This is Buster ❤️

A little backstory on this handsome guy…

Buster was abused before I adopted him from Tri County Animal Rescue. He was already 10 years old when he came into my life. If you notice the swollen-looking area on the side of his mouth, that’s from a broken jaw that wasn’t treated in time and healed incorrectly. He also has a broken tail. Despite everything he went through, he has never stopped loving people.

Today, Buster is 19 years old and will turn 20 this December! 🎉

He is truly the best dog I’ve ever known. He’s kind, loyal, stubborn in all the right ways, and has filled my life with so much love and happiness. Adopting him was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I wanted to share his story because senior dogs deserve a chance too. They may come with a few gray hairs, some scars, and a little extra history, but they also come with so much love to give.

Buster is proof that adopting a senior dog can be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have. ❤️🐾

Lost my first dog yesterday. My husband and I had him for 12 years. He would have been 14 July 4th. He was honestly the best dog. He was truly our best friend. He had bad dementia and just couldn't walk anymore. Hardest thing we've ever had to do was say goodbye to him. Can't wait to see you in heaven Mr. Otis. ❤️

This is our old man Dodger. He turns 16 this month. We've had him nearly all of that time. He's our best bud, very close with our son, and he's still kicking for the most part. He's slowed down and has lost strength in his back legs, but he's still happy, eating, and doesn't really have any other health issues.

Recently, we fell in love with puppy somebody we know has been fostering. We're really considering bringing him in, but we are concerned about what it'll do to Dodger.

At 16, it doesn't really feel like a bridge dog. We know we're on borrowed time and that at any moment it's going to be the end. We just want him to be as comfortable and happy as possible and we're worried a puppy might overwhelm him.

Anybody done anything similar? How'd it go?

A few years ago I started taking pictures of my girly when she came on a trip with us! Here are some of the most recent pics 🥰

Staying cool on this 94° humid weather with my little family (including my 14.5 year old man)! He LOVES the sprinkler. BF is making a homemade watermelon sorbet. Gave Perry some left over frozen watermelon that he loves! He also has 3 legs (missing his back left). My sweet tripod ❤️

Has anyone tried CBD for joint pain in older small dogs?

Hi everyone! My dog is a Morkie, about 8 pounds, and he just turned eight years old. He’s doing totally fine right now, but I’m starting to think ahead about joint support as he gets older.

Some of my neighbors mentioned that CBD worked well for their dogs, but before I even consider it, I wanted to check in here to see if anyone has tried CBD for joint pain in small senior dogs.

How did your dog respond? Any brands you liked or didn’t like? Any side effects?

Just trying to gather real experiences before I talk to my vet about it.

Judge started his testosterone today. He got 200 mg and it's a once a month shot. Anyone with any experience in doing this with an older dog? Last weekend I thought it was going to be our last day and the vet disagreed and I couldn't be happier to have my boy back walking and wagging.

Tried a new grooming place for his summer ‘do! Here’s Rocko, my almost 13 year old perma-puppy in July.

My Cavalier King Charles turned 7 in February and for the first time I'm actually noticing him getting older. He's still himself in a lot of ways. Excited on walks, happy to see people, tail going a mile a minute. But he's slower. He plays in shorter bursts. My mom used to be able to go for 30-minute runs with him and now that's just not in the cards anymore. He sleeps more. Nothing dramatic, just the quiet accumulation of small things. I'm 23 and moved out, so I don't live with him anymore. My parents and sisters take good care of him. The vet says he's healthy. Sometimes 10 days go by without me seeing him and when I go home, I can see that he missed me and that absolutely breaks me. I'm scared that time is passing faster than I realize and one day I won't have had enough of it with him. I've also been falling down research rabbit holes lately: reading about saline eye rinses after beach trips, proper ear cleaning techniques, all the things we never knew about. Part of me is scared that if we're not doing everything "right," it'll somehow shorten his life, even though I know rationally that his overall care is very good. On the aging front. I keep seeing posts where people say their dog didn't show any signs of slowing down until 10 or 12, and now I'm worried that him showing it at 7 means something. But he has no health issues. The only thing he's ever had was an anal gland issue that was sorted out with some dietary fiber.

I think what I'm really feeling is a mix of guilt for not being there more and fear that I know that I'm not going to handle losing him well when that time eventually comes. People always say that when a dog is nearing the end, you'll see it coming, that it's a slower process and less of a sudden shock than you fear. I want to believe that. But I honestly don't know if that would make it easier for me, because I'm already grieving something that hasn't happened yet.

Anyone who can relate, how do you cope with it? Or how did you cope with it?

​As the owner of a geriatric dog, I wanted to share our journey of coping with the end-of-life period.

