[Bejemoelemymn]

Oh God, I'm already starting to think about it with Veronica and she hasn't turned 5 yet!!

But I swear, it was only yesterday when I brought her wiggly butt of a puppy home.

I had my first dog that was truly mine for almost 14 years. She was a puppy mill Basset Hound with chronic health problems and I spent most of her life worrying about her dying. Which in retrospect felt rather silly because she lived a normal life span and I spent allot of time worrying myself sick.

As Chloe said, I also went through a normal grieving process; and I do think that was because I felt she had lived a good long life and she did not suffer overly much. She was good until the last 24 hours of her life...and that was the back and forth with the vet of "is it time, will this improve, can you make her comfortable". But I got to stay with her all that time and sort of do my mental "goodbyes"...and I knew clearly it was time, because that was the moment when she lost any and all quality of life.

It's never easy, but you just move forward, because that's all you can do.

I think you may have allot of time left with Beau, so baby him a little, maybe slow him down a touch (seniors should accept that they are no longer spring chickens and make some accomodations), and enjoy your time with him. My Basset (Frances Abigail) was definitley grey around the muzzle at 8, and showing signs of her age...but she lived another almost 6 years and that was with perianal fistulas, allergies, chronic kidney failure, Cushing's disease and a heart murmur! She was still going strong, except the cancer got her - and it had to burst a tumor in her heart to finally do her in.

I know it;s easier said than done, but try to put more energy into enjoying and less into worrying (and when you figure out how to do that, let me in on the secret! ).