I'm so sorry - I thought you'd have a little more time together. Wingin'it's comment about seeing a dog in failing health next to healthy dogs reminded me of something similar I noticed several months after my Rosebud died. Rosebud lived to be 16 and died basically from complications of old age - severe arthritis and a heart condition.

Even know that, caring for her all day every day, I honestly did not see what poor health was doing to her. I took several pictures a few days before she unexpectedly died but didn't download them until a week or so after her death.

When I looked at the pictures, I almost felt dumbfounded - Rosebud looked so old, so frail, her whole body looked so tired...but I didn't realize all that before she was gone.

There's a saying that letting our pets go when their quality of life is such that they cannot enjoy living is the ultimate tribute we can give them - grief is a hard price to pay for love but it really does come down to doing what is best, having the wisdom and courage to understand when there aren't anymore options.

Animals don't think of time the way we do. They understand love, security, being part of a family - but they don't think about the past or worry about the future. Each day is everything to an animal and whether or not they can comfortably enjoy it is what comes together to make their lives.