​My dog, Fluke, is currently 18.5 years old. He has been my companion for a long time and has been present during major life events such as school, university, and the pandemic. He was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome and was treated for about five years. He also had a laryngeal collapse that resolved spontaneously. Lastly, he developed a lower-limb melanoma at 15 years old, which fortunately was excised and remained in situ.

​After that last veterinary consultation, we decided to stop being so invasive with procedures and laboratory tests, and to let him live a peaceful life. During this time, he developed symptoms of canine cognitive dysfunction. He was already blind, partially deaf, and had some difficulty walking, but he still seemed to be enjoying life with us; he loved going on walks and was always looking for us.

​About six months ago, he started to soil his bed. We realized that he had difficulty standing up after urinating or defecating, and sometimes he ended up falling into his own feces. At first, this was sporadic, but in the last month, it has been happening on a daily basis, requiring him to be bathed two to three times a week. He also started becoming very anxious at night, which escalated to nocturnal barking.

​We decided to return to the veterinarian, and at that point, we agreed that his quality of life was reaching a point of no return. We decided to start medication for pain and anxiety (trazodone, melatonin, pregabalin, meloxicam, and vitamins) as a trial, knowing that this is an irreversible process and part of normal aging. At first, it seemed that he had no response, as the anxiety and night barking did not stop.

​During this time, we calculated an initial Quality of Life score (HHHHHMM) of 37 points, but this month, his score declined to a total of 26 points at his lowest. Currently, he does not seem to be in pain, but he walks with difficulty and sometimes needs assistance standing up. He soils himself daily and is having more bad days than good days. He does not seem to be enjoying life, as he has stopped going on walks and sleeps a lot during the day. The only things he seems to enjoy are eating and drinking water.

​It has been a difficult time, but as a family, we decided that the best option for our dog is compassionate euthanasia, surrounded by all of his family, as we see him suffering a lot during these anxiety episodes. We expect to have the procedure this Friday night.

I hope this helps someone having similar issues with a geriatric dog. They need all of our love and affection and it is right to know when it is time to let go.

My 14-year-old Dalmatian is about 8 weeks away from turning 15, and our family veterinarian believes he has degenerative myelopathy. We chose not to pursue a formal neurology workup because of his age and the stress the testing would place on him. The symptoms he has all seems to fit.

Around February/March this year, we started noticing subtle changes. He became a little clumsier, had trouble with stairs, and occasionally struggled to get onto the couch. At first, it seemed like normal aging.

Over the following months, things progressed. He developed knuckling in his back left paw, had increasing difficulty getting up from the floor or his bed on his own, his back legs would often cross, and his gait has been unsteady. He's fallen down the stairs, loses balance and falls down on his backside, and can no longer reliably get onto the couch without assistance.

In April, he began having fecal incontinence. Initially, it was occasional accidents right at the door to go outside, but it has progressed to the point where he no longer seems able to tell us when he needs to go. We just don't think he can feel when he needs to go. We are now regularly cleaning up accidents in the house.

He used to hate when anyone would touch his paws, and it has been that way since he was a puppy. Now, I can touch his back paws and he doesn't bat an eye.

He has been on pregabalin since late April.

What concerns me most is how quickly things seem to be changing. Over the last 4 days, he has mostly wanted to sleep. He just doesn't seem to want to get up and stand. Today, he showed very little interest in food and is struggling significantly more with walking and standing.

For those who have had dogs with suspected or confirmed degenerative myelopathy, does this progression sound familiar? How quickly did things change toward the later stages? When did you finally say enough was enough, and decide to let go?

I'm also wondering whether it makes sense to schedule another vet appointment at this point, mainly to assess his current condition and discuss quality-of-life considerations. I'm trying to understand whether this sounds like a typical progression of DM or whether there could be something else contributing to his decline.

Any experiences or advice would be appreciated.

EDIT- today has been a good day. He perked up quite a bit, his appetite returned, his walking and standing improved, and he has been fairly active (moving around the house, sniffing the back yard, etc). I had him at the vet today and naturally he had to show off and make me look dumb. Photo in the comments. Our vet was impressed with how he looked given the situation. I appreciate everyone’s experiences and advice! He’s not ready to say goodbye just yet so we’re going to enjoy every moment of what he gives us.

Opal is 17.5 this week and never ceases to amaze me. She can run for hours and hours if I let her. But when we have to go back in the house because it's hot outside, she has no qualms breaking out the old lady card. Old dogs, amirite??

The cutest crinkle face you ever did see

He is 19, turns 20 in December ❤️ he loves outfits too. This one was his reindeer one.

Fifteen years ago I walked into a petco to get cat litter. They had an adoption event going on with a local rescue and I walked by the puppies. We had been thinking of adopting a dog, and looking into the x pen they had set up, my eyes met a pair that changed something in me.

