# Dog lifespans suck.



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

thats all I wanted to say. 

Why couldn't they be like Tortoises or Elephants?

Its just cruel to us.


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## Jynical (Jun 22, 2011)

<3 Yes, they do. <3


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I think its John Grisham who has a book out on his Dog who recently passed. I saw it at Barnes and Noble the other day.

He wrote about the cruelty of this and how man goes into the relationship knowing the pain that is so inevitable. It was beautiful writing and very thought provoking... you know when a great author writes something and you just think "yeah, that IS how I feel and you said it better than I ever could?"

Ok, so I had a bit more to say  

Tough subject. I don't even like to think about it because it tugs at me, especially w/ one of my guys. I'm not sure I can even endure it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Yes they do!! I just lost me 14 year old a couple months ago, and in '07 we lost our 12 year old! But my Sister's 15 year old is still doing GREAT, and I told her that she has always been as stubborn as one so she MUST live as long as the average Mule!! (Which she has always been in great health, albeit now 100% deaf, but is now on RAW...and doing GREAT! So it could happen!:wink

But yes, with the loss of my best friend of nearly exactly 14 years it is still a very tough subject for me!! :frown:


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Well if they lived as long as elephants and tortoises WE might not be around when they go then that would be a worry as who would look after them! I was talking to an animal loving shop assistant whilst buying homeopathics for my dog yesterday and she said she has had her labs live 19 and 20 years respectively - blimey I didn't realise they lived that long!
I know generally smaller dogs live longer and as I've just adopted a greyhound I hope that we get a good 9 years (he's 5) as they live 12-14 and feeding him raw hopefully will keep him in tip top condition,


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

they live as long as they live.....we all have an expiration date and sometimes, it's not what the books say....

i try so hard not to think about it, but when malia does something old....i can't help but think about it...

every time i have to put my dog to sleep....i say i will never get another one, it's too much, no one should be subjected to this much personal sorrow...and then i come home and i see the one that's left behind....me. or me and my honey. or me, my honey and the other dog....and then there's another dog in the house...

i guess, because that's the cycle of life....we live, we love, we laugh, we die.


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## Janet At Nutro (Mar 11, 2011)

I agree that their lifespans are way too short.
It's so hard to say goodbye to a beloved companion.
I have also said, never again, it hurts too much.
And then when I least expect it a rescue needs a home,
and I can't say no. So I do my best to make the most of
the time that we have together, take lots of pictures, give
them lots of love, and make memories together.
I am so grateful for the time that I do have with my kids.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Yup. Way too short. Period.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Sigh...Louis is my first dog, and I can't even begin to imagine losing him. When that day does come, I know my heart will break into a million pieces.


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## Mia&Max (Jul 15, 2011)

Average dog life in U.S. - 11 years
Average scientific age for dogs: 27 years

Most loving country for dogs: USA

It has to be the food we're feeding them. I've been feeding my mini dachshund and yorkie homemade food since they were months old, thanks to a few friend who told me of their aging dogs' transformation from bad liver, vision problems, skin problems to healthy active dogs after switching to from commercial foods to home made natural food.


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## FL Cracker (May 4, 2011)

Yeah, I certainly wish they lived longer...like a Parrot per say. If I could have cloned my prior Rottie, Dakota... I would have. There will never be another like him...and in my lifetime I would be fortunate to find a dog half as loyal, intelligent, obedient and trustworthy as him.

Thank you Dakota for 12 glorious years...for you never wavered. You woke us up in the middle of the night...for a battery that went bad in a smoke detector...and you recognized that the 'chirp" from the detector was out of the norm.
To protecting us when we had a criminal creep into the back yard during an ongoing search by the police department. Certainly not the "welcome" you anticipated when ya stepped foot into our yard. You made the day of countless people at the nursing home on the weekend...and made me proud through countless obedience trials, event's, and even out at the beach while at play. 
Below was one of our favorite pastimes every evening...getting brushed out back. This was taken just a month before he was tested positive for cancer....and two months after that...lost the fight. 
Rest in peace "D", and know that I miss you every day.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i am very touched by your story and your heartfelt love and grief for your friend, your companion.....i'm so glad you had the time you did have and sad that it goes so quickly...and it does....and we keep doing it over and over...because of the joy....


