In the past few weeks we have been to the vet several times with Dutch. He is 12 years old, and is in his "golden years" as the vet put it some time ago. The last time we made a vet visit was a few days ago, and as they took him back for his second blood draw of the day, I passed the time by examining the pictures and posters on the wall. One I noticed across the room was a chart showing the physiological age of cats and dogs. I leaned in to read it and had to hang there a while as I traced the numbers down to "12 Years" then across to poundage. My heart sank when I realized my beloved dog is in the "Geriatric" range. Geriatric?? That makes me think decrepit and frail. But my dear dog is robust and filled with vitality, how can he be geriatric? 
But how I perceive him is not how he really is. The truth is that my poor dog has slowed down dramatically in the past couple of years. He walks slowly, has trouble navigating stairs, and stumbles often. From the results of blood tests we know things we can't see on the outside: that his liver is starting to give out on him. The vet has said that at the most we have a few more months to enjoy Dutch. He's been with me for 12 years. It is hard to think about life without this big guy.
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