TexaCan - Thank you very much for your comforting words, thoughts and blessings. I appreciate it very much and it DOES help. We are back and forth about getting another dog - one thing that we are thinking is that neither of us want to go through this kind of heartbreak again. Several folks have said getting another dog is the thing to do, but I just don't know. We're going to give it some time and see how our feelings play out, I guess. Yes, we were thinking about rescuing an older dog for the same reasons you give - we would not want to have it outlive us and be abandoned if we were to die first...so that's another thing we're thinking about.

I'm sorry that you may be going down this road soon. Dogs surround us with so much loyalty and unconditional love. Nothing you can do is wrong to them!

I know you will know when it's time....or rather Charlie will let you know, but I found this article that made us feel a lot better about our decision. We were feeling all the things...guilt, was it too soon, etc. and this answered a lot of those questions. One of the things it says, which was interesting to me, was that anxiety is worse than pain! Our dog was very anxious..pacing and panting, so helping him with that made us feel better:

https://www.lapoflove.com/Quality-of-Life/How-Will-I-Know-It-Is-Time

Technically the runt of a litter is a puppy that is not as healthy as the rest, and does not thrive. That puppy may survive but is often a less than healthy dog throughout its life, requiring more vet visits and special care to stay alive. What most people refer to as the runt of the litter is, in reality just the smallest puppy, may be a slow starter because he can't fight as hard for a nipple so grows more slowly. That same small puppy in the hands of a caring breeder will get the extra care and food for the first 4 weeks will be as strong and healthy as the rest of the litter. Of course in the wild, such puppies die at 3 to 5 weeks, thus making sure that only the strongest ones survive to reproduce.

First of all, I completely understand that concern. My feeling is that the love and joy each of them brought to me was worth going through it. And now I have memories.

Second, I would offer this. I got my first dog in the mid-80s, and a year later I got another one. Since that time, I have always had multiple dogs. When I had to have my first dog put down after she was diagnosed with cancer, it was the most devastating thing I had ever been through. As difficult as it was, though, having the other dogs there helped a lot and the void was not as great as it might have been. Through the years, as I lost each one, the same was true ... until this last time. My last dog was an "only child" for the last 6 years of her life, so when she passed away in August, I was "alone" for the first time in about 35 years, and it did hit me a lot harder not having any dogs at all. So I have decided to get another one, probably within a year, as soon as my new friend gets comfortable with everything here and used to my routine.

I don't know if that's possible for you or not, but perhaps something to consider.

Well, that's something we will definitely think about. I'm not sure about having more than one dog. I don't think that would be the right thing for us. The issue of getting another dog who could outlive us is also holding us back. If we get an older dog who has less of a life expectancy, first of all, that dog is going to be missing someone else, (but I think it might get over that with time) we know that either we are going to go through this heartbreak again....or it will outlive us and then the dog will have to go through losing someone again.

I don't know. As I say, we're going back and forth with this. One minute it's one way...another minute it's the other way. I think it will sort itself out after some time has passed and we are able to think a little bit more logically. It's still pretty brand new and raw right now.

I understand completely. I had similar thoughts when I was trying to decide what to do. I started looking at websites for local shelters. It was overwhelming because there are so many. The idea of an older dog was appealing in some ways but in other ways not so much, partly for the same reason you mentioned. I finally started going to the shelters and the dog adoption days at Petsmart but still couldn't decide. Then I met this one and I knew she was the right one. It was instantaneous. And she is perfect. Absolutely perfect. I can't worry about who is going to outlive who. You never know how that's going to work out, anyway. I will love her and give her the best home I can for as long as I am living.

The thing that I worry about is the bonding aspect that happens when you start with a puppy. I would hate to not be able to bond and truly love an older dog! They deserve the same love and devotion that a puppy gets! But then, puppies demand an enormous amount of time and energy to devote for their training. I don’t know if I have it at this time.....and we live upstairs and not in the country! And then the worry of the puppy outliving me and my husband! However, between my son and my stepdaughter and all the grandchildren, I’m sure one of them would honor us and take care of our little BFF! Decisions decisions! We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes! Hopefully, we’ll still have some time with Charlie! I would really love to have one more summer with him.

I hope you do, too. Things happen so differently with each pet and how our relationships are, but the one thing I'm getting from this is that what is starting to matter to us is "are we able to fulfill a promise to another potential companion? Are we responsible enough? Are we young enough? Are we ready for another personality? Sure we would love another hug-gable lovable companion in our lives.?" Cute ears flopping as they run, sitting staring at us as we do nothing... but is it the best thing for the dog...We're trying to think of the dog, not us. Because it's easy for us to think of how much another doggie might take away some of this pain...again, going to let some time pass before we go there...it's a decision that involves thinking ahead by a decade or so... kidding...maybe a week or a couple of months.