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

I completely agree their lifespan is far to short 

Every day i spend as much time as i possibly can with my little guy in hopes that it will make his short little life as good as possible...
He enriches my life so much, and makes every single day memorable in some awkward crazy way...
I'm not sure that in 10 years i'll be able to sleep with his little arse in my face (thank god to raw that he doesn't fart anymore)
I always wonder if i'll be able to have another pup after my little guy is gone years from now...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Tobi said:


> I completely agree their lifespan is far to short
> 
> Every day i spend as much time as i possibly can with my little guy in hopes that it will make his short little life as good as possible...
> He enriches my life so much, and makes every single day memorable in some awkward crazy way...
> ...


i do the same.....now that i'm fairly homebound, their companionship is even more appreciated.....we play, we walk....and they comfort me.....so how can i not give to them what they need and want....perhaps that explains the over abundance of toys they murder each and every day....

still my bubba and my malia fart and i wanna know why yours doesn't LOL...

every time one of my heart dogs die and they are all heart dogs.....i say this is it....and then i look at the one left behind and i think how can i not give him a companion of his own species when he is so good to me...so, we end up getting that second dog....and so it goes.....i just wish i could be more philosophical about it when the time comes....but i'm not....such is the circle of life i guess.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

magicre said:


> i do the same.....now that i'm fairly homebound, their companionship is even more appreciated.....we play, we walk....and they comfort me.....so how can i not give to them what they need and want....perhaps that explains the over abundance of toys they murder each and every day....
> 
> still my bubba and my malia fart and i wanna know why yours doesn't LOL...
> 
> every time one of my heart dogs die and they are all heart dogs.....i say this is it....and then i look at the one left behind and i think how can i not give him a companion of his own species when he is so good to me...so, we end up getting that second dog....and so it goes.....i just wish i could be more philosophical about it when the time comes....but i'm not....such is the circle of life i guess.


I dunno why he doesn't fart!! but they are very rare!! almost non-existent! :lol:

Tobi is definitively my heart dog, we've very much thought about getting a buddy for him, and us, but I always re-think it as I don't want to upset the balance we have now kinda thing.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Tobi said:


> I dunno why he doesn't fart!! but they are very rare!! almost non-existent! :lol:
> 
> Tobi is definitively my heart dog, we've very much thought about getting a buddy for him, and us, but I always re-think it as I don't want to upset the balance we have now kinda thing.


i understand that, too.....and this may be a dilemma for us, too....

malia was part of a five dog pack...and, as each one died...between 2008 and 2009.....she started sleeping more, even though we walked and walked and played....her appetite wasn't as it used to be....

and then the last shih tzu died and she was alone.....the other one lived with our mother in law...seems nichi liked mom better, which was okay with us....mom had lived with us for eight long years...and you can't tell a dog who to love...

but as much as kimba and malia didn't interact so much, after kimba was gone, malia really started to sleep. she was ten, by that time, and i guess...used to having another dog around....

i decided that she wasn't going to sleep herself to death...enter bubba.....not only did he wake her up, he aggravated her back to life....

so it was a good thing.....in this case.

when my malia goes onward....i don't know how bubba will react and how old he'll be....so it's not a decision set in stone...i would rather not get another dog.....bubba is more dog than any one person should have to handle....although he is so much better now after two years of safety...


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Ugh this thread has me in tears........................................ But reading I don't remember the OP but they said about labs living 19 20 years woohooo! Now that makes me happy, but I am trying to be being realistic here and hmmm I am a skeptic ugh! I have my toes and fingers crossed also!


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Tobi said:


> I dunno why he doesn't fart!! but they are very rare!! almost non-existent! :lol:
> 
> Tobi is definitively my heart dog, we've very much thought about getting a buddy for him, and us, but I always re-think it as I don't want to upset the balance we have now kinda thing.


I've been playing with the thought of getting Louis a companion for awhile too, but I'm trying to hold off until he's 3-4 years old, mainly for selfish reasons. If they are too close in age, I don't think I could handle 2 of my babies dying close together. I'm also anxious about how it would affect our relationship...


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## rgordon82 (Jul 17, 2011)

Lost our dog Japanese Pitz and she's only 8 years old


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

rgordon82 said:


> Lost our dog Japanese Pitz and she's only 8 years old


 I'm sorry...do you know the cause? :frown:


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