Dave Smith wrote:

> We may have to make a decision about our dog in the not too distant
> future. He is a Groenendahl that we adopted 7 years ago when he was
> 5-1/2. My wife took him to the vet today for a raccoon rabies shot. He
> has been limping slightly for months. It started off as a sever limp but
> seemed to be improving and attributed to his old age and arthritis. He
> has lost 10 pounds in the last year, and last week I noticed a clicking
> sound in his hips. The vet says that it is a degenerative condition. He
> also detected an irregular heart beat, and said that considering his
> health problems, he is in remarkably good condition. He is still eating
> and drinking and eliminating, and he is very active. He gets a minimum
> of one 1 km walk every day, sometimes longer and sometimes twice a day.
>
> He is a loving and loyal dog and very obedient, but the vet confirmed
> today what we have known for a while, that he doesn't have much longer.

Letting go is the hardest thing we have to do. My heart goes out to you
and your family.

My cat Annie made it for 17 years, and in the last year of her life, she
had cancer surgery twice. It came back for the 3rd time and I was not
going to have Annie go through surgery again. I knew she was circling
the drain, even though the vet was ready and willing to put her through
it again.

Becca