On Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:37:26 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>I just came in form burying Sonny, our Malinois rescue. His time was up
>and we took him to the vet to be euthanized. We had actually done that
>6 months ago when we thought that he had lost control of his bowels, but
>that turned out to be colitis and was easily fixed up with some
>antibiotics and steroids. However, he was deteriorating with age and
>the vet said that it was time to put him down when he could no longer
>stand up on his own. He had been getting steadily worse but yesteday
>the back end gave out and he could no longer get up or stand up on his own.
>
>Sonny was a Katrina rescue (from Florida) who came to us 9 years ago at
>the age of 5, after he had been evicted from the trailer park where his
>owners spent their winters. The woman dropped him off on the way to a
>conference in Toronto and said she would check on the way back in three
>days and if things weren't working out she would take him back. She did
>not check in. Nor did she return phone calls or emails. He was so bad I
>was going to send him back. He is the only dog I was never able to
>train to heel off leash and to come when called. He never really ran
>away. He would always come back eventually.
>
>He used to scare the hell of visitors, barking and growling as if he was
>going to rip them apart if they tried to come in. He was even worse when
>they were leaving. The second day he had him my brother came by with
>his Lab to walk with the digs. Sonny was acting so vicious that my
>brother would never bring his dog back. I know that he would have been
>fine off the leash, but given the way he had been acting I can't blame
>him for not wanting to risk a repeat.
>
>He was a high energy dog who needed to run. If he had been out for the
>daily two mile walk (5 mile run for him) he burned up enough energy to
>behave. He finally started to settle down at age 10 and turned into a
>really nice dog.

A four year old child's wisdom.

Why dogs do not live as long as people?

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa,
and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they
were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of
cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and
offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their
home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it
would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.
They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for
the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy
seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or
confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering
aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human
lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said,
"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life --
like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The
four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so
they don't have to stay as long."