remember my rescue doggie Brandy...lived to be 18.....she went with me everywhere...many tracks. Haven't gotten another......top photo shortly before she passed.....
We have the last four of our big dogs cremated remains in urns which I keep in what we used to call my late wife's music room. The bride insisted on this, so I have gone along with it. I'm seriously thinking about scattering the ashes, as nobody is going to want them, and I don't want to stick the executor of my estate with an avoidable problem.
We just got rescued by these two little shitzoo puppies yesterday. I had no power in the decision making process.
...or they die prematurely. Our last 3 dobies did. Two dropped dead (SDS, Sudden Death Syndrome) while we were playing in back yard, third started symptoms of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) at 8. Thanks to small original gene pool, among other inherited issues, SDS and DCM are becoming increasingly prevalent, statistically increasing at 1.5% a year. We adopted our last, Sam, when he was 2 1/2. We lost him to SDS 3 yrs later, in 2018, at which time his probability was 50%. Dobies are dear to our hearts (we've had 5 together), but agreed not to have another, losing them was too painful. Two years ago, our go-to rescue person told us about a Spoo puppy that was in need. We couldn't resist. Never thought I'd want one, but...
I take Barrett to work every day. His favorite place is sitting on the counter. Customers bring their pets and children in just to say hi.