On Fri, 01 Sep 2006 16:38:15 GMT, john smith wrote:
She was eight last year, nine now.
She is a Golden Retriever, average life is twelve years.
She lives as long as she lives.

My last few dogs lived to about 12 and then were just found dead
outside... They had been getting along pretty good with no noticeable
signs of old age... They were Chows... One of the younger ones got in
a fight with his father (even though both had been 'fixed'), and ended
up paralyzed from behind the front shoulders to the rear... I took him
out back, dug a hole, and put a bullet through his head severing the
spinal cord for a quick no-reflex kill... I was always taught that you
don't hire someone else to do your dirty work, you do it yourself...
I've had to do it with cattle on the ranch and with pets...