My sister and her husband had to say goodbye today to their beloved Dyson (AKA Mr. Brown)
He was a large heeler mix...just turned 13 but he aged very fast the past year and was having a very hard time getting around even with medication for the arthritis. Sadly, he also had become very senile. Very bad nights there, as he would get restless and wander and seem very confused at night.
My sister put it very well in her email to me today:
Mr. Brown has never been a quitter, whether it's playing frisbee or jumping off the dock, and we realized that's it has always been our responsibility to let him know when it's time to rest. So nothing major has changed, we just don't want him to get to a point where he's in any more pain.
He was a good good dog. Dock diver and swimmer extraordinaire and always a gentleman, even when Laika was an evil snarking beeyotch to him.
I hope he's jumping and swimming at the Bridge by now.