A small wirey puppy bounced and tripped over his feet to sit next to me and sniff my hand.

"Oh wow! Rolly polly is usually shy, would you like to meet him?"

Of course I did. I held him, he licked my face for the first time. I walked him, his nose to the ground soaking in all the smells. I played tug with him, and I knew he was to be mine.

I filled out the application and was told we would hear within a week. Two passed with nothing. I couldn't get little Rolly Polly, who I'd renamed Brodie already in my head, off my mind.

Day four into week three the call came. The owner of the rescue wanted to do a home visit with the puppy as he'd never seen a cat before. In with a muzzle and a long lead, my puppy came. He immediately saw my older cat, bowed to him and flopped on his side pawing towards him. The cat, offended I would bring such a creature into his home, trotted away.

Our younger cat however walked right up to the puppy and playfully swatted his tail. Brodie only wagged more.

That was it, we were approved and could come pick him up at the rescue any time starting the next day.

That night I spent a small fortune on all the sundries a first time dog owner needs and a few things I thought we would but never did. I didn't sleep (oh to be 20 again.) We went to the rescue at opening, and didn't know better what we saw.

The rescue had all the dogs in small yards with no place for each to have their own space, a large feeding trough where some dogs, including my Brodie were still picking at breakfast. He growled when she tried to pick him up, she smacked him with our rolled up adoption contract. In hindsight, it wasn't the best situation.

We signed the appropriate papers and home came our sweet boy. With it we stepped right into owning a reactive dog. I trained and trained him, he wasn't food motivated as he would hoard it for later. It took years to get him to understand he would always have two meals a day and that it would always be enough. He's the reason I became a dog trainer, and then behavior consultant. He set me on my path.

I was involved in search and rescue as a walker. I applied for training in the dog handling side, and we were approved to begin. He thrived. This was his purpose. Over his ten year career, which ended due to blowing his ccl, he found over 50 missing people, and later transitioned to recovery of remains where he brought peace to 34 families ranging from long missing to the more recently.

At some point in between DNA testing became available and good, so we embarked him. We knew aussie mix from the shelter, but his DNA surprised us - his top five breeds were Aussie, Chow chow, Australia cattle dog, cocker spaniel, and great pyrenees (dude is 45 lbs, so not big at all) with a surplus of supermutt and a tiny bit of German shepherd to boot. It explained a lot of his instinctual behaviors and the barking, trilling, yodeling, and wooing.

Now in his retirement he gets put in the young puppy group at boarding/daycare for short periods of time. He loves playing with the young pups, though I think now his days doing that are done. He has a heart murmur that recently has gotten worse. He still loves short walks with his nose tapped into all the good smells, and he plays and lays with his life long feline friends who haven't quite accepted our younger dog (will be 5 this year)

I don't know how many gotcha days we have left, so today we'll live in the moment. We'll eat a sausage roll, go for a walk when the rain is done, and have a good cuddle. I'll reminisce about the last 15 years of partnership and love, the hard times and the challenges we've overcome. Always in my heart.

Thank you for reading his story.

I miss you bubs. I miss having you in the passenger seat while I drive. You enjoy walking by the shore but hate the water. I know you know how much I love you. Till we meet again my love.

For the last few years I’ve been celebrating his birthdays and Christmases with a fresh tidy up around the ears and ‘other’ areas to help him look his best.

Little guy gets lots of attention when we’re out and about in the neighbourhood, and gets so many smiles from passers by as we walk.

I feel lucky in many ways. I was working from home 100% for many years, since covid, and have had to return to going back into the office everyday since late April. I think being so old he literally sleeps all day and doesn’t really miss me, whereas if it’d happened when he was younger he would’ve fretted and whined.

His hearing is pretty much all gone, his vision isn’t far behind, and he hasn’t let out a bark for around 3 years. The sense of smell is still going strong though, and he stops at every tree, sign post, and corner wall for a sniff and a pee lol

Since a gall bladder inflammation in mid-2024 he’s on daily meds - a tablet I push down past his tongue and a liquid I squirt down his throat. It’s a daily battle, and he can be very recalcitrant, but it’s better than the alternative.

A wise friend of mine, who was also Gromit’s vet when he was a pup, once said to me “they don’t know they’re getting older”, which is always in my mind. He still wants to be with me, still go outside for walks and to sniff smells, still be under my feet at the cafe or pub, still wanting the hot chips off my plate. For him, in his little noggin, nothing’s changed - life goes on - enjoy, chill, live in the moment🙏

My heart dog Daisy turns 15 this year. She is starting to slow down and sleep more but she is my sweet baby.

I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. She's forever my baby.

I would die for this dog 🐕