We have a 15 year old beagle as the family dog. I was only 4 when we got her. We saved her as a puppy from an animal testing centre (there was a fire there, and she managed to escape... a police lady was looking after her so we kept her after that. She has a tattoo from the testing centre in her ear) so we've grown up together. As weird as it sounds, I've always said she's like my sister. We also have another puppy (who is wicked), he's young and healthier than ever.
Growing up, our beagle had lumps on her head which needed to be cut out, slipped disks in her back, phantom pregnancies, the list goes on...
Thousands of pounds, and weeks in vets has been spend on her to get better in the past.
She's always been a bit on the mental side (chewing up sofas, locking her self in a bathroom with an open tin of purple pain so she was covered in it, escaping out of the front door and running to the next village) but she's the most friendly and living dog ever and wouldn't hurt anyone.
Now she's getting older she's calmed down a lot, became lazy, sleeping most of the day and only got up for food. She's going blind and deaf.
Our Jack Russell puppy used to suckle on her when we first got him so I think he looks to her as being like his mum, they look after each other.
I got home today to find her wobbling around the living room and unable to stand up properly. I think this is the end of everything. She isn't in pain but I don't think there's much else we can do.
The last few times she's been ill, my mum has always said she will be fine and she's been right.. but just by looking at my mum now, you can tell she's upset and I think she's scared to tell me our little dog isn't going to be okay.
It's heartbreaking really. I don't really know what I expect people to say, but our dog isn't just a dog. She's the best pet ever. I'm now 6 1/2 pregnant and have always laid with her and jokingly said "you better still be here when the baby gets here" but I don't think here's much